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Visit the Graduate School for admission information and the online application to the PhD program. Please note that only online applications are accepted. Any difficulties or special requests for paper applications should be addressed directly to the Graduate School.
Questions of a general nature relating to the Department of Romance Studies can be directed to the Graduate Field Assistant.
WELCOME|
The
Department of Romance Studies at Cornell University is home to a
most vibrant and distinguished doctoral program in Hispanic literatures,
with a longstanding tradition of top-notch scholarship and a dynamic
group of nationally and internationally recognized faculty members.
Taking advantage of the numerous opportunities for interdisciplinary
study and research available throughout the university, graduate
students are encouraged to develop their own individual interests
and disciplinary orientations in an open and ongoing dialogue with
members of the Department and of the Graduate Field of Romance Studies. Students can expect
to be exposed to a wide range of research areas, periods, critical
methods, and theoretical frameworks: from textual analysis and cultural
studies, psychoanalytic and critical social theory, to the study
of genre, gender, and sexuality; from the Spanish-Castilian Middle
Ages and Early Modern Studies to contemporary prose, poetry and
film in Galician or Catalan, from the Andes and the Southern Cone
to Mexico and the Latino/a presence in the USA; and from colonial
times to recent transatlantic trends.
Our graduate students engage in a flexible course of study based
on individual needs and experience rather than on general requirements.
The field structure and the special committee system are Cornell's
signature contributions to graduate education, resting on the backbone
of its faculty's international reputation for excellence in scholarship
and teaching. Cornell's flexibility relies upon a tradition of close
working relationships established between faculty and students,
including consultation with graduate students about prospective
courses for future semesters.
The graduate student's work is directed by a committee of faculty
members chosen by the student. As students advance in their programs,
their special committees will recommend work in related disciplines
and languages necessary to achieve the students’ goals in
their individually defined fields of study. Students are encouraged
to relate their fields of study to other disciplines, such as anthropology,
comparative literature, history, Latin American studies, linguistics,
music, philosophy, theater arts, or women's studies, to name only
a few popular options. This is encouraged through a minor field,
related to their research, but different from their major area of
interest. Overall, there is flexibility and individual attention
paid to each case.
Graduate students in Hispanic studies also have the opportunity
to take an active part in an extremely rich variety of special lectures,
conferences, symposia, concerts, and workshops. These events range
from guest lecturers of international stature, to locally-organized
symposia, to events planned around the special topic of the year
at the Society for the Humanities, to participation in the prestigious
School for Criticism and Theory summer seminars.
All students admitted to the program can expect to be able to conduct
research abroad, and to have Cornell support for their participation in
national and international conferences.
MEMBERS OF THE GRADUATE FIELD OF ROMANCE STUDIES AND OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ROMANCE STUDIES IN SPANISH |
Gerard Aching; Bruno Bosteels; David Cruz de Jesús, María Antonia Garcés; Patricia Keller; José Edmundo Paz-Soldán; Simone Pinet.
MEMBERS OF THE GRADUATE FIELD OF ROMANCE STUDIES (SPANISH) FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS |
Ross Brann (Department of Near Eastern Studies); Debra Castillo (Department of Comparative Literature; Program in Latin American Studies); Walter Cohen (Department
of Comparative Literature).
OTHER FACULTY RELATED
TO SPANISH |
Mary Pat Brady;
María Cristina García;
Davydd Greenwood;
Jonathan Monroe;
Cynthia Robinson;
Mary Roldán;
Vilma Santiago-Irizarry
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OUTLINE OF THE PH.D. PROGRAM|
Admission is based on an evaluation of the entire dossier of material
submitted by the student, which includes a personal statement, letters
of recommendation, writing sample, transcripts, GRE and, if pertinent,
TOEFL scores. Particular attention is paid to the student's self-presentation,
so care should be taken in writing the personal statement and in
choosing the essay sent as a writing sample.
Cornell's aid package is highly competitive nationally. All admitted
students are guaranteed a multi-year package that includes two years
of full fellowship, the opportunity for building a teaching portfolio
of a range of courses through teaching assistantships, and summer
research support.
