Lee University’s Department of Language and Literature will host the Interdisciplinary Conference on Latin American and Iberian Studies on Saturday, March 23, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. The event will be held in the Science and Math Complex on Lee’s campus. 

The Interdisciplinary Conference will highlight presentations on the languages, literatures, and cultures of Latin America and Spain, along with other related topics. Its purpose is to cultivate academic excellence among undergraduate students and to bring students and professors from a wide variety of disciplines together.

There will be a Culture and Literature Showcase held during the conference. Organized by Associate Professor of Spanish Dr. Carmen Guerrero, this showcase will be a smaller, walk-through poster session, featuring presentations by students from multiple universities and local high schools. 

“Our main goal is to give the undergraduate students a chance to explore research and their passion for other cultures,” said Dr. Alexander Steffanell, professor of Spanish. “Every year, I receive emails from faculty from other colleges asking about the conference and thanking us for organizing such a unique event in the south.”

Dr. Joanna Bradley, keynote speaker from Samford University, will present “The Real Reason for Learning a Foreign Language.” Bradley earned her PhD in foreign language education and applied linguistics at the University of Texas in Austin, her master’s degree in comunicación social from La Javeriana University, Bogota, Colombia, and her undergraduate degree in Spanish and communications from Mars Hill University.

Students from colleges such as Emory and Henry College, Samford, and Universidad Del Atlántico (Colombia, South America) will also present during the conference. There will also be students in attendance from Colombia and other countries.

Student presenters include Kretzel Arzola, Dursun Asik, Elizabeth Bertelsen, Fallyn Daniels, Aidian Davis, Kiara Guerrero, Emma Hamilton, Anna Honea, Belia Jackson, Sierra Kayea, Elizabeth Lancaster, Gracia Lucien, Abigail Mattson, Raquel Morales, Kelly Marquez, Raquel Morales, Bethany Mills, Bethany Reinsch, Mollie Smith, Navin Steffanell, and Madison Tarifa.

Registration is $40 per person. For more information or to register, contact [email protected], call (423) 614-8216 or sign up at the registration booth on March 23.

For more information about Lee’s Department of Language and Literature, call (423) 614-8210.