Institute for Latino Studies faculty member and MFA alum Francisco Aragón gave two presentations this summer in England. The first took place on July 15th at the Cervantes Institute, where Aragón read from his translation of, Handbook of Foams/Manual de espumas by Spanish poet Gerardo Diego. Aragón performed his own poems on July 18th at Torriano Meeting House, a cultural community center. He began his week in London as the special guest at a literary salon held in a private home on July 12th. Professor Aragón’s visit was supported by a Small Creative and Performing Arts grant from the Franco Family Institute and the ND Arts Initiative.

The event at Instituto Cervantes included the collaboration of British Latinx poets Leo Boix, Marina Sánchez and Soledad Santana. “The performance at Cervantes was the third stop of a multi-year tour where I’ll be inviting poets to join me in amplifying Gerardo Diego’s work. The poets in London that night also read a poem of their own—in conversation with Diego,” said Aragón, who directs Letras Latinas, the ILS’ literary initiative. Gerardo Diego (1896 – 1987), a member of Spain’s noted “generation of ’27,” wrote Manual de espumas in 1922 while living in a beach bungalow on the north coast of Spain. Aragón’s translation, published earlier this year by Shearsman Books, is the first English rendering of what many scholars consider one of Diego’s master avant-garde collections.

The reading at Torriano Meeting House two days later was part of Venn Diagrams, a reading series curated by British Latinx poet, Patrizia Longhitano. Billed as a “Latinx special edition,” the evening included the participation of poets Sim Pereira-Madder, Roberto Cenciarelli and, once again, Boix. “Leo was instrumental in helping me arrange my week—I couldn’t have done it without him. He’s a wonderful poet, editor, and translator. In fact, Letras Latinas aspires to bring Leo Boix to Notre Dame as a way of signaling ILS’ global reach,” added Aragón.

“Francisco’s visit felt like another important step in the transatlantic conversation we have been building for years now between US and British Latinx poets. An earlier collaboration brought writers from both sides of the Atlantic into dialogue, virtually. Having Francisco in London allowed that conversation to take on a new, tangible life,” said Boix, who was recently elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

“What excites me most is how this continuing exchange reveals both what connects our literary communities and what makes them distinct. We write from different histories and different sides of the Atlantic, but our poetry travels through many of the same territories: migration and belonging, bilingualism and diaspora, Latin America and the places we now call home, Spanish and English—and everything untranslatable in between. His time with us strengthened an alliance that was already flourishing, while opening new possibilities for collaboration,” added Boix, the award-winning poet and author of two books in Spanish, published in his native Argentina, and two books in English, published in the UK, the most recent, Southernmost: Sonnets (2025), which was shortlisted for the Foreword Prize in 2025 for best poetry collection.

The literary salon that kicked off Aragón’s week in the British capital was hosted by Nathalie Teitler, who has run literature programs promoting diversity in the United Kingdom for more than twenty years. She also served as co-editor of the groundbreaking anthology, Un Nuevo Sol (2019), which showcases British Latinx writers, and which Aragón had endorsed with a blurb.

Notre Dame’s campus community will have an opportunity to experience a multi-voiced presentation of Gerardo Diego’s poetry on September 30th as part of “En Otras Palabras: panel & performance.” Aragón will be joined by poet-translators, Rosa Alcalá, Kristin Dykstra, and Rachel Galvin who, in addition to reading from Handbook of Foams, will each perform a piece
of their own. Attendees will also hear Alcalá and Dykstra read from their own work that evening. Earlier in the day, Galvin will introduce and moderate an afternoon panel on poetry in translation. These two sessions are co-presented by ILS and Notre Dame’s Creative Writing Program, of which Aragón is an alum.

Originally published by Institute for Latino Studies at latinostudies.nd.edu on September 01, 2026.

A Symposium at the University of Notre Dame
April 2–3, 2027

Summary

Teen entertainment was first developed in the United States via popular literature during the early twentieth century before gaining further momentum in radio, theatre, film, and comic books during World War II. By the early 1950s, teen-centered entertainment had found its way to American television, further contributing to the commodification of teen culture. The early postwar era saw a rise in teen entertainment in many countries, especially those in Europe, partially due to the United States’ cultural power abroad, along with the financial success of teen-centered entertainment properties and young people’s desire to see themselves represented.

As a result of an increase in transnational media flows during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, teen entertainment is now produced and consumed in virtually every country around the world, helping to shape social constructions of adolescence, young people’s identities and cultural expressions, as well as adults’ engagements with teenagers. Regularly ignored, if not derided, by older audiences interested in more “sophisticated” forms of culture, the teen audience nonetheless continues to be one of the most lucrative markets for entertainment industries worldwide.

Until recently, the history of teen entertainment has been dominated by studies of U.S. films and television shows that feature white, heterosexual, able-bodied, middle-class youth. Minimal attention has been given to other countries, other entertainment media, and other ways of identifying and being a “teen.” Bringing together faculty and student scholars from around the world, this symposium aims not only to expand the field of teen entertainment history but also to honor and promote the research of scholars working to enrich this unique field of study.

Deadline for submissions

Friday, October 16, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (US Eastern Daylight Time)

Acceptance notifications: mid-January 2027

Guidelines

The Program Committee is interested in promoting research on the history of teen entertainment, which we define broadly as popular literature, plays, films, radio programs, television series, comic books, and video games, as well as music, musicians, and other entertainers. Proposals that expand the study of teen entertainment history via attention to non-normative identities, intersectional perspectives, non-Western national frameworks, and/or globalization are especially welcome. Proposals focused on current teen entertainment are welcome but should take a historical perspective.

Proposals for open-call individual papers, preconstituted panels, and preconstituted roundtables are welcome.

• Individual open-call paper proposals should include an abstract of 250 words, as well as contact information and a short bio (75–100 words) for all authors. Co-authored papers are welcome. (The Program Committee will assemble panels from accepted paper proposals. Volunteers to act as chairs are welcome.)
• Preconstituted panel proposals should include a 250-word panel proposal as well as an abstract (250 words), bio (75–100 words), and contact information for each participant. Each panel should be made up of three to four papers (inclusive of the chair and, if applicable, one respondent). Panel co-chairs are welcome, as are paper co-authors and respondents. The chair can serve as the respondent.
• Preconstituted roundtable proposals should include a 250-word proposal along with a bio (75–100 words) and contact info for each participant. Each roundtable should have four to six participants, inclusive of the chair and, if applicable, the co-chair.

