Languages, Literatures and Cultures Faculty Accomplishments
April 14, 2025 Written by CAS Staff
Over the past year, the distinguished faculty of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Delaware have delivered guest lectures, received awards and published notable works.
Margaret Laird, adjunct associate professor of Ancient Greek and Roman studies, delivered the Mary Ann Frable Lecture in Ancient Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art in Richmond, Virginia, in March 2025. The lecture, entitled "Drawings of Women at Pompeii," explored how, where and why nonprofessional artists created figural graffiti and drawings of women on the walls of Pompeii. The Mary Ann Frable Lecture is presented annually by a distinguished scholar to foster the study and appreciation of ancient Mediterranean art and is supported by the Jack and Mary Ann Frable Fund for Ancient Art. Visit the VMFA website to view a recording of the lecture. Dr Laird was also re-elected as an academic trustee of the Archaeological Institute of America.
Thanks to a grant from the Albertine Foundation, Ana Oancea, assistant professor of French, brought a multicultural French and Francophone film festival to UD during the spring 2025 semester. French faculty members and graduate students introduced the critically acclaimed films during the public screenings.
Phillip Penix-Tadsen, associate professor of Spanish and game studies & esports, was interviewed last fall by USA Today about majors in game studies and esports.
Alexander Selimov, Elias Ahuja Chair of Spanish and professor of Iberian and Latin American studies, has been named Poet of the Year, receiving the award at the 7th Boao International Poetry Festival in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 18, 2024. Prior to this recognition, his contribution to world culture was acknowledged through an invitation to the 34th International Poetry Festival of Medellín (July 13–20), one of the world's largest and most prestigious poetry events. As an invited poet at the Medellín Festival, Selimov shared his poetry and songs during both the opening and closing ceremonies. He also participated in the festival's educational initiatives, offering workshops at various universities and cultural centers throughout the province of Antioquia, where he shared his knowledge and experiences with local communities.
Deborah Steinberger, associate professor of French and comparative literature, published Women’s Stories in Le Mercure Galant (1672–1710): Feminine Fictions in an Early French Periodical (Amsterdam University Press, 2024). The book examines how one of France’s first newspapers, Le Mercure Galant, used fictional accounts of women’s lives to attract a female readership and to amplify women’s voices. These fictions, presented as true stories, depict incidents and situations that women often bore silently in real life: domestic violence, romantic betrayal, dishonor or simply loneliness. By publishing these stories alongside its chronicle of current events, Le Mercure lends credence and prestige to depictions of the private life of anonymous individuals, exploiting the ostensibly anodyne genre of “women’s fiction” to disseminate modern ideas about women’s agency.
