News and Events

The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2008 the International Year of Languages. The UN proclamation acknowledges that “genuine multilingualism promotes unity in diversity and international understanding…” and states that the “United Nations pursues multilingualism as a means of promoting, protecting and preserving diversity of languages and cultures globally.” To read more from the release, click here.

LLC's annual recognition ceremony for LLC graduates is scheduled for Saturday, May 17, 2008 at noon in the Science Library Atrium. For more information, please contact Joane MacMillan at 442-4100. For information on univeristy-wide commencement activities, please visit www.albany.edu/commencement.

Spanish graduate student, Alice Krause has received the University at Albany's prestigious 2008 Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Teaching Assistant. Congratulations, Alice, for this recognition of your many excellent contributions at UAlbany!

LLC seeks qualified instructors for some sections of its beginning and intermediate level Spanish classes for Fall 2008. Applicants MUST have at a minimum: an advanced degree (MA or PhD) from an accredited institution (preferably in Spanish), language teaching experience (preferably at the college level and in Spanish), and high competence in both Spanish and English. A recommended syllabus and textbook will be provided. Please email your CV and letter of interest to Janna Harton, Assistant to the Chair, LLC (jharton@albany.edu). The best qualified candidates will be interviewed starting in June.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM FESTIVALS - SPRING 2008

LLC invites all who are interested to attend our International Film Festival. This semester's theme, City Scope, explores international urban centers through the simultaneously telescopic and microscopic lens of the movie camera. Films will be shown Tuesday nights (dates below) at 7:00pm in HU 354.

2/12 - Paris je t'aime - a medley of 18 short love stories from 20 world renowned international filmmakers (France, Japan, Germany, Mexico, USA) set in various venues in Paris from Montmarte to the Eiffel Tower to Pigalle. A feast for the eyes. (2006, France- French/English/Spanish with English subtitles).
2/26 - Lola + Bilidikid (1999, Germany, German/Turkish) A coming of age story set in Berlin in which 17 year old Murat comes to terms with his sexuality through his relationship with Lola.
3/11 - Pizza, birra, faso (1998, Argentina, Spanish) Two friends who live in the slums of Buenos Aires stage a series of robberies in order to earn enough money to leave the city, but their final robbery doesn't work out as planned.
3/18 - The Tin Flute/Bonheur d'occasion (1983, Canada, French/English) A wartime romance in 1940's Montreal in which Florentine, from a poor family, must choose between a soldier from a wealthy family or an ambitious engineer.
4/1 - Tel Aviv Stories (1992, Israel, Hebrew) Three separate stories about three different women living in Tel Aviv who go to extremes to get what they want.
4/15 - Piter FM (2006, Russia, Russian) Maxim and Masha are on the brink of serious life changes in St. Petersburg, but when they meet things are suddenly up in the air.
4/29 - Tsotsi (2005, South Africa, Zulu/Xhosa/Africaans/English) A story of redemption for a street thug in Johannesburg, who after stealing a rich family's car with their baby in it, develops a sense of compassion and humanity.

Wilkommen! Join the German Filmclub at the University at Albany for the German-Turkish Film Festival at 7:00pm (EXCEPT 4/16 at 8:30pm) in HU 354 on the following dates:

2/26 - Lola + Bilidikid (1999, German/Turkish with English subtitles) A coming of age story set in Berlin in which 17 year old Murat comes to terms with his sexuality through his relationship with Lola.
3/10 - Im Juli/In July (2000, German with English subtitles) A romantic comedy about following and finding your destiny. A shy student from Hamburg falls head over heels in love with a beautiful girl and decides to follow her, across south-eastern Europe to Istanbul.
3/31 - Gegen die Wand/Head On (2004, German/Turkish with English subtitles) In a mental hospital an alcoholic, drugged German man with Turkish roots meets a younger German Turkish woman with suicidal tendencies. A fake marriage is arranged to free her from her conservative family, he falls in love with her and then tragedy strikes.
4/16 - Kebab Connection (2004, German with English subtitles) A crazily comedic tale of Turkish and Greek fast food stands, a frustrated filmmaker, the coolest commercial of all time, intercultural love, forbidden romance and centuries old rivalry.
4/30 - Kleine Freiheit/A Little Bit of Freedom (2002, German, no subtitles) The unusual story of the friendship between two illegal, stateless immigrant teens in Germany, one from Kurdistan, the other from Africa.

