Congratulations to LLAC Graduate Students

Please join us in congratulating the below graduate students in Languages, Literatures and Cultures, as we celebrate their successful milestones. 

On June 26, 2020, MA student (German) supervised by Martin Wagner, Jennifer Heidebrecht, was successful in her thesis defence. Jennifer’s thesis is titled 12 Degrees of Alienation: A Socio-Political Exploration of Hanns Eisler's Use of the Twelve-Tone Method during Exile (1938-1948) and deals with the Austrian composer’s exile in the Unites States and his return to the dodecaphonic model. We commend Jennifer and Dr. Wagner, and we are grateful to examiners Jan Sueselbeck and Trevor Stark, and to Neutral Chair Mary O’Brien. Gut gemacht!

 

On June 25, 2020, another MA student (Transcultural Studies) Annika Gilgen successfully defended her thesis The Travels of Nellie Bly and Emma Vely in the Context of Women's Movement, Colonialism and Female Identity, an exploration of the travel writings produced by two authors engaged in the women’s movement at the beginning of the 20^th century. We applaud Annika and supervisor Martin Wagner, and express our gratitude to Jan Sueselbeck and Ervin Makalaj (examiners), and to Mary O’Brien (Neutral Chair). Herzliche Glückwünsche!

 

On June 17, 2020, PhD student (French) Ganna Pletnyova successfully defended her thesis Idéologies linguistiques à L’Est de l’Ukraine à la suite du conflit russo-ukrainien de 2014 : Représentations sociolinguistiques et choix de code intergroupes dans la ville de Kharkiv., which examines the ways in which Ukrainians carry out their language choice. Our heartiest congratulations go to Ganna and supervisor Ozouf Amedegnato, and our thanks to Elena Bratishenko and Rahat Zaidi (supervisory committee members), to Darin Flynn and Elisabeth Le (examiners) and to Cheryl Dueck (Neutral Chair). Earlier this year, Ganna received the Taylor Institute Teaching Award (Graduate Assistant).  Поздравляем! Félicitations! 

 

On May 27, 2020, MA student (Applied Linguistics) Abigail Williams successfully defended her thesis In the space between languages, translanguaging practices and perceptions in the university Spanish classroom, which examines the ways in which university students and teachers of Spanish engage with other languages. Our heartiest congratulations go to Abigail and supervisor Angela George, and our thanks to Mary O’Brien and Roswita Dressler (examiners), and to Martin Wagner (Neutral Chair). Congratulations Abigail!

 

On May 22, 2020, PhD Student (Transcultural Studies) Nella Darbouze-Bonyème passed her Oral Field of Studies Examination. Nella’s written and oral exams centre on race, slavery, and postcolonialism; narrative theory; and European and North American revenge fiction. We thank our colleagues for supporting Nella towards this important accomplishment: Martin Wagner (Supervisor), Karen Bourrier and Mary Nyquist (Supervisory Committee Members), Mushegh Asatryan and Jewel Spangler (Examiners); and Mary O’Brien (Neutral Chair). Way to go Nella!

 

On May 21, 2020, PhD student (Applied Linguistics) Alba Fano Trabanco passed her Oral Field of Studies Examination. Alba’s written and oral FoS exams focus on contemplative pedagogy; the L2 learner’s inner world; and the L2 teacher’s inner world and interaction with the L2 learner. We express our gratitude to our colleagues for their work with Alba towards her milestone: Mary O’Brien (Supervisor); Angela George (Co-Supervisor); Veronika Bohac-Clarke and Roswita Dressler (Supervisory Committee Members); Rachel Friedman and Maren Aukerman (Examiners); Cornelia Burian and Mushegh Asatryan (Neutral Chairs). Great job Alba!