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Gudmundson Talks History in Costa Rica MHC Professor of Latin American Studies Lowell Gudmundson participated in the kickoff of a biennial series of history gatherings (Encuentros por la Historia) organized by the master's program in history and the school of history at the Universidad Nacional in Costa Rica (where he taught from 1975 to 1982). Gudmundson was one of five foreign scholars who took part in a collective two-day workshop on approaches to the history of power--social, political, economic, and cultural--that also included individual lectures on current research. His lecture focused on mulattoes and nations in Central America, using nineteenth-century historical issues, as well as nineteenth- and twentieth-century historical images (portraits and photos of individuals and monuments) and autobiographical materials, to illustrate the consistent evasion of mulatto identity in the construction of nationalist iconography and imagery. While at the gathering, Gudmundson met with Central American colleagues interested in developing collaborative research projects on the history of African Americans throughout the region over the next few years.

Spanish Teachers to Have National Conversation More than 200 academics from all over the country are expected to gather September 17 - 18 at Smith College for a national conversation about teaching Spanish titled "The Future of Spanish Departments on College and University Campuses." The event, which will draw some sixty presenters, is being cosponsored by the Five College Spanish departments, Five Colleges, Inc., and the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. Enroll-ments in college Spanish courses have doubled nationwide since the early 1990s, but few institutions have changed models of instruction or expanded departments to accommodate the increasing number of students and the range of their needs. In addition to sessions on "crowd control" and interdisciplinary uses of Spanish, panelists will discuss such highly debated topics as the role of Portuguese in Spanish departments and whether Latino studies belongs in a Spanish department, since it is taught in English. Sessions will also address new destinations, and goals, in study-abroad initiatives, as well as the use of new technologies in learning languages. More information about the forum is available at www.Smith.edu/spp/forum.html.

1999 - 2000 Associates for Five College Women's Studies Research Center The Five College Women's Studies Research Center, located on the MHC campus, was founded in 1991 as a site for scholarly and creative activity by and about women. Dedicated to supporting research in all aspects of women's studies, the center provides facilities and a forum for work by scholars, artists, and teachers at all levels of the educational system, as well as by community organizers and political activists, both local and international. The core of the center's program is a colloquium and works-in-progress series where research and community associates in residence each year present their work. These weekly talks, offered Mondays at 4:30 pm and Tuesdays at 7:30 pm, are held in the living room of Dickinson House (unless otherwise noted). Receptions after the talks provide opportunities for faculty and students in women's studies to meet members of the local community with shared interests. For more information or to receive a schedule of events, call x2275 or x2022 or email the center at fcwsrc@wscenter.hampshire.edu. The center also maintains a Web page, http://wscenter.hampshire.edu. The associates this year are Mary King Austin, research associate, independent scholar, Mount Washington, MA (English/ theater), research topic: "Elaine Goodale Eastman: A Biography"; Anita Dahlberg, research associate, Stockholm University, Sweden (law/social work), research topic: "Law as Mirror and Creator of Gender: Equal Opportunities in Labour Life"; Debra Herman, research associate, independent scholar, Palo Alto, CA (history), research topic: "Education for a Woman's Life: The Vassar Experiment, 1861 - 1969"; Hilary Hinds, research associate