The Spring 2008 Russian Film Festival will be in HU131 6:00pm as follows:

3/31 - Dreaming of Space (2005, Russian with English subtitles) A simple Russian man and his girlfriend befriend a man who betrays him and Russia. Set in Khruschchev's "Thaw" in 1957, the film belongs to a new genre that explores the Soviet past. Winner of the Golden St.George for best film at the Mosow Film Festival, 2005
4/23 - Lolita (1962, English by Vladimir Nabokov, directed by Stanley Kubrick and filmed in Albany, NY) A middle-aged college professor infatuated with a 14-year-old nymphet marries his landlady to take advantage of her daughter.

Mark your calendars for this spring's Arabic Film Festival which will be held in HU354 at 7:00pm on the following dates:

4/2 – Ordinary Person
4/7 – Remember Me – A great love story about a romance that is passed on from one generation to the next, based on the novel Bayn El Atlal by Egyptian writer, Youssef El Sebaii.
4/9 – The Hunger – Inspired by Nobel Prize Laureate Naguib Mahfouz’s folk hero myths, and set in 1887, the film shows the rise of the people’s hero and his fast corruption through power.
4/22 – The Bullet Train – A story of an autistic young man and his brother.
4/24 – Matab Sinaii – An ambitious young man, Mimi, leaves his village seeking to improve his life in Cairo and on the way rescues a girl from drowning. He develops a friendship with her father, a famous business man. The plot thickens when the father falls into a coma, Mimi becomes the girl’s guardian and a nephew seeks to take her father’s fortune and business.
5/5 – The Virgin and the White Hair – The tale of an orphaned girl adopted (against the wishes of her husband) by a wife who cannot have children. Things become more complicated as the child matures into a young woman and falls in love with her adoptive father.

Several Language Conversation Groups meet regularly during the academic year (suspended over breaks) to speak the language and enjoy time together conversing in informal settings. If interested, email the contacts below for more information.

FRENCH: Cafe Français Lounge in front of the Campus Center bookstore Wed 2/13 3-4pm, Tue 2/26 130-230pm, Wed 3/12 2-3pm, Wed 4/9 2-3pm, contact: dj7523@albany.edu
GERMAN: Deutsche Kaffeestunde Campus Center downstairs, Thursdays 4-5PM, contact: khammehsani@albany.edu
ITALIAN: Tavola Italiana Humanities 131, Tuesdays 1-2pm, for more information contact: opelosi@albany.edu or mgkeyes@albany.edu
RUSSIAN: Russian Table, Dutch Quad Dining Room, every other Thursday 12-1pm, starting February 14, contact: rougle@cas.albany.edu
SPANISH: Spanish Table, Wed 2/27 12:30-1:30pm and Wed 3/12 12:30-1:30pm at the Campus Center food court in front of Ola Sushi (near Outtakes), and 12:30-1pm Wednesdays through the end of the Spring 2008 semester (NO MEETING WEDS 4/9) in front of the campus center bookstore, contact: elansing@albany.edu

The Center for Languages and International Communication is engaged in an ongoing telecollaborative venture with the Université de Haute Alsace where students at both institutions regularly reinforce newly acquired language skills through real-time web interactions. UAlbany students bolster their French skills for half the class and Alsace students their English skills for the other half, while each learns of the other's culture and daily activites interacting via the CLIC computers' webcams. Students benefit greatly from the one-on-one interactions and the resulting laughter says volumes about how seeing their counterparts in the other country makes language learning even more enjoyable.

To read the LLC Newsletter, click here.

Past Events

The play "Manon Lastcall" was presented Friday, April 25, 2008 at 8pm in HU039 by La Maison Francophone. From the day that Maurice, a museum curator, receives an uninvited visit from Manon Deslauriers, nothing at his Quebecois museum will ever be the same. When Manon negotiates herself a job as tour guide, politics, religion and the minister of culture himself are challenged in this hilarious one act play by Jean Barbeau. Actors and crew were UAlbany undergrads from the Maison (current, future and honorary) and the play was directed by LLC grad students Kristen Bini and Elise Bouhet. Sponsored by the Maison Francophone Living Learning Community (a campus residence hall community dedicated to speaking French and learning about the Francophone world) and the Office for the Vice President for Student Success. The play was performed in FRENCH.

The Fourth International Workshop on Spanish Sociolinguistics (WSS4) was held at the University at Albany April 17-18, 2008. The keynote speaker, Shana Poplack (University of Ottawa) and other invited speakers, including: José Luis Blas Arroyo (Universitat Jaume I ), Gregory Guy (New York University), and Jonathan Holmquist (Temple University) helped make this an excellent event. A variety of abstract presentations based on original sociolinguistic research analyzing Spanish data or data from contact situations between Spanish and other languages were shared. For more information click here.

