OSU Languages and Literatures

Big thanks to LASA, HSA, and all the organizations who made the 2nd annual Día de mu***os celebration a huge success!!

Happening now on the steps of Edmon Low Library join us for the Day of the Dead celebration, 6 to 9.

Find about opportunities for language scholarships through the Critical Languages and Boren programs on Wednesday, 10/9 at 2:00 pm in GU 104, the Language Learning Center.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Prof. John Deveny. Prof. Deveny joined the Oklahoma State University faculty in 1971 and served until his retirement in 2017 for a total of 46 years, making him among the longest-serving professors in OSU history. He was at times interim department head, Spanish section coordinator, director of graduate studies, coordinator of the English Language Institute, and managing editor for Discurso literario, a journal published by the Department in the 1980s. He became involved in distance learning early in his career and was among the first to work in computer assisted learning, eventually developing our first online classes. He was a dedicated teacher and taught three generations of OSU students. He was also a generous and helpful colleague. He will be very much missed.

John Joseph Deveny Jr. Obituary 2024 - Dighton Marler Funeral Home View John Joseph Deveny Jr.'s obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

It's great to see Prof. Carol Ready's research featured.

Ready, Foss collaborate on research of Oklahoma’s Latinx people - Oklahoma State University Dr. Sarah Foss, assistant professor in the Department of History, and Dr. Carol Ready, assistant professor of Spanish and linguistics in the Department of Languages and Literatures, are working together on research projects to create an archive of the history and linguistic diversity of Latinx commu...

If you're near Gundersen this afternoon, stop by our student reception, GU 104, 2-4

We are fortunate to be able to offer Biblical Hebrew again this year.

Not only has our incredible Dr. Armstrong recently published a fascinating article in The Conversation about Job, he's also teaching a language course over Biblical Hebrew. You can still sign up for the course, if interested!

Check out the link to read his publication!
https://theconversation.com/the-biblical-character-who-goes-down-the-rabbit-hole-into-an-alternate-reality-just-like-alice-in-wonderland-227528

Thank you to everyone who came to today's Languages and Literatures Ice Cream Social. It was great to meet so many incoming students with an interest in language.

Congratulations to the winners of the Earth Day Video contest organized by members of our chapter of Sigma Delta Pi and Stillwater High School. It's great to see this kind of collaboration.

Thank you, Oklahoma State University College of Arts and Sciences and Inside OSU for pointing out the great work the ASL Club does! We are so proud of our ASL faculty and students and their work with the Deaf community of Oklahoma

ASL Club The Oklahoma State ASL (American Sign Language) Club was founded in 2004 as a way to bring the hearing and deaf communities together. The club holds several silent events a month where members are able to practice their signing and learn more about deaf culture. Inside OSU's Meghan Robinson attended...

We are excited to get a new dean and a new colleague in French!

We're thrilled to welcome Dr. Melinda Cro as the next dean of the College of Arts and Sciences!

Dr. Cro will begin her tenure as dean in July and comes to Stillwater after serving as the assistant dean of student success, engagement and undergraduate studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at Kansas State University.

Read more about Dr. Cro and her vision for the future of CAS at the link below.

https://buff.ly/4ddkuz8

Oklahoma State University OSU Foundation Oklahoma State University Alumni Association

One of our most exciting areas of growth has been ASL. We have a very active and dyanic group of faculty working in this area. We are looking for a Lecturer of American Sign Language to start in August:

Apply - Interfolio

Congratulations to Jaime Gutierrez, a Spanish/Education major who has been awarded a Fulbright Grant to teach English in Galicia, Spain next year! This is an extremely prestigious grant and we are very excited for him.

Congratulations to Logan Evans who is featured in the O'Colly this week!

OSU professor takes classroom lessons to new level with ASL Logan Evans' mindset changed forever in an OSU classroom.

Two big events this week: Fulbright information session Tuesday at 3:30 and a medical career event for language students on Thursday at 7:30 pm. Both are in the Language Learning Center, GU 104.

Columbian-born professor brings relatability to his classes With a wide smile and cheerful “Hola, cómo estás?" assistant professor Juan Carlos Rozo happily greets his classes.

Interested in using your language skills in your career? Stop by the Language Learning Center, GU 104 this Thursday, 2/15 at 5:00 pm. Representatives from ISN, a global recruiting firm, will be on hand to answer questions. They are looking for people with language skills.

Congratulations to Carol Ready who has been awarded a HAD grant for her project, Spanish in Rural Oklahoma! Professor Ready plans to interview Spanish speakers throughout rural Oklahoma in order to develop a digital repository of the interviews. She plans to examine ways in which Spanish-speakers in rural Oklahoma introduce new ways of using language as a result of the contact between Spanish and English, and how they use language to participate in society with a goal of understanding their linguistic and language educational needs.

