Recipient Profile

E-mail: dfische3@nd.edu

Language: Spanish

Location of Study: Lima, Peru

Program of Study: ECELA Spanish Language School

Sponsors: Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures, the College of Arts and Letters, and Kellogg Institute For International Studies

Blog URL: http://sites.nd.edu/sla2019/author/dfische3/

 

Pre-departure

A brief personal bio: 

I research indigenous kinship structures in colonial Latin America, focusing on the “ayllus” of Peru. I graduated from Wesleyan University with a major in Social Studies, and I received a Master’s Degree in History from Southern Connecticut State University. Currently at Notre Dame, I study with Dr. Karen Graubart in the History Department.

Why this summer language abroad opportunity is important to me:

Although my Spanish language abilities have improved due to study and practice since I arrived at Notre Dame, the Summer Language Abroad Grant will help me bring my reading and speaking abilities to the levels required for my professional goals. In my career, I will need to be able to quickly read early modern and current texts in Spanish, attend Spanish-language conference presentations, and conduct extensive research in Spanish-speaking countries. Since arriving at Notre Dame, I’ve challenged myself by taking a graduate-level Spanish class and a graduate-level seminar in Spanish paleography. By immersing myself in the language this summer, I hope to further improve my comprehension and speed when I work with Spanish-language materials. I plan to return from this summer program with the language skills needed to pursue higher-level research, instruction, and immersion at Notre Dame and in the South Bend community. I hope to become fluent before I graduate.

What I hope to achieve as a result of this summer study abroad experience:

I hope to get to the point this summer where I regularly think and even dream in Spanish, and where I will not rely so much on the dictionary when I read texts in Spanish. I chose this program because of its small class sizes and because of the ability to advance in levels of instruction throughout the summer. I chose to study in Lima in order to gain an experience living in a city to which I hope to return in order to research for my dissertation on changes in the ayllus in indigenous communities in the early modern Peruvian highlands.

My specific learning goals for language and intercultural learning this summer:

At the end of the summer, I will be able to speak, read, write and listen at a level of proficiency equal to two semesters beyond my current Spanish coursework placement at Notre Dame. At the end of the summer, I will be able to communicate in Spanish with native speakers on academic and political topics. At the end of the summer, I will have read several books in Spanish related to my academic interests.