Submit your proposal

Submit your open-call individual paper proposal

Submit your preconstituted panel proposal

Submit your preconstituted roundtable proposal

Organizing Committee

The Program Committee includes Barbara Jane Brickman, Mary Celeste Kearney, Diana Leon-Boys, Sharon Ross, Timothy Shary, and Frances Smith.

Questions?

Please direct any questions to Mary Celeste Kearney (mckearney@nd.edu).

Originally published by Todd Boruff at ftt.nd.edu on June 15, 2026.

“This year’s faculty award recipients represent the very best of Notre Dame through their outstanding achievements in teaching, scholarship, and service,” McGreevy said. “Their work strengthens our academic community and furthers the University’s mission as a leading global Catholic research institution.”

Ernest Davis Morrell, the Coyle Professor of Literacy Education and professor of English and Africana studies, was posthumously awarded the 2026 President's Award. The award recognizes pioneering and visionary achievements in research, public impact, and/or creative endeavors that advance University goals. 

Throughout his career, Morrell led intellectually ambitious, socially consequential work centered on a humanistic vision of education. He was a titan in the fields of literacy education, critical media literacy, and youth participatory action research. His work offered a liberatory vision of literacy, one rooted in the dignity of the human person and committed to reimagining the relationship between students and texts. Professor Morrell consistently situated literacy as a vehicle for expanded agency and quality of life. In his scholarship, literacy was a matter of social justice, essential to individuals’ ability to access information, exercise informed citizenship, and participate fully in civic and cultural life; and as a means through which young people’s voices are made powerful.

He was recognized at the highest levels of scholarly distinction, including as a member of the National Academy of Education, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and as past president of the National Council of Teachers of English. His impact was also powerfully witnessed by the “family tree” of scholars he cultivated. Embracing the fundamental responsibility that lies at the heart of all scholarship–advancing knowledge in the search for truth–his work transformed the classroom into a site of profound formation, preparing the next generation to lead with both intellectual rigor and a steadfast commitment to the common good. 

Morrell died Feb. 4 after a long battle with cancer. He was 54.

Karen Richman, professor of the practice and director of undergraduate studies at the Institute for Latino Studies, was awarded the  Dockweiler Award for Excellence in Advising.

The Dockweiler Awards recognize excellence in academic advising as a vital component of the Notre Dame student experience. Richman was honored for her outstanding mentorship of students and colleagues, her contributions to Latino studies, and her leadership in building academic programs that advance the University’s mission and enrich students’ education.

Since becoming director of undergraduate studies in 2010, Richman has expanded the Institute for Latino Studies’ programs from 17 students to more than 100, including the institute’s largest graduating class to date in 2025. She has directed 28 senior theses and helped establish an annual senior thesis presentation event for students and faculty.  She has also been a faculty fellow with the Kellogg Institute for International Studies since 2002.

Students praised Richman as “an invaluable mentor” whose teaching and advising inspire them “to pursue my passions and fascinations.” She also serves as faculty advisor to student organizations including the Student Coalition for Immigration Advocacy and the Caribbean Student Association.

Notre Dame recognized Richman as a scholar whose teaching, mentorship, and research “mutually enrich one another” and whose work exemplifies “the power of real-world application from academic knowledge.”

Other 2026 University faculty award winners are:

• Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C., Awards for Excellence in Teaching: Badih Assaf (Department of Physics and Astronomy), Juan Del Valle (Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry), and Roya Ghiaseddin (Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics)
• Research Achievement Award: Peter Garnavich (Department of Physics and Astronomy), Eric Jumper (Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering), and Jennifer Tank (Department of Biological Sciences)
• Hesburgh Legacy Award: Gerard F. Powers (Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies)
• Dockweiler Awards for Excellence in Advising: Maria Holland (Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering), and Gina V. Shropshire (Mendoza College of Business)
• Faculty Award: Christopher Kolda (Department of Physics and Astronomy)
• Rev. Paul J. Foik, C.S.C., Award: Mark Robison (Hesburgh Libraries)
• Thomas P. Madden Award: Giuseppe Mazzone (School of Architecture)

Coordinated by the Office of the Provost, the annual University faculty awards recognize excellence in research, teaching, and service to the University; signal milestone accomplishments and contributions across the disciplines; and celebrate outstanding members of the Notre Dame community.

Learn more about the awards and read the citations for this year's winners at provost.nd.edu/awards.

Originally published by Emily Monacelli Guzman at provost.nd.edu on May 12, 2026.

Xavier Navarro Aquino, assistant professor of English, unexpectedly died Wednesday (May 6). He was 36.

An acclaimed novelist and beloved teacher, mentor and colleague, Navarro Aquino was a member of the Creative Writing Program and a faculty fellow of the Institute for Latino Studies and the Initiative on Race and Resilience.

“Xavier’s writing and artwork communicate with absolute clarity his humane and painterly care for the world in all its damage and beauty,” said Joyelle McSweeney, chair of the Department of English and former director of the Creative Writing Program. “His evident joy and commitment as a teacher inspired joy and commitment in his students, and his immediate legacy will be as an artist whose sense of beauty will be carried outwards to his readers, and to his students, and to their future readers. His loss is immeasurable.”

Navarro Aquino’s debut novel, Velorio, takes place in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria’s devastation in Puerto Rico. The novel earned high praise from a range of media outlets, with the New York Times Book Review calling Aquino “an incredibly talented young writer,” and the Chicago Review of Books describing it as a “complex, politically engaged work and deeply human story.”

“Velorio is a beautiful, poetic novel — reminiscent of William Faulkner’s classic The Sound and the Fury,” said Johannes Göransson, a professor of English and director of the Creative Writing Program. “His attention to language is the kind of writing we might associate with a poet.”

