Department Archives: Modern Languages and Literatures

Eight Russian Language program students from the University of Central Florida visited Sochi, Russia for the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students. The festival, a nine-day program covering world politics, economics, and advances in science, sports, and more, is the largest event for international youth cooperation. This year’s event brought together more than 20,000 […]

Six College of Arts & Humanities faculty members were among those honored with the inaugural UCF Luminary Award, designed to shine a light on exceptional faculty whose work is advancing their discipline and making a difference. The 2017 recipients from the arts and humanities include Keith Folse, Professor in the Department of Modern Languages and […]

Kerry Purmensky and Florin Mihai of UCF’s Department of Modern Languages and Literatures have received a 5-year, $2.6 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition. Purmensky and Mihai are co-principal investigators with Joyce Nutta of UCF’s College of Education and Human Performance. Lisa Nalbone, of the Spanish M.A. […]

Dr. Alla Kourova, Associate Professor of Russian and TESOL at the College of Arts and Humanities has been awarded a STARTALK grant for the third year in a row. Dr. Kourova’s proposal, “Preparation of a Business Trip to Russia” has been selected for funding as part of the STARTALK 2017 program. STARTALK’s mission is to […]

Russian immersion student Julia Rosengren is looking forward to the growth of languages and fluency at UCF through fellow student participation and her recent generous gift to the College of Arts and Humanities. After visiting Moscow, Rosengren became infatuated with the country and was eager to learn more, which led to her participation in STARTALK, […]

by Dr. Karl-Heinrich Barsch Dr. Karl-Heinrich Barsch remembers student Douglas Rudy and tells of the impact Douglas had on the lives around him. Dr. Barsch retired from UCF in 2006 and is a professor emeritus. I first met Douglas Rudy when I was the French professor who directed the UCF Intensive French Summer Study in […]

Dr. Geri Smith’s translation, The Book of the Mutability of Fortune, is currently featured as the Translation of the Month on the Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index website: http://inpress.lib.uiowa.edu/feminae/MonthTranslation.aspx The book is a very important resource for students learning about Christine de Pizan, literary history, medieval historiography, and court culture. Dr. Smith’s deep knowledge […]

American Council of Teachers of Russian, a division of the American Councils for International Education, has named UCF student Michael Martinez as a 2017 Post-Secondary Russian Scholar Laureate. Martinez is the first student from UCF to win the award. The award is given to students for “an unfailing devotion and passion for Russian language literature […]

Last March the Journey Cuba Study Abroad class, led by Professors Anne Prucha and Kacie Tartt, traveled to Cuba. During the week-long trip, the group of eight students and two faculty members visited the cities of Havana, Cojimar, and Viñales, and kept journals of their daily learning experiences, not as tourists, but as students immersed […]

Spanish and French Professors Rita De Luca Guerriero, Marie Leticée, Amelia Lyons, Anne Prucha, and Kacie Tartt have come together to create the UCF-Hillcrest Foreign Language Club. Starting Spring 2015, this partnership has allowed UCF and Hillcrest Elementary school students to practice and refine their Spanish and French language skills together while engaged in academic […]