Showcase - Department of Romance and Classical Studies

RCS Scholarly and Creative Activity

The Department of Romance and Classical Studies is comprised of active scholars, creators, instructors, advisors, staff and students. We dedicate our productive energies and contributions to many communities, on campus and beyond.

NEWS

Three head-and-shoulders portrait photos displayed side by side. From left to right: a person with short dark hair wearing a dark shirt, a person with short dark hair wearing a blazer and collared shirt, and a person with long brown hair and bangs wearing a maroon top. All are facing the camera and smiling.

College of Arts & Letters Faculty Help Drive MSU’s Continued Success as a Top Producer of Fulbright Scholars

February 4, 2026

For the 11th time in the last 12 years, Michigan State University has been named a top producer of Fulbright Scholars, ranking among the colleges and universities with the highest number of faculty and administrators selected for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Eleven scholars from MSU were selected for Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program awards for academic year 2025–2026. Three of those faulty members are in the College of Arts & Letters.

Rachel Zhai stands at a podium holding notes while delivering an oral presentation to an audience seated in a lecture-style room at the Diversity Research Showcase.

Arts & Letters and RCAH Students Earn Awards at Diversity Research Showcase

January 30, 2026

Students from the College of Arts & Letters and the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (RCAH) earned top honors at the 9th Annual

Alejandra Márquez, Assistant Professor of Spanish at Michigan State University, wears an orange shirt and glasses. She sits in from a wall with wallpaper that shows green, blue, and yellows leaves.

Ask the Expert: The Super Bowl Goes Spanish With Bad Bunny’s Halftime Performance

January 30, 2026

Perhaps you’ve heard him featured on Cardi B’s 2019 hit “I Like it.” Maybe you’ve seen him host Saturday Night Live. You might have even

Special Topics and Programs

SPN412: Latin Popular Music and Globalization

FRN440: Cartoons, Graphic Novels and Film in the Francophone and Arab Worlds

FRN450: Memory and Culture of French-Indochina

SPN462: Don Quixote Rides the Silver Screen

PRT350: Luso-Brazilian Modern and Contemporary Short Stories

PRT340: Topics in Luso-Brazilian Culture – Film Adaptation

PRT340: History of Portuguese Encounters

PRT340: Topics in Culture – Regional Cultures of Brazil

Summer Study Abroad: Spanish for Healthcare in Oaxaca

PRT350: The Short Stories of Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis

PRT320: Advanced Portuguese – Journey Into Brazil

SPN472: Puerto Rico’s Colonial Odyssey and Resistance

FRN440: French Literature in the Jazz Age

FRN420: Gained in Translation – French-English Translation

SPN412: Boleros to Protest Song – Music Genres from Spanish America

SPN452: Bridging Cultures – Mastering the Art of Translation

SPN412: Gender and Sexuality in Latin America

SPN491: Sorcery and the Supernatural in the Renaissance

Pláticas: Spanish Conversation Meets 4 Times a Week

PRT350: Introduction to Literary Analysis – Brazil’s “Belle Époque”

SPN482: Evolution of the Spanish Language

FRN440: Cartoons, Graphic Novels and Film in the Francophone and Arab Worlds

SPN452: Spanish Language for the Medical Professions

CLA190: Introduction to the Study of the Classics

FRN350: French History in Painting and Visual Arts

FRN450: Dreams of Freedom in Color – Cultures of the Francosphere

SPN491: Race, Sexual Identity, and Gender in Contemporary Latin America

SPN 472: Peruvian Science Fiction and Futurism

FRN 440: Perspectives in Literature and the Arts of the Francosphere – Comics

FILM AND MEDIA

RESCHEDULED Pre-Release Screening: Safoi Babana-Hampton’s “Choeurs Atlantiques”

A collection of six film posters arranged in two rows. From left to right in the top row: "La Nuit du 12" (a woman in a red coat at night), "The Beast" (a close-up of a woman's face), and "Retour à Séoul" (a woman in a black coat in front of neon lgihts). Bottom row: "Other People's Children" (a smiling woman and man with a child), "Le Mépris" (a woman lounging in a room above the ocean), and "Banel & Adama" (a woman in a red dress laying on cracked earth).

Albertine Cinémathèque French Film Festival Returns to MSU

Sculpture of large pistol tied in knot

Boehm Awarded Grant to Develop “Our Knotted Gun” Documentary

Prof. Safoi Babana-Hampton Releases Film Trailer

Photos four Italian films

20th Annual Italian Film Festival Returns to MSU

Film Festival Shines Spotlight on Latinx Culture and Global Issues

Faculty Highlights

Three head-and-shoulders portrait photos displayed side by side. From left to right: a person with short dark hair wearing a dark shirt, a person with short dark hair wearing a blazer and collared shirt, and a person with long brown hair and bangs wearing a maroon top. All are facing the camera and smiling.

College of Arts & Letters Faculty Help Drive MSU’s Continued Success as a Top Producer of Fulbright Scholars

For the 11th time in the last 12 years, Michigan State University has been named a top producer of Fulbright Scholars, ranking among the colleges and universities with the highest number of faculty and administrators selected for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Eleven scholars from MSU were selected for Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program awards for academic year 2025–2026. Three of those faulty members are in the College of Arts & Letters.

February 4, 2026

Rachel Zhai stands at a podium holding notes while delivering an oral presentation to an audience seated in a lecture-style room at the Diversity Research Showcase.

Arts & Letters and RCAH Students Earn Awards at Diversity Research Showcase

Students from the College of Arts & Letters and the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities (RCAH) earned top honors at the 9th Annual

January 30, 2026

Alejandra Márquez, Assistant Professor of Spanish at Michigan State University, wears an orange shirt and glasses. She sits in from a wall with wallpaper that shows green, blue, and yellows leaves.

Ask the Expert: The Super Bowl Goes Spanish With Bad Bunny’s Halftime Performance

Perhaps you’ve heard him featured on Cardi B’s 2019 hit “I Like it.” Maybe you’ve seen him host Saturday Night Live. You might have even

January 30, 2026

student Highlights

Rachel Zhai stands at a podium holding notes while delivering an oral presentation to an audience seated in a lecture-style room at the Diversity Research Showcase.

Arts & Letters and RCAH Students Earn Awards at Diversity Research Showcase

MSU Student Spends a Semester Abroad in France Studying Politics and Philosophy

Three people stand side by side in front of a bright red wall featuring the word “Canada” in large white letters. A Canadian flag is between the person on the left and the person in the center. The person on the left wears a dark pullover and patterned pants, the person in the middle wears a short-sleeve button-down shirt and trousers, and the person on the right wears a dark suit with a light dress shirt. All three are smiling.

Student View: Interning with the Canadian Consulate

Woman taking a selfie with the city of Paris in the background.

Disability Doesn’t Stop Interdisciplinary Humanities Major from Navigating a Foreign Country

Francophone Resistance fighters during World War II

Alt-text: A collage of four headshots of women arranged in a 2x2 grid. Top left: A woman with curly red hair, glasses, and red lipstick, wearing a dark top. Top right: A woman with short curly dark hair, glasses, and a wide smile, wearing colorful beaded earrings. Bottom left: A woman with long brown hair, smiling, wearing a black top. Bottom right: A woman with long straight brown hair, a natural expression, and a light-colored top, standing in front of a neutral background.

Graduate Candidates Receive 2025-26 Dissertation Fellowship Awards

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