Friday, January 28, 2011

Dr. Sarah Misemer Publishes Book on Trains and Nostalgia in the River Plate

Sarah M. Misemer, associate professor in the Department of Hispanic Studies, has recently published her book, Moving Forward, Looking Back: Trains, Literature, and the Arts in the River Plate (Bucknell University Press, 2010). Professor Misemer was an Internal Faculty Fellow in the Glasscock Center for Humanities Research from 2005-2006. The Internal Faculty Fellowship allowed her to “begin working on this project in a serious manner.”

Misemer’s main area of research is contemporary Hispanic theater and performance, with a focus on Argentine and Uruguayan drama.

In Moving Forward, Looking Back: Trains Literature, and the Arts in the River Plate, Professor Misemer examines images of trains and nostalgia in the River Plate. She argues the train in regional literature and film is a modern anachronistic indicator of the national identity of the River Plate. Through text, film, and historical accounts, Misemer traces the importance of the train, marking key moments in Argentine and Uruguayan history from 1854 to the present. She shows that the train is not only an icon of the nineteenth-century’s Naturalist movement, but is a powerful contemporary metaphor used to communicate the cultural values of the region.

The Glasscock Center annually offers four Internal Faculty Fellowships which include a $1,000 research bursary, a one-course teaching release in the spring semester of the fellowship year, and an office in the Glasscock Center for the fellowship year. The next deadline for applications for Internal Faculty Fellowships is 3 March 2011. To learn more about the Glasscock Center Internal Faculty Fellowship or apply online, please visit the website.