Navarro Aquino was awarded a Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference scholarship, a Tennessee Williams scholarship from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, a MacDowell Fellowship and an American Council of Learned Societies Emerging Voices Fellowship at Dartmouth College. He was named a Fall 2021 Writer to Watch by Publishers Weekly. His fiction also appeared in Tin House magazine, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern and Guernica.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Navarro Aquino earned his bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University, a master’s degree in English and Caribbean studies from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras and his Ph.D. in literature and creative writing from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He joined the Notre Dame faculty in 2021.

“Despite all of the early acclaim, Xavier was very humble and self-effacing. Our conversations were more often about soccer, or running or tattoos than his writing,” said Mark Sanders, a professor of English, professor and chair of the Department of Africana Studies and director of IRR at the time Navarro Aquino was hired. “Xavier was a dedicated teacher, an enormously talented writer and a warm and caring human being. His fiction reflected his care for the world, as Velorio can be read as a cautionary tale about how not to treat one another under the most trying conditions. He was dedicated to representing Puerto Rico and to supporting universal human rights.”

A devoted and enthusiastic presence in the classroom, Navarro Aquino taught courses on fiction writing, the American short story, literary debuts and the role of storytelling in addressing modern, pressing issues. He directed both MFA and undergraduate honors theses. In recent years, he had become exceptionally passionate about painting.

Jason Ruiz, a professor of American studies and director of the Institute for Latino Studies, fondly recalls a visit Navarro Aquino made this semester to his course, The Cutting Edge in Latino Studies Research. Amidst a lively conversation about his life and work, Navarro Aquino also shared his short story, “Two Young Kings,” which Ruiz described as “brilliant and devastating.”

“I already admired Xavier as a writer and teacher, but the class session really floored me, as he showed a wonderfully open, honest and intelligent approach to his work and his vision for Latino literature,” Ruiz said. “He was the kind of professor who elevated our ongoing conversations around Latinidad and inspired the students and me to be ever more thoughtful in our approach to a complex subject matter that touches the very cores of our identities.

“He was not in any way precious about his work but embraced just about anything that we, the readers, could find in it. Xavier was an irreplaceable member of our community and his loss will be felt for a long time to come.”

Navarro Aquino is survived by his wife, Jayleen Santiago Diaz.

A memorial Mass will be held at 9:30 a.m. Monday, May 18, in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, with University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., presiding.

Condolences may be sent to the Department of English, 233 Decio Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556.

Originally published by Josh Weinhold at al.nd.edu on May 12, 2026.

In partnership with three of the university’s Strategic Initiatives, the Franco Institute is funding seven new interdisciplinary collaboratives.

Arts Collaboratives (co-sponsored by the ND Arts Initiative):

Through a project titled “Archipelagos of Race,” Thomas Anderson, professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, and Xavier Navarro Aquino, assistant professor of English, will investigate the artistic, linguistic, and cultural dimensions of race and ethnicity in the Caribbean through theoretical inquiry and artistic output.

Tatiana Reinoza, associate professor of art history, and history professor Karen Graubart seek to integrate humanities studies to ask broad questions, often related to policy, in their lab titled “Central American Racial Formations.” They believe that integrating humanities-based analysis with questions more commonly addressed through social sciences and policy will produce deeper and more people-centered scholarship and open new paths for understanding social injuries, connectivities, and conflicts.

Global Catholic Research Collaboratives (co-sponsored by the ND Global Catholic Research Initiative):

In “Medieval Roots to Global Networks: Catholic Sisters and the Archive,” Katie Bugyis, associate professor in the Program of Liberal Studies and Director of Postdoctoral Studies, and CJ Jones, Director of the Medieval Institute and professor in the Department of German, Slavic, and Eurasian Studies, draws on archival collections to examine how Catholic women religious communities understood, interpreted, and transmitted their histories as makers of historical knowledge who shaped their own institutional identities through scholarship, pedagogy, and archival practices.

Associate professor of philosophy Therese Cory and theology professor Paulinus Odozor have formed an international working group for their collaborative titled “Vatican II: Renewal within Tradition.” This collaborative works with 150 members engaged in the ongoing interpretation of the second Vatican Council and its significance for the global Church and in regional contexts.

Kathleen Sprows Cummings, Director for the Global Catholic Research Initiative, values the Strategic Initiatives’ partnership with the Franco Institute. “The Global Catholic Research Initiative is proud to partner with the Franco Family Institute in supporting two of this year’s Research Innovation Collaboratives,” Cummings said. She further shared, “By funding ‘From Medieval Roots to Global Networks: Catholic Sisters and the Archive’ and the International Working Group, ‘Vatican II: Renewal within Tradition,’ GCRI is investing in projects that exemplify the global scope, historical depth, and interdisciplinary strength of Notre Dame scholarship.” In sum, Cummings stressed the importance of the Research Innovation Collaboratives’ role in scholarship at Notre Dame. “Together, these collaborations advance the University’s mission to become the preeminent hub for research on global Catholicism,” she said.

Humanities Collaboratives:

William Donahue, professor in the Department of German, Slavic, and Eurasian Studies, will work with Jens Martin of the University of Amsterdam on a project titled “Contested History in Public Spaces: Toward a Global Memory Culture.” Their collaborative re-thinks terminology around public memory to accommodate the challenges around a “memory culture” that functions in dynamic and sometimes unpredictable patterns.

For their collaborative titled “Symphonic Wings Part II: Sustaining Our Common Home through Faith, Science, and Art,” Cynthia Katsarelis, assistant professor of the practice in Sacred Music and Ritornello Chamber Orchestra Director, and Paul Kollman, associate professor of theology, will turn their symphony project Symphonic Wings into a lasting and public-facing platform for thinking about insects through lenses of faith, culture, history, ethics, and care for the living world.

Sustainability Collaboratives (co-sponsored by the ND Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative):

History professor Julia Thomas will partner with Benjamin Goossen, an assistant professor of international history at Boston University, on “Asia and the Anthropocene: Bringing Human Histories and Earth History Together.” Their collaborative approaches the human activity of the Anthropocene from Asian perspectives to address what may be most useful about the Anthropocene as a distinctive framework for Asian histories and what drawbacks to such a framework may exist.