ASSISTANTSHIPS
Students receive five years of full support. The first year of course work is covered by a Sage
Fellowship from the Graduate School, and students are expected to
take a full load of four courses per semester. The second year of
Sage Fellowship from the Graduate School is taken in the last year
of study, normally during the fourth or fifth year, when students
are writing their dissertation. During the second, third, and fourth years
of course work,
students receive support from teaching assistantships, which typically
entail teaching responsibilities of 15-20 hours per week teaching different levels of language
or introductory literature courses.
COURSEWORK AND SECOND FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
Students fulfill their graduate requirements by taking course work
in the Department of Romance Studies and in other departments at Cornell.
During the first two years, students plan a full load of courses
in their major and minor fields. The normal load is four courses
per semester (three for those holding teaching assistantships, in the second year).
In this two-year period, until they take the Qualifying Examination, all students are required to take the special 6000-level seminar
in Hispanic literature chosen for each semester. In addition, all
students must take the Language Methodology course to prepare for
their teaching assignments as TAs in their second year and, later,
the Teaching Writing seminar to prepare for teaching literature
courses. Students are expected to emphasize diversity and avoid
duplication of past work. In the summer following their first year,
students are encouraged to pursue related language study either
at Cornell or abroad and/or independent readings or research towards preparation for the Q exams.
The balance of courses, independent study, and thesis work is decided
upon by the student and the Special Committee.
Students will take their
General Examination in April of the second
year (fourth semester). After the Q exam, the student no longer is required to take the special 6000-level seminar in Hispanic literature (although they may choose to do so), but must still complete the 14 courses required of the program. Students typically dedicate one semester to the preparation
of their special A (Admission to Candidacy) Examination, but must take this exam on or before May of their third year. The A Examination consists of a meeting with the student's Special Committee, in which a polished paper and a prospectus of the dissertation are discussed. The fourth and fifth years are dedicated to the writing of the dissertation.
The student must also demonstrate or acquire proficiency in a second
foreign language (one that complements the student's course
of study) prior to taking the "A" exam. Proficiency
can be demonstrated through coursework or by written examination.
For a more detailed description of the Ph.D. Guidelines, click here.
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FINANCIAL SUPPORT|
All entering students receive generous fellowship support and summer funding. Currently, support is guaranteed by the graduate school for five years. This guarantee includes two years of fellowship and three or more years of teaching assistantships. These provide full tuition awards and, in addition, offer academic year stipends and student health insurance coverage. Students receive additional funding for the summer. Travel money and grants are also available to fund research projects and conference travel.
Prospective graduate students are encouraged to consider applying for outside fellowships. Click the following link for information about the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship
ENTRALOGOS|
Entralogos
is devoted to providing the Cornell community with an intellectual
forum for the discussion of issues in Romance literatures and linguistics.
We seek to provide graduate students as well as faculty and visiting
scholars the opportunity to share their work with a wider audience.
To this end, we hold a biennial graduate student conference.
Past conferences have dealt with topics such as machines and machinations (2009), textual visions
(2003), literature and surveillance (2002), and journeys, arrivals
and their aftermath (2001).
Professors Howard Bloch (Yale), Gonzalo Navajas (UC, Irvine), Anthony Geist (U Washington), Georges Van Den Abbeele
(UC, Davis), Giancarlo Lombardi (CUNY), Jeffrey Schnapp (Stanford),
Ruth Ben-Ghiat (NYU), Thomas Trezise (Princeton) and our own
Ciriaco Moron Arroyo have been among the distinguished keynote speakers.
Students from institutions such as Rutgers, Harvard, Princeton,
Columbia, NYU, Yale, California State U, Lehigh U, Toronto, Stony
Brook, and others have shared their intellectual inquiries in this forum.
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PROFILES|
RAFAEL ACOSTA MORALES
Latin and American literature in the 20th Century. The focus of my research is most particularly in the literary production of the Area that links Mexico and the United States, as well as the incorporation of spatial notions into discourse, such as border or territories.