Throughout April 2008 Professor Cynthia Fox’s exhibit “Le français en Nouvelle-Angleterre/The French Language in New England: Notes from the Franco-American French Project” was on display at the Center for Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (Weston Hall) at Williams College, Williamstown, MA The exhibit presented the results of a multi-year, collaborative project funded by the National Science Foundation in which 275 French speakers from 8 communities in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island were interviewed by researchers from the University at Albany and the University of Maine. Although Williamstown was not part of the study, it attracted French Canadian and Acadian immigrants during the so-called “grande migration” of the 19th and 20th centuries and the display included photographs and artifacts on loan from the Williamstown House of Local History. Fox also presented at the opening of the exhibit with a lecture on her work, “C'est pas mal la manière qu'on parlait: Franco-American perspectives on the French language in New England.”

On Sunday, 4/6/08 and Wednesday, 4/9/08, LLC, LACS (Latin-American, Caribbean and US Latino Studies) and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences had the honor to host Colombian filmmaker, Víctor Gaviria, for a film forum and lecture. All were welcome at the film forum, Sunday 5:00PM in HU354, and to his lecture "La realidad como autor" Wednesday 12:30-2:00PM in HU290. Víctor Gaviria, who often features Columbian street life in his films, may be best known for his film, Rodrigo D. no futuro (1990). Gaviria also visited the Skidmore and Union College campuses (for more information contact: Jacinto Fombona: jfombona@albany.edu).

On April 9, 2008 the Slavic and Eurasian Studies Program celebrated its 13th year in a row of hosting the Olympiada of Spoken Russian. This annual regional competition, sponsored by the American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR) since the 1960’s, attracts over 100 students who flock to UAlbany to demonstrate their Russian skills in the areas of spoken Russian, culture and reading and to compete for the opportunity for summer study in Vladimir Russia and the chance to go on to national and international competitions. Congratulations to this year's winners!

LLC’s annual French and Francophone Studies Graduate Student Conference wasl held March 20, 2008 9:30AM-6PM in HU354 at the University at Albany. The conference keynote speaker: well known critic, Bernard Magnier. Open to all students whose research addresses issues relevant to French and Francophone Studies (literature, cinema, linguistics, culture), the call for papers included possible themes of migration, Diaspora, identity, exile, cultural contact, minority literatures, colonialism, post-colonialism, francophone cinema and literature as a reflection of history, francophone literature and cinema and globalization. Papers were presented in French or English.

On March 17, 2008 LLC celebrated La fête de la francophonie with a day of activities revolving around the French-speaking world. University in the High Schools French program teachers and students were welcomed and enjoyed a campus tour in French, workshops revolving around Ivory Coast traditions and Quebecois music and dance (including square, circle and contra dancing with live music), French conversation, and information from a French study abroad panel. Francophone House and the cast of the French play, Manon Lastcall (by Jean Barbeau) also provided presentations.

Disciplinary Theatre: Military Interrogation as Intercultural Performance February 21, 2008 at 4:15 PM in Campus Center 375 by Coco Fusco, an eminent performance artist and writer who addresses issues of race, gender, the war on terrorism and postcolonialims in her work. Fusco is a facuty at Columbia Univeristy School of Visual Arts where she also teaches in the Spanish and Portuguese Department. Free and open to the public with reception to follow. Co-sponsored by Women's Studies, Latin American, Caribbean and US Latino Studies, Africana Studies, Art History, English, LLC, Theatre, Multicultural Affirmative Action, University Commission on Diversity, University Auxiliary Services, and the Institute for Research on Women.

The German Cultural Club was chartered in October 2007 to offer opportunties for those interested in the German language and German culture. Contact president Travis Zainchowski (tz242136@albany.edu) for more information.

Professor Eloise Briere received the 2007 Diversity Leadership Award from the Univesity at Albany for her extensive work in bringing together a variety cultures and people from around the world, all linked with her lifetime passion for and work in Francophone studies.

New in Fall 2007, the Francophone Living and Learning Community is a campus residence hall community of 15-20 students who speak French at all times, are devoted to an exploration of the history and culture of Africa, and pursue contemporary related topics such as how globalization, poverty and AIDS have impacted quality of life. Religion, women's issues and the culture (music, literature, art) of Senegal will be topics of presentation and discussion throughout the year. Core courses for participants include French, African history, and francophone cultures. Students will increase knowledge and appreciation of history, geography, cultures and societies in the former French colonies of West Africa and improve their ability to communicate in French. And, as part of this community, students will travel together to Montreal, Canada.