Originally published by Jacob Schepers at franco.nd.edu on May 05, 2026.

This story is part of Notre Dame Global's series titled "Women Who Inspire."

If there’s one thing Dionne Irving Bremyer tries to impart on every student that she teaches, it’s that they will leave her class as better thinkers and better humans.

And it’s not because they’re debating philosophy or studying sociology. It’s because they’re reading and writing, and in doing so, they’re learning how to think critically and compassionately about the world around them. If reading reveals the near-invisible threads that tie us together across countries, cultures, and chasms of differences, writing is what helps us parse through those threads, form our own opinions about them, and integrate their meaning into our lives.

An associate professor of English at Notre Dame, and instructor of the Notre Dame Kylemore Creative Writing program, Dionne has been with the University for five years. She’s a Giller Prize-nominated author, a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, and the director of Notre Dame’s Initiative on Race and Resilience. She’s a wife, a mother, and a self-professed “Real Housewives Historian.” She’s a story-consumer and a storyteller.

Stories are how Dionne engages with the world and connects to other people. A Canadian native with Jamaican heritage, she’s long been interested in how narratives travel and find new meaning in each place they land, resonating deeply with audiences seemingly unlike their source. When Dionne went on tour for her collection of short stories, The Islands, she said that one of the most exciting parts was meeting people who’d read her work. “Writing is really solitary,” she admits. The stories she wrote, while fiction, were so personal to her own experience that she worried they wouldn’t resonate with an audience that existed outside her own head. But in meeting and talking with readers, her fears were quickly diminished. “I found the stories spoke to all different kinds of people.”

And that’s the beauty of storytelling, of reading and writing. They’re activities that exist in your mind, but at the same time, draw you out of yourself. They force you to encounter a reality outside of your own, and Dionne would argue that we are better for it. “How great is it that you can read a story of somebody in the Victorian upper classes, or you can read a story that's set in modern-day Nairobi, and you can have this transformative experience of time and place and culture?”

That’s why she’s not bothered by the fact that some students may not write again outside of the courses she teaches. Because even if they don’t realize it, they’re getting something invaluable out of the class: the ability to problem solve. “I think having the ability to think through the problems of other human beings is a real skill. How do we talk to each other? How do we think about the fact that there's a person out there whose life is remarkably different than my own, and meet them where they are?” These are the kinds of questions prompted by creative writing, Dionne says.

The values of empathy and community have long been central to Dionne’s work. In fact, she started as a psychology major in school because she wanted to understand other people’s lived experiences, their problems and struggles, and how community is created around those feelings that make us human. She soon realized she could accomplish the same thing through writing.

She credits the professors she had in school for encouraging her. It was never a question of “Can I do this?” because she was surrounded by teachers who affirmed her talent, and pushed her to go further with it. She even pursued a Ph.D., something she said she never thought she’d do. Now, as a professor herself, she hopes to send the same message to her students. She encourages them to engage with the world, to find things that interest them about people and their stories, and to be a devoted reader as well as writer if they want to pursue writing. Most of all, she teaches the importance of looking outside yourself. “I think good writers are in some ways anathema to selfishness,” Dionne says.

In her own writing, Dionne is especially inspired by writers like Toni Morrison and Audre Lorde, women whose voices contributed to and shaped conversations around identity, injustice, and community. Women, Dionne would add, have a natural role in storytelling. A former professor at Saint Mary’s, Dionne advocates for the power of community found in womanhood and sisterhood. “One of the things that’s interesting to me about women is the way that even our bodies carry stories.” Long after she’s gone, Dionne marvels at how her bones will retain and reveal a core aspect of her identity: mother.

She points to how this idea of women as the “keepers of stories” is reflected across cultures and in many religions, including that of Notre Dame, Our Lady’s University. “Why do we revere the mother of the deity? Because the mother is the thing that he can't be in the world without, right? Women are a conduit to storytelling, and I think that there's something really, really powerful about that.” It’s safe to say that Dionne has wielded that power well—and she's teaching her students to do the same.

Originally published by Jessie Carson at global.nd.edu on March 26, 2026.

The public is invited to engage with Reese during her residency through a series of talks and workshops the weeks of March 23 - April. 3. The full list of related events can be found at the end of the interview.

Interview with DeJeonge Reese

Could you tell us about your creative process? Do you start with an idea or an object or some combination thereof?

My ideas often come to me through research and gained knowledge. The more I learn the more it is likely to influence my work. I often will have a very clear idea of what I want to do, and then the fun part is experimenting with how I am going to get it to look like what I have imagined and that is where material research comes into play.

Which artists, singers, writers, or quilters—well-known or known only to you—do you find yourself most influenced by in your work?

I get inspired by various artists based on their use of material, storytelling, and general craft. I am deeply inspired by the work of Sonya Clark and her similar focus and use of black hair and identity, Syd Carpenter, Kara Walker, Faith Ringold and Basquiat, not only for his work but his attitude as an artist. He refused to make work solely for home decor and that is something that inspired me to create work not for purchase but for learning and understanding and reflecting. I am also inspired by the works of Tony Morrison and Zora Neal Hurston. I recently read Baracoon and her research and ability to gain the oral history of the last known survivor of the Clotilda, the final slave ship to arrive in the U.S. in 1860.

Their use of material and storytelling through their mediums in ways that also archive our history as Black Americans is continuously inspiring to me.

You incorporate many kinds of history in your work—oral history, written history, archival sources, etc.—which result in a kind of tactile history. What does a tactile history allow you to say or do that other methods of history do not?

I think tactile history brings history to life in a way that more traditional methods often cannot. By engaging the senses—especially sight and touch—it allows people to experience history rather than just observe or read about it. There’s something powerful about encountering materials physically, feeling their texture, and recognizing that they’ve carried time, labor, and memory.

Tactile history also creates a more intimate and embodied connection to the past. It invites viewers to slow down and consider not just what happened, but how it might have felt, who was involved, and what traces remain. In my work, this approach allows history to move beyond something distant or fixed, and instead become something present, layered, and lived.

Ultimately, it gives me a way to hold both personal and collective histories in the same space, making them more accessible, more immediate, and more deeply felt.