If you're taking Spanish 1713, 1813, or 2713, the Spanish Club is hosting a study night in the Language Learning Center, GU 104 on Thursday, December 7 from 5-8. I am told there will be snacks. Bring your questions.

A big thank-you to everyone who donated to the Brian Ward Scholarship. We blew right past our goal of $5000. With the money we raised online and some checks that came in, we made it to 140% of what we hoped to raise with $7000. This money will go into an endowment that will produce money long into the future -- and after the Japanese monarchy and the Catholic Church, universities are some of the oldest institutions on the planet, so this could be a very long time. This will help a lot of students. We are very grateful for so much support.

Finally, we hear from Jackie Harsha. She graduated in 2023 with majors in Spanish, Geospatial Science Information Systems, and Geography. She was also officially a space cadet as part of the first cohort of Space Force cadets in OSU's ROTC program. She was named an Outstanding Senior by the alumni association, a Senior of Signifance, and she was the College or Arts and Sciences Orange Gown graduate in May 2023, which means she led the procession as our top graduate. She spent a semester in Granada and did an Honors College capstone on the mingling of Christians, Muslims, and Jews in Al Andalus in the middle ages in Iberia (Spain only existed as a concept at this time, not yet a state). She is currently teaching middle school in Edmond as she waits for orders to report to Space Force.

Today is the last day our campaign. We have surpassed our goal, but that only means the endowment will generate more scholarship in the future. We are incredibly grateful for so much support.
https://philanthropete.osugiving.com/project/39001

"My experience studying abroad in Granada, Spain taught me irreplaceable lessons on culture, adaptability, and language. Since graduating with an honors Spanish degree in Spring 2023 I have gone on to be a High School Spanish teacher and am passing on what I have learned."

Our minors develop useful language skills, too. Reagan Page ended up using her Russian in Spain after graduating in 2022.

Just one day left in the campaign! https://philanthropete.osugiving.com/project/39001

"Russian made not be as wildly used as Spanish, but there are still over 260 million people who use it worldwide. While many of those people are from Russia, there are also a lot of people in Central Asia and Eastern Europe who know it as well. Right after graduation (Summer 2022) my friends and I went to Europe, starting in Spain. I was expecting to start using Spanish, but the first language I used there was Russian. There was a Ukrainian refugee on the metro speaking and trying to ask for help, but no one recognized what she was saying. I recognized that she was speaking Ukrainian (since Russian and Ukrainian are quite similar) and asked (in Russian) if she spoke Russian, since many Ukrainians do. She said yes and I proceeded to help her try to find out how to get to the Consulate on the metro and bus system. That said, it was quite difficult since I had never been on the Barcelona metro at that point, as it was our first ride off the plane, but she at least got some help instead of no one knowing what she was saying. She wasn’t alone, and that’s the power of language learning, especially those that aren’t that popular.

I also currently work in immigration law, and while Spanish is again the most common, I’ve worked with many Russian speakers who love to know that someone knows a language that they do and about the region that they are from."

Today we hear from Ariana Sagastizado, who graduated in 2016. As a student she was an ambassador for study abroad and got a lot of practice talking to Spanish classes about their study abroad options. She became a pretty good public speaker as a result. After some time in Teach for America she began a career in public health. She was in Oaxaca recently.

Thanks everyone's generous donations we are now well past our goal for this campaign. Everything extra will generate more scholarship money in perpetuity. Just two days left in the campaign. https://philanthropete.osugiving.com/project/39001

"My name is Ariana Sagastizado and I graduated from OSU in 2016 with a Bachelors in Spanish and a Bachelors in Sociology. I now live in Los Angeles, where I work as an innovation consultant at one of the largest healthcare systems in the country. I always knew I wanted to speak another language but after stepping on campus over 10 years ago, I am forever grateful that I invested in myself and my future by learning Spanish. It has changed my life in such a meaningful way and I’m utterly grateful for the wonderful professors I had that taught me. From translating for Spanish speaking students in Oklahoma to having robust conversations about the history of pottery in Oaxaca to learning about afro-Cuban religion in Havana, Spanish has afforded me a life filled with rich experiences, new friendships, and beautiful memories. Thank you to the wonderful Spanish department at OSU for giving me the foundation I needed to connect to another world with language."

If you've studied Spanish at OSU in the last 20 years, you've probably had class or tertulia with Prof. Matthew O'Neill. (And yes, he did just get his 20-year pin from OSU.) He's done more than anyone I know to make it possible to really live a language right on campus.

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far! Today we reached our goal of $5000 for this campaign, but every dollar beyond that amount will increase the endowment. Just three days to go... https://philanthropete.osugiving.com/project/39001

Prof. Matthew ONeill