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Schedule

2021 Rockford University
Online Undergraduate Student Humanities Conference
“Words, Ideas, & Cultures”
Saturday, April 24, 2021
(8 a.m. – 6 p.m. CENTRAL TIME)

*Please note that all times are Central Time.

8:00 to 8:10 am: Opening of the Conference and Introduction of the Keynote Speaker by:

• Dr. Marilén Loyola, Associate Professor of Spanish, Chair of the Languages, Philosophy, Religion, and Cultures Department

• Dr. Yoandy Cabrera, Assistant Professor of Spanish and Classics

8:10 to 9:00 am: Keynote Speaker Presentation

Dr. Hilaire Kallendorf

Professor of Hispanic and Religious Studies

Texas A&M University

Title: “What Do Werewolves Have to Do with Free Will?”

Abstract: Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616), one of the most important Hispanic writers of all time, uses a witch / female werewolf that we can see connected to another of his enchantresses. Previous studies of the story told by Rutilio about his aerial journey and killing of the witch / female werewolf (Persiles I.8) have focused on recognized folkloric sources used by Cervantes. But one of the things which has not been explored sufficiently is the importance of the gender of this female werewolf and her possible relation to the Malleus maleficarum by Henricus Institoris and Jacobus Sprenger (1486), the most significant European text promoting the witch-hunt. This interpretation offers the advantage of tracing connections with another Cervantine witch / enchantress, Cañizares, a correspondence which helps us form a more coherent vision of the Cervantine corpus. Additionally, the return by Cervantes to this thematic material shows a recurring obsession with the perennial mystery of free will. For postmodern cultural critics, this episode presents an unparalleled opportunity to deconstruct the human / animal binary. Finally, reading this episode through this filter allows us to restore it to its original, larger context of skepticism and uncertainty in which treatise writers waged wars with words in an effort to control the meaning of alleged supernatural phenomena.

9:10 to 10 am: PANEL 1. “To Join or Not To Join: The United States Debates Membership in the League of Nations, 1919”

Moderator: Dr. Catherine Forslund

• In favor of joining the League: John Terry and Bryce Boeselager (Rockford University)

• Against joining the League: Ryan Callahan and Garrett Wallace (Rockford University)

10:05 to 11:00 am: PANEL 2. “Ways of Reading in Education, Literature, and Marketing”

Moderator: Dr. Stephanie Quinn

• Melody Lipke (Concordia University Chicago): “Emily Dickinson: American Words and Ideas.”

• Emily Whittaker (Rockford University): “STEM & STEAM: Adding Art to Education.”

• Crystal Behling (Rockford University): “Marketing Mishaps: Failures of Rhetoric and Representation in Advertising.”

11:10 am to 12 pm: PANEL 3. Roundtable Discussion: “Behind the Scenes with RUPA’s spring musical, Legally Blonde”

Moderator: Dr. Timm Adams

• Panelists:

Charlie Rasmann (RU ’08), Director
Marissa Ott (Rockford University), Asst. Choreographer
Elizabeth Dutch (Rockford University), plays Elle Woods
Kelly De Angioletti (Rockford University), plays Enid Hoopes
Robert Strader (Rockford University), plays multiple characters

12 to 12:30 pm: Lunch & Student Art Showcase

The Student Art Showcase is organized by Dr. Christopher Sisson and the Department of Art and Art History at Rockford University.

12:30 to 1:45 pm: PANEL 4. “Legends, Stereotypes, and Myths in Latin America”

Moderator: Daisy Melesio (Rockford University Student)

• Bevan Fogdall (Colby College): “Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona: Combating Genocide Denial through Horror Narrative.”

• Alyssa Giardono (Rockford University): “The Relationship Between Greek Mythology and Los Desaparecidos Today.”

• Annalisa Maturo (Sapienza Università di Roma): “La reescritura bíblica en la novela mexicana contemporánea: El Evangelio de Lucas Gavilán de Vicente Leñero.”

• Ximena Robles Amerlinck (Universidad IBERO. Campus Ciudad de México): “Estereotipos de clase y violencia en el cine mexicano.”

1:50 to 2:50 pm: PANEL 5. “Identities in the Caribbean Cultures”

Moderator: Dr. Yoandy Cabrera

• Casey Sheetz (Rockford University): “Frantz Fanon’s Ideas in Black Skin, White Masks Demonstrated by Characters in Maryse Condé’s I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem.”

• Jessica Pequeno Mendoza (Rockford University): “Identidad bicultural hispano-estadounidense presente en la música del siglo XXI.”

• Yaily Gonzalez Lopez (Hunter College, CUNY): “Ignacio Sarachaga: indicios socavados del teatro bufo cubano en el proceso de identidad nacional.”

3:00 to 4:10 pm: PANEL 6. “Feminine and Homoerotic Hispanic Issues”

Moderator: Dr. Marilén Loyola

• Giovanna Maria Canu (Universidad Ca’ Foscari de Venecia): “La enfermedad y la sexualidad. Un recorrido en dos obras de Marta Sanz.”

• Tiziana Toriello (Sapienza Università di Roma): “La violencia en la narrativa femenina guatemalteca de la posguerra: analizando Buenas costumbres de Denise Phé-Funchal.”

• Clarissa Strolighi (Sapienza Università di Roma): “La literatura de Luis Zapata contra el estereotipo homosexual en México.”

• Rian McGraw (Rockford University): “The (Religious) Politics of Rights: Testimonials from the LGBTQ+ Communities in Argentina and Mexico.”

4:15 to 5:10 pm: PANEL 7. “Existentialism and COVID-19”

Moderator: Dr. Matthew Flamm

• Jacob Licklider (Rockford University): “Existential Absurdity in the Age of COVID-19.”

• Stephanie Prchal (Rockford University): “Existentialism and Moral Responsibility in the Age of COVID-19.”

• Elina Wagner (Rockford University): “Existential Freedom in the Age of COVID-19.”

5:20 to 6:00 pm: Poetry Reading

Organized by Dr. Jennifer Rea and Dr. Kristin Ravel.

6:00-6:10 pm: Concluding Remarks

Dr. Jennifer Langworthy. Dean, College of Arts and Humanities at Rockford University

Dr. Marilén Loyola, Associate Professor of Spanish, and Chair of the Languages, Philosophy, Religion, and Cultures Department