Your work often explores the generative relationship between objects (e.g., burlap, seeds,) and embodiment (e.g., hair). What do you hope to illuminate by putting those two different kinds of physicality side-by-side?

I’m deeply interested in the histories embedded within the materials I use, and how those histories add layers to the narratives I’m constructing. Materials like burlap and denim carry legacies of labor, survival, and exploitation, while hair holds an intimate connection to the body—it can literally contain DNA, making it a powerful marker of identity.

By placing these materials side-by-side, I’m drawing connections between personal and collective histories. For Black people in particular, hair is one of the most visible and culturally charged aspects of identity. Pairing it with materials tied to labor allows me to highlight how our identities are shaped not only by what is inherited biologically, but also by the social and historical conditions we’ve moved through.

Ultimately, I hope to illuminate how different forms of physical material—whether grown, worn, or worked—carry memory, and how those memories are deeply intertwined with who we are.

While your work engages deeply with history, it also focuses on the present lived experiences of Black people, especially with regard to hair. And many times you engage with both past and present at the same time; your project “Tignon Law,” where you created a quilt out of scarves and head wraps, is a good example. Elsewhere you include your work alongside opportunities to contribute to current social campaigns that are trying to end hair-based discrimination. In short, and to improvise a little on Lucille Clifton, your work “tends to the past” but also to the present. What present day effects of your art do you hope for?

I have always been interested in the connection of past and present. I believe that a crucial part in learning who we are is about learning where we come from. I hope that my audience continues to learn from my work, to gain further understanding of Black history, culture and identity. If we do not try to understand each other, how can anything change in how we interact with each other? I hope my work provokes reflection of self and of others.

What is something you hope that people at Notre Dame experience in response to your work and workshops? What should they expect? Do attendees need to have any prior experience with sewing, braiding, or quilting to join the memory quilt workshop?

In response to my work and workshops, I hope that people realize there are various ways to archive histories; our own as individuals and as a people. Overall I hope they gain a new skill all while having fun creating and reflecting; there is no need for prior experience, but sewing a basic stitch will help.

They should expect to create small textile collages using scrap fabric and imagery.

Related Programs:

Originally published by Notre Dame Arts Initiative at arts.nd.edu on March 23, 2026.

Ernest Morrell, the Coyle Professor of Literacy Education at the University of Notre Dame, died Wednesday (Feb. 4) after a long battle with cancer, surrounded by his wife and three sons. He was 54.

Morrell was a renowned literacy studies scholar who advocated for a radical reimagination of the relationship between students and texts. His work positioned literacy as a means of social justice, empowering young people to access information, exercise informed citizenship, and participate fully in civic and cultural life. His scholarly interests also included critical pedagogy, postcolonial studies, and global youth popular culture.

“On behalf of the entire Notre Dame community, we mourn the passing of Ernest Morrell, a beloved faculty colleague, dedicated administrator, and cherished friend to many,” said University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C. “As a renowned scholar who made significant contributions to his discipline, a superb teacher who inspired and challenged his students, and a visionary administrator, he enriched the Notre Dame community and all who knew him.

“Ernest’s life reflected a deep integration of the life of the mind and matters of the heart. Our prayers are with his family, especially his wife, Jodene, and their three sons, Skip, Antonio, and Tripp, and all who grieve his passing. We are grateful to God for Ernest’s life and presence among us, and his example will continue to inspire us.”

Father Dowd also announced that Morrell will posthumously receive the 2026 President’s Award — which recognizes pioneering and visionary achievements in research, public impact, or creative endeavors that advance the University’s goals — in honor of his intellectually ambitious, socially consequential work centered on a humanistic vision of education.

At Notre Dame, Morrell was a faculty member of the English and Africana studies departments and the director of the Center for Literacy Education in the Institute for Educational Initiatives (IEI), and he served five years as the College of Arts & Letters’ associate dean for the humanities and faculty development.

Morrell signing the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Book of Members at his induction ceremony in 2024.

Acclaim for Morrell’s work was widespread in academic circles. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest learned societies, in 2024, and he was also an elected member of the National Academy of Education and an elected fellow of the American Educational Research Association.

For the past decade, he has been included in the Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings, an annual listing published by Education Week that highlights academics with the greatest impact on educational practice and policy. Last year, he received the James R. Squire Award, a prestigious honor from the National Council of Teachers of English given only 31 times since 1967, for his long-lasting impact on English language arts education.

“Ernest lived his vocation with extraordinary generosity and purpose,” said Matthew Kloser, the Hackett Family Director of IEI. “His scholarship, leadership, and friendship shaped our institute in profound ways. He believed deeply in the power of education to transform lives, and he modeled that belief through his teaching, mentorship, and unwavering commitment to the common good.”

Morrell came to Notre Dame in 2017 after faculty appointments at Columbia University’s Teachers College; the University of California, Los Angeles; and Michigan State University. Before pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, Morrell worked as a high school English teacher in Oakland, California, an experience that grounded his scholarship in classroom practice and shaped his lifelong commitment to supporting educators and students, particularly those historically underserved by educational systems.

Revered as a teacher and an advisor, Morrell approached mentorship as a collaborative partnership, frequently publishing with his doctoral students to help launch their careers before they even defended their dissertations.

“Ernest cultivated a true ‘family tree’ of scholars whose work began with his guidance,” said Maria McKenna, a professor of the practice in Africana studies and education, schooling, and society. “His former doctoral students are a testament to his efficacy as a mentor, as he allowed them to quickly become his peers, continuing the work of critical education studies and pedagogy at institutions across the country. They learned his lessons well about the importance of building and strengthening communities that support equity and justice.”

He is the author of more than 100 articles, research briefs, and book chapters, and he wrote or edited 17 scholarly books, including Educating Harlem: A Century of Schooling and Resistance in a Black Community (Columbia, 2019), Stories from Inequity to Justice in Literacy Education: Confronting Digital Divides (Routledge, 2021), New Directions in Teaching English: Reimagining Teaching, Teacher Education and Research (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015) and Critical Media Pedagogy: Teaching for Achievement in City Schools (Teachers College Press, 2013), which was awarded Outstanding Academic Title by the American Library Association’s Choice magazine. His work has garnered more than 11,000 scholarly citations.

