The current Romance Languages Graduate Student Organization has reached the end of its service year, and as such, it is time to say goodbye. Since life is all memory, here is a little recap of a very prolific year: 

During our Fall semester, we had the pleasure to organize and engage in rigorous, creative, groundbreaking scholarship with the members of our department during the Romance Languages Colloquium. There were a total of four presentations: 

"On Afropessimism and Afrofuturism: The Black “Boogeymen” of Childish Gambino and Ghali” by Dr. Lisa Dolasinski, Senior Lecturer and Italian Language Supervisor;  

“Between the explicit and the abstract: the dialectical memory in art regarding the Argentinian dictatorship” by Daniela Hernández, second-year Master’s student in Hispanic Studies;  

“Rhizomes of Resistance: Enslaved Black Women and Community in Dahlma Llanos Figueroa’s A Woman of Endurance” by Yasmin Siqueira, second-year Master’s student in Romance Languages;  

As well as a special guest lecture: “From Page to Screen: Exploring the Dominican Dream, Identity, Translation, and Film” by Miguel Yarull, Dominican author and screenwriter.  

During the Spring semester, all our efforts were directed towards bringing back the 6th Crossroads Graduate Student Conference! It took place at the University of Georgia during February 20th and 21st. With attendees from over 10 universities and panels spanning across 14 fields of study, the interdisciplinary conference was a space of connection, discussion and sharing of rigorous academic scholarship. It featured keynote talks by Dr. Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes, Dr. Grant Armstrong, and Dr. Johanna Montlouis-Gabriel. Our very own Dr. Maureen DeNino also led an Archival Research Workshop on methods and theoretical frameworks for approaching digitized archives and libraries. Thank you for participating, and we hope our paths cross again at the next Crossroads!  

Last but not least

Over the course of the 2025-2026 academic year, we were happy to organize five Happy Hours, which were part of our efforts towards building community, creating connections and getting to know more about Athens! Our graduate cohort got to engage in local experiences in places like Manhattan Cafe, Creature Comforts, Little Kings, Georgia Theatre and El Paso.  

All of this wouldn’t be possible without the continued support of our Head of Department, Dr. Dana Bultman, and the amazing faculty, who keep teaching us what a human, collaborative, transdisciplinary approach to academia can look like, by setting the standards high. It was a pleasure to serve our community as part of the GSO this year, and we’re thrilled to hand over the reins of the organization to our next cohort! 

We hope everyone has a lovely summer! 

2026 GSO Team: 

Fábio Mariano, President;  

Luana Santos and Fábio Passos, Event Managers;  

Elisa Braga, Bookkeeper;  

Michel Soares do Carmo, Elder.