Chair's Welcome Words

Welcome to the University of Virginia’s Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. The University is strongly committed to excellence in the study of literatures, cultures, and languages. In the most recent national rankings, the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese was ranked among the top five programs in the United States.

The Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese confers Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Spanish, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Italian, and Bachelor’s degrees in Portuguese. Our innovative courses and curricula prepare undergraduates and graduates for critical thinking and empower students with great employment flexibility. The department’s philosophy emphasizes extensive faculty-student contact outside the classroom. Over the last ten years, our doctoral graduates in Spanish have succeeded on the academic job market, obtaining excellent positions in their fields of specialization.

Our faculty’s expertise encompasses a broad range spanning Peninsular literature from the medieval to the modern periods; Latin American literature from colonial times to the present; Portuguese and Brazilian literature; Spanish and Latin American cinema; Hispanic women’s writing; Spanish and Latin-American culture; Hispanic linguistics; Italian literature from the medieval to the modern periods, including Italian cinema, cultural studies, and the use of technology in the humanities. In addition, each year the Department hosts a distinguished visiting professor. Recent visitors include Robin Fiddian (Oxford), Konrad Eisenbickler (Toronto), Diamela Eltit (Chile), and Roger Wright (Liverpool). This spring (2009) we will host Professor Leonardo Romero Tobar (Zaragoza) and in the fall of 2009, Professor Brendan Dooley (Bremen). During the past three years our creative writing workshop in Spanish for undergraduates has featured Mempo Giardinelli (Argentina, workshop coordinator), Antonio Skármeta (Chile), Laura Freixas (Spain), Pía Barros (Chile), and Rosa Montero (Spain).

We continue to award competitive graduate fellowships to attract the best students to our programs, and we are determined to maintain the University’s tradition of excellence in both instruction and research.

Our courses are rigorous, but our students can count on our faculty to help them achieve their educational and professional goals. We welcome all prospective and new students to our classes, and to the University’s community of students and scholars.

Sincerely,

María-Inés Lagos
Professor of Spanish