“Frederick Douglass said that ‘education means emancipation, it means life and liberty … It means the uplifting of the soul to the glorious light of truth.’ I can think of no one whose life better reflected those words,” said Nicole Stelle Garnett, the John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law. “Ernest was a truly exceptional scholar and a tireless advocate for policies that would benefit kids most in need of the light of learning. But, more importantly, he was a beautiful soul. His deep faith and love for his family, his friends and colleagues, and Our Lady’s University touched so many.”

Morrell is survived by his wife, Jodene Morrell, a teaching professor and associate director of the Center for Literacy Education; and their three sons, Skip, Antonio, and Tripp. 

A wake will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, at Kaniewski Funeral Home, 3545 N. Bendix Drive, South Bend. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame's campus, with Father Dowd presiding.

Condolences may be sent to the College of Arts & Letters Dean's Office, 100 O'Shaughnessy Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to literacy nonprofit LitWorld.

“Revolutionary Love,” a colloquium celebrating Morrell’s scholarship, will be held Tuesday, April 7, at the UCLA James West Alumni Center in Los Angeles. The event’s title references a quote from Morrell’s latest book, Critical English Education: Enduring Voices, New Perspectives, published last year with Nicole Mirra, Antero Garcia, Cati de los Rios, and Jamila Lyiscott.

“We want to be engaged in revolutionary love and practice with beautiful and brilliant minds,” Morrell and his co-authors wrote, “that are in front of us to do something that is eternal.”

Originally published by Josh Weinhold at al.nd.edu on February 06, 2026.

DeJeonge Reese (she/her) will join IRR as a short-term visiting artist, with her residency running from March 23rd to April 2nd. She is a visual artist who employs mixed media, textile and fiber art, and performance to delve into the complex narratives embedded within Black hair and culture—treating them as living vessels that carry history, memory, and identity across generations. She explores archival content including oral histories and family research using fibrous materials like burlap and found objects, to retell accounts of migration, labor and survival.

She holds degrees from Lincoln University of Pennsylvania and Moore College of Art and Design. Earlier last year, she exhibited at the Philadelphia Airport, was the Fibers/Textile Coordinator for the Arrowmont School’s Spring Pentaculum, and is a recipient of the Mural Arts Philadelphia Fellowship for Black Artists.

During her residency, DeJeonge will complete a commissioned work that will hang in the Sojourner Truth Commons, a quilt incorporating South Bend history and major landmarks. She will offer several workshop times to collaborate with artists exploring memory quilting during her two week visit to the University of Notre Dame, visit classes, and engage in artist talks with practitioners around campus.

Reach out to Aurea Hernández-Webster if you would like to arrange for DeJeonge to consult with you, or visit your class and with your students. Memory quilt workshop sessions will also be available (Date TBD). Connect for a chance to do a session in your class.

DeJeonge Reese Memory Quilt Workshop Description:
During this workshop, participants will explore how material and texture can embody both personal and collective stories. Through guided prompts and hands-on making, you’ll create a small quilt using layered materials such as scrap or found fabrics, a needle and thread, and a meaningful image you’ll integrate into the final piece. Images can be emailed in advance for DeJeonge to print onto heat transfer paper.

Save these dates during the residency:

March 24: Residency Welcome Reception | 300 O’Shaughnessy Hall, 5:30 - 7:00 pm

March 26: Artist Talk: DeJeonge Reese & Irvin Weathersby Jr. in conversation | 300 O’Shaughnessy Hall, 5:30 - 7:00 pm

April 2: Final Day of Residency | Installation Celebration | 300 O’Shaughnessy Hall, 5:30 - 7:00 pm

Quilt image titled, "Tignon Law" (2024)

"My work is rooted in lived experience, research, and my ongoing discovery of self. Through research, I connect facets of African American history with the present, using material to create narratives about how the past is intertwined with who I am and who we are as a people and culture."

--DeJeonge Reese

The work unfolds as a meditative act, inviting an extended, slow process of looking, sensing, and interpreting. Audience members may stumble upon a dancer by chance or follow their movement as they respond to an artwork—transforming observation into an immersive experience.

By integrating movement, stillness, and sonic interplay, Fernandes reimagines the Museum as a living, breathing space where art and dance converge, challenging how we see, experience, and interpret both art forms. The performance will invite audiences into an active, meditative process of seeing, experiencing, and engaging with art in new and transformative ways.

Brendan Fernandes is the 2025 artist-in-residence in the Notre Dame Initiative on Race and Resilience. The site-specific commissioned piece Moving Through is made possible through collaboration among, and support from the Initiative on Race and Resilience, the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, and the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art.

Brendan Fernandes (b. 1979, Nairobi, Kenya) is an internationally recognized Canadian artist working at the intersection of dance and visual arts. Rooted in collaboration and fostering solidarity, Fernandes’s projects take hybrid forms to address issues of race, queer culture, migration, protest, and other forms of collective movement. He is a graduate of the Whitney Independent Study Program (2007) and a recipient of a Robert Rauschenberg Fellowship (2014). In 2010, he was shortlisted for the Sobey Art Award and received a prestigious 2017 Canada Council New Chapters grant. Fernandes is also the recipient of the Platform Award (2024), the Artadia Award (2019), a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship (2020), and a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation grant (2019). His projects have been shown at the 2019 Whitney Biennial (New York); the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York); the Museum of Modern Art (New York); the Getty Museum (Los Angeles); the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa); MAC (Montreal), among a great many others. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art Theory and Practice at Northwestern University. Fernandes is represented by Monique Meloche Gallery in Chicago and Susan Inglett Gallery in New York. Recent and upcoming projects include performances and solo presentations at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation (St. Louis), MCA Denver, The Fabric Workshop (Philadelphia), and Prospect 6 (New Orleans).

Originally published at raclinmurphymuseum.nd.edu.

The University of Notre Dame’s Raclin Murphy Museum of Art and the Institute for Latino Studies (ILS) are pleased to present “Poets & Art with Brenda Cárdenas,” featuring the Poet Laureate of Wisconsin, who will give a talk and perform a selection of her art-inspired poems. The program will take place on Wednesday, September 24, at 5:30 p.m. at the Museum, to launch a joint initiative between the Museum and the ILS.