Global Giggles, the 2007-2008 LLC International Film Festival, focuses on humor across languages. Join in for a good laugh Wednesdays 7:30PM on campus in HU039. Free and open to the public, with English subtitles. Questions? Contact: lucinda716@yahoo.com.
Sept 19 – Les Visiteurs (The Visitors, France, 1993)
Oct. 3 – Shaolin Soccer (Hong Kong, 2001)
Oct. 17 – East is East (United Kingdom, 1999)
Oct. 31 – El crimen ferpecto (The Perfect Crime, Spain, 2004)
Nov. 14 – La vie est belle (Life is Rosy, Congo/Belgium, 1987)
Nov. 28 – Lista de espera (The Waiting List, Cuba/Spain, 2000)

An Arabic Film Marathon is being offered nightly the week of November 5, 2007. All films will start at 7:15PM in the Chemistry Building, Room 151. Come for a variety of experiences in different Arabic-speaking nations. English subtitles.
Nov 5 - Chased by the Dogs - Nobel Prize Laureate novelist Naguib Mahfouz inspired this film in the story of Mahran, a thief who ascends to the head of his gang. His second in command conspires to take Mahran's position and wife. After prison, Mahran is thirsty for revenge, but chased by the police and enemies, he is destined to a tragic end.
Nov 6 - Abouna - 2 brothers in Chad set out on a search for their father in a film rich in culture, with a deep understanding of the human condition in general, and youth in particular. Directed by the Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, director of international award-winning Bye Bye Africa.
Nov 7 - Inch' Allah Dimanche - An immigrant Algerian woman struggling against old world traditions leaves her homeland with her 3 children to join her husband in France, where he's been living for the past 10 years. In a foreign land, she struggles against her mother-in-law's tyrannical hand and her husband's distrustful bitterness in an attempt to adjust to her life in exile.
Nov 8 - Yacoubian Building - Based on a best selling Egyptian novel, the movie does not shy away from weaving sordid tales of political corruption, sexuality and torture in the story elements and expresses these through the lives of the residents of a building who represent segments within Egyptian society.
Nov 9 - Death in Gaza - This poignant and powerful documentary takes a firsthand look at the culture of the West Bank and Gaza. The film follows 3 teens who have grown up trapped between the two sides.

The German Film Club invites all interested in German culture and the German language to Wednesday nights at the movies! All movies at 7:30PM in HU354. For more information email khammehsani@albany.edu.
Oct 10 - Sonnenallee: This comedy depicts the life of a group of East German teenagers in the 1970´s on Sonnenallee, an actual street running through Berlin which was sliced through by the Wall. It provides fine details of the absurdity of their daily life: bizarrely designed, malfunctioning household goods; the presence of state police and Communist youth groups; attempts at Marxist indoctrination in the schools; and the lure of the West, with its forbidden wares, music and television. No subtitles.
Oct 24 - The Lives of Others/Das Leben der Anderen: Taking place in the early 1980’s during the Stasi era, the minister of culture becomes interested in a popular actress, Christa-Maria Sieland, and instructs Wiesler to observe her and her dramatist companion Georg Dreyman. Wiesler bugs their apartment and begins listening in on their lives. Over time, however, their life fascinates him and he gets more and more involved. 2006, 137 minutes, MPAA rating: R; German soundtrack with English subtitles.
Nov 7 - Goodbye Lenin: A mother suffers a heart attack while watching her son protest against the regime in 1989. When the mother awakens, the GDR no longer exists. Since she must avoid all excitement, her son tries to recreate the GDR in their apartment. This film about love, lies and politics is special. 2003, 121 minutes, MPAA rating: R (for brief language and sexuality), DVD in German with English subtitles.

Fall 2007 French Film Series (contact danjp@juno.com):
Oct 2 - "C'est la vie..... " presents «Un air de famille» in HU354 @ 7:30pm
Oct 25 - "C'est la vie..... " presents «Le diner de cons» inHU354 @ 7:30pm
Nov 6 - "C'est la vie..... " presents «Le Placard» (The Closet), a comedy, in HU354 @ 7:30pm

“Probing Brevity – Studies on Short Texts,” LLC’s Annual Research Conference, is scheduled for November 1-2, 2007 in HU354. For the conference program click here. Contact: ikressner@albany.edu.

“Microfinance: a Platform for Social Change” Tues, 9/18/07 12:00PM in Humanities 354, given by Alex Counts, Vice-Chair of the Board of Fonkoze USA and President and CEO of the Grameen Foundation. Come hear about the remarkable success of microfinance organizations in developing countries. Fonkoze USA supports microfinance operations in Haiti, where the effects of slavery and colonization combine to make Haiti the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Co-sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, the Department of Economics, and the School of Business. For flier, click here.