FERNANDO AGUIRRE-PÉREZ
KAREN BENEZRA
LACIE BUCKWALTER
EDWARD CURRAN
DANIEL DUQUE
Early Modern Spanish literature and
Colonial Latin American Literature. I am particularly interested
in the study of the literature of the conquest of America, the relations
between the New World and the Metropolis, and the chronicles related
to the history of the Spanish Empire in Europe.
EMILY EATON
Modern peninsular literature with a focus on the post-Civil war novel.
JUAN MANUEL ESPINOSA
Twentieth- and twenty-first century Latin American literature and culture, with a particular interest in the Caribbean Antilles and Caribbean Basin; Intellectual history, history of the book and media, comparative modernities.
OMAR FIGUEREDO
MELISSA FIGUEROA
MOZELLE FOREMAN
FEDERICO FRIDMAN
My research focuses on secret societies in contemporary Latin American literature. In the literary production of groups of writers from Argentina and Mexico (among them Macedonio Fernández, Borges, O. Paz and Bolaño), I examine the depiction of closed entities such as secret societies, initiatory and mystic communities, groups of conspirators, and heretical sects. I also analyze the characteristic manifestations of such communities evident in these authors' literary production: rituals of initiation, the secret, the sacred and sacrifice. This research has led me to an analysis of the groups’ internal organization and connections to other groups of intellectuals, and to society at large, to determine if these groups of writers embodied the logic of closed communities depicted in their literary work. As I analyze the dynamic relationship that seems to emerge between the formation of these groups and the representation of closed communities in their literary production, I trace the exchange of ideas that existed between these groups and members of the Collège de Sociologie. By looking at the traces left by this interchange, I attempt to determine if this triangular intellectual connection among intellectual elites from Mexico, Argentina, and the Collège de Sociologie affected the formation and dynamic of the Latin American intellectual elites and the depiction of closed and secret communities in their literary production.
RODRIGO FUENTES
GUSTAVO FURTADO
ARMANDO GARCÍA
Transnational Américas Studies, with an emphasis on race, sex, gender and political violence in the 20th century; Comparative Latina/o and Latin American theatre, narrative, and performance; Borders, Migrants and Indigeneities in las Américas
PABLO GARCÍA-PIÑAR
RODRIGO HASBÚN
DAFNA HORNIKE
Subjectivities and identities in contemporary Spanish American and Luso-Brazilian literature as viewed through the lens of gender and feminist theories, as well as travel and nomadic narratives.
CRISTINA HUNG
ERIKA LIEBEL
GUSTAVO LLARULL
JULIE MANN
Twentieth-century Spanish poetry with a special interest in mysticism, gender issues, silence and hunger.
BECQUER MEDAK-SEGUIN
GERALDINE MONTERROSO
PEDRO OLIVEROS
SAMANTA ORDOÑEZ ROBLES
RAFAEL OROZCO
PABLO PÉREZ-WILSON
Nineteenth-century southern cone state constitution; comparative imperial history; theories of progress.
CHRISTINA SOTO VAN DER PLAS
FÉLIX VÁZQUEZ-RIVERA
FACUNDO VEGA
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PLACEMENT HISTORY|
Over the last decade, graduates in Hispanic Studies from
the Department of Romance Studies at Cornell University obtained
teaching positions in the following four-year colleges and universities:
Bard College
Binghamton University
Bringham Young University
Bucknell University
California State University, Santa Clara
Chapman University
Clemson University
Colgate University
College of Notre Dame
Denison University
Florida State University
Fordham University
Georgia State University
Hamilton College
Harvard University
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Hunter College
Marietta College
Miami University
Middlebury College
North Carolina State University
Oberlin College
Penn State University
Rutgers University
Smith College
Transylvania University
Trinity College, Rome
University of Alberta
University of Kentucky
University of Louisville
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
University of Minnesota
University of New Mexico
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
University of Oregon
University of South Carolina
University of Toronto
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Virginia Tech
Wesleyan College
Wheaton College
Whitman College (Washington)
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