“ILS is thrilled that one of our flagship programs, Letras Latinas, is partnering with the Raclin Murphy Museum to bring Brenda Cárdenas to campus. We can’t seriously study the Latino experience in the United States without consideration of Latino contributions to the arts. The event with Ms. Cárdenas exemplifies the Institute’s ongoing commitment to the arts,” said Jason Ruiz, director of the Institute for Latino Studies.

“Poets & Art: Ekphrasis at the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art” is a multi-year initiative that emerged from conversations between Francisco Aragón, director of the ILS’s literary initiative, and Bridget Hoyt, the Museum’s Curator of Education for Academic Programs. “Bridget has been facilitating my class visits to the Museum for years. The opening of our new Museum inspired us to dream up this more ambitious collaboration, which Brenda’s visit inaugurates,” said Aragón, a poet, Letras Latinas director, and ILS faculty fellow.

"We are delighted to host and inspire Brenda Cárdenas's visit. This important partnership with ILS furthers the importance of the arts and sense of community across Notre Dame," said Joe Becherer, director of the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art.

In addition to her public presentation on Wednesday, Cárdenas will be Poet-in-Residence at the Museum on Thursday and Friday, studying and researching in the galleries to write new ekphrastic pieces. On Saturday, September 27, she will offer an ekphrastic writing workshop in the galleries for members of the South Bend community. Cárdenas will also spend time with students, including MFA candidates in the Creative Writing Program and undergraduate students in Aragón’s literature course. A PhD student from the English Department will conduct an oral history interview with her.

"Brenda Cárdenas's visit occurs in the context of Notre Dame's broader, institutional support of the arts through the Arts Initiative. We are delighted to join the other sponsors in supporting this imaginative, interdisciplinary project,” said Michael Schreffler, director of the Notre Dame Arts Initiative. Other campus sponsors include the Initiative on Race and Resilience, the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, and Somos ND, the campus-wide initiative.

In all, “Poets & Art: Ekphrasis at the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art” will showcase six poets in the next three years, each giving a public presentation at the Museum, offering a community workshop, and meeting with Notre Dame students. Nicaraguan American poet Adela Najarro will be the second poet in the series next March.

About the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art

With origins dating to 1875, the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art (formerly Snite Museum of Art) is one of the oldest and most highly regarded university art museums in America. Founded on the principle that art is essential to understanding individual, shared and diverse human experiences and beliefs, the Museum encourages close looking and critical thinking. Experiences with significant, original works of art are intended to stimulate inquiry, dialogue and wonder for audiences across the academy, the community and around the world—all in support of the University of Notre Dame’s Catholic mission. The renowned permanent collection contains more than 31,000 works that represent many cultures and periods of world art history. For more information, visit raclinmurphymuseum.nd.edu.

About Letras Latinas

Letras Latinas, the literary initiative at the Institute for Latino Studies (ILS), strives to enhance the visibility, appreciation, and study of Latino literature both on and off the campus of the University of Notre Dame. It emphasizes programs that support newer voices, foster a sense of community among writers, and place Latino writers in community spaces. Letras Latinas is a founding member of the Poetry Coalition, a national alliance working to promote the values poets bring to our culture and the important contribution poetry makes in the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds. Letras Latinas celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2024.

Media contact:
Francisco Aragon
Director, Letras Latinas
Institute for Latino Studies
University of Notre Dame
faragon@nd.edu
(574) 229-2933

Media contact:
Gina Costa
Communications Program Director
Raclin Murphy Museum of Art
gcosta@nd.edu
(574) 631-4720

Originally published by Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at raclinmurphymuseum.nd.edu on September 03, 2025.

Brendan Fernandes is completing a fall residency with IRR in collaboration with DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, and the Notre Dame Arts Initiative. For more informaiton about events featuring Brendan Fernandes, please check out the events page.

D'Souza, Aruna. "For South Asian Artists, Identity Doesn't Fit in a Box." The New York Times, 22 Aug. 2025.

Read the full article in The New York Times

Housed in the College of Arts & Letters, the Initiative on Race and Resilience (IRR) and the Institute for Latino Studies (ILS) are collaborating to provide grant funding for Notre Dame faculty and graduate students to advance their work in two interdisciplinary research themes — Race, Wealth, and Resilience and Multiracial Democracy and Resilience. 

“Academic communities have been talking about both issues for generations, but having a more substantive impact and improving the situation for either topic is really, really pressing,” said Mark Sanders, director of IRR and professor of English and Africana studies. 

IRR and ILS will invest in the inquiry around these two areas through research grants of up to $5,000, which are open to Notre Dame faculty members and graduate students across all colleges and schools.

Guided by the University’s commitment to defending the dignity of all humans and promoting a just society in which every person can flourish, the research themes also align with pillars of Notre Dame’s Strategic Framework and amplify the strength and impact of liberal arts research within the arts, humanities, and social sciences to answer the pressing issues in today’s society. 

Through the Multiracial Democracy and Resilience theme, researchers are invited to pursue projects that will examine ways in which multiracial and ethnic democracies — domestically or internationally — have dealt with systemic barriers that have prevented full societal participation. Grants will support projects that explore new systems, frameworks, and practices geared toward a more demographically pluralistic society.

The Race, Wealth, and Resilience theme will support research proposals that question and examine the historical role of race in the creation of U.S. policies, tax and penal codes, banking system, and overall wealth, and specifically how that has affected Black and Latino communities.

“We want to have an impact on how people think about the kind of democracy that we want to have,” Sanders said. “We also can't separate political access from economic power, so the racial wealth gap really speaks to a structural problem for participating relative to Latinx and Black communities.”

Each of the themes will have grant opportunities that will support either individual research efforts or combine similar ideas into working groups. By intentionally creating communities of scholars working on similar questions from different disciplinary perspectives, Sanders hopes to inspire collaboration that leads to bigger, bolder ideas.

Sanders and Luis Fraga — director of ILS and the Rev. Donald P. McNeill, C.S.C., Professor of Transformative Latino Leadership Joseph and Elizabeth Robbie Professor of Political Science — are hopeful that the interdisciplinary groups will also attract experts from outside Notre Dame who will give public lectures open to the campus and surrounding community, in addition to interacting with each working group. The hope is that the research will culminate in two conferences, where findings stemming from the papers will be presented and shared.

Given the themes’ direct connection to the University’s new initiatives on democracy and poverty, Sanders and Fraga see a significant opportunity to support social science research — but they also hope to support work in the arts, humanities, and other disciplines, as well.

“In a larger sense, the arts, literature, music, and all kinds of cultural expression can have an impact on how we think about structural barriers and how we address them,” Sanders said, “and the importance of overcoming them in our investment in having a country where people have access to resources so that they can flourish.”

This story is part of Notre Dame Global's series titled "Women Who Inspire."

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it’s impossible not to be inspired by stories of women whose work shapes communities and changes lives. Monalisa is one of those remarkable women. An international human rights lawyer, advocate, and educator, she has spent over a decade fighting for victims of human rights abuses worldwide. Her expertise spans war crimes, terrorism, gender-based violence, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking. However, what truly defines her work is how she bridges academia with real-world advocacy—especially in India.

Monalisa is the inaugural Practitioner in Residence at Notre Dame’s Institute for Social Concerns and Initiative on Race and Resilience, where she teaches "Human Rights Advocacy: The Blueprint." The course equips students with forward-thinking approaches to tackle complex societal issues, focusing on real-world applications of human rights advocacy.

"Justice isn’t just an idea—it’s the choices we make every day, the voices we uplift, and the systems we challenge or uphold," she shares. Her classroom is a space where difficult conversations happen, and students are equipped with strategic advocacy skills to address complex human rights challenges, including the use of AI and social media in combating child exploitation.

A graduate of Notre Dame Law School’s LL.M. in International Human Rights Law program, Monalisa has worked with international tribunals, NGOs, and legal aid organizations across multiple countries. Her research and advocacy focus on marginalized communities, particularly in India, where gender equity, discrimination, and access to education remain urgent concerns. "Growing up around systemic inequality, I couldn’t just look away. I wanted to understand why these structures exist—and more importantly, how they can be changed."

Her journey to Notre Dame was motivated by a passion for engaging with global perspectives while staying connected to the grassroots issues that first inspired her. “Notre Dame gave me the opportunity to do research that doesn’t just sit in journals but actually reaches communities and policymakers." She has contributed to projects analyzing legal frameworks affecting women’s rights in India, bringing attention to gaps in policy implementation, and advocating for meaningful reform.

Beyond academia, Monalisa co-founded the Kahee Institute, an organization dedicated to making workplaces and brands safer, more inclusive, and equitable. A central priority of Kahee is digital safety, particularly for children, pushing for policies that focus on protection in an increasingly tech-driven world.

What makes Monalisa’s story so compelling isn’t just her deep knowledge of human rights law—it’s her unwavering belief in change. "People ask if I get discouraged because change is slow. But I see change happening all the time. When a student tells me they want to pursue human rights law, when a policymaker listens, when a woman in a rural community can leave behind an abusive situation because of legal intervention or access a public scheme because the law serves them—these moments keep me going.”

Monalisa’s connection to India remains at the core of everything she does. Whether through research, teaching, or advocacy, her work always comes back to the people and issues that first inspired her journey. "India is complex. There’s incredible progress, yet deep-rooted challenges. But that’s what makes this work so important—it’s not just about critiquing; it’s about building something better." In a recent conversation, she reflected, "The law alone isn’t enough. We need to change narratives, challenge biases, and reimagine what justice looks like. That’s how real impact happens."

Monalisa stands as a powerful reminder of what it means to be both a thinker and a doer. She embodies Notre Dame’s mission—scholarship in service of justice, research in pursuit of real-world solutions. Her work doesn’t just add to academic discussions; it fuels movements, informs policies, and, most importantly, empowers people. And in a world that often underestimates the power of one determined woman, Monalisa is proving just how much of a difference one voice can make.

Originally published by Hayden Mascarenhas at global.nd.edu on March 10, 2025.

The application deadlines for both the Wilsey Distinguished Graduate Fellowship Program and the ND-IBM Tech Ethics Graduate Fellowship Program are fast approaching—March 16 at 11:59 PM EST.

These fellowships offer a unique opportunity to explore ethical issues in your research within a supportive, interdisciplinary community. If you're interested in joining this exciting initiative, we encourage you to apply.

Applications can be submitted through the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good. Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity!

Wilsey Distinguished Graduate Fellowship Program

ND-IBM Tech Ethics Graduate Fellowship Program

IRR Affiliate Research Panel Presentation

IRR graduate and faculty affiliates shared research endeavors exploring a range of socio and geopolitical topics relevant to the discourse about race today. The presentations by Professors Steven Alvarado, Joshua Lund, Victoria Hui, Bernard Forjwuor, and fourth-year Ph.D candidate Maura Kraemer covered an array of topics that brought to the forefront how complex current racialized lives are. Presentations explored the colonial social construction of race, examined how college students develop racial awareness at predominantly white educational institutions, demonstrated how white supremacy groups gained ground from 2016-20 in the U.S., and told of actions some communities were able to learn to repel them. Other presentations included detailed explanations as to why society should recognize the genocides of minorities in China’s communities, and there was a data-rich exploration of how neighborhood disadvantage may be an applicable replacement for race in the College admissions process.

“The Wiseman” offers space for reflection, social critique and artistic appreciation

Friday evening, at the screening of “The Wiseman”, Professor La Donna Forsgren led the discussion with filmmaker and senior Isaiah Hall (Africana Studies and FTT double major) to a packed crowd in Haggar Hall Auditorium. They discussed with great enthusiasm Hall’s directorial influences, the value of Black narratives, and the cause for activism in sharing this particular tale at Notre Dame. Hall, winner of this year’s Black Excellence Award, champions advocacy, and mentorship here on campus and in his volunteer work at a local South Bend middle school. Hall is at work on a new film project and is eager to continue his film studies in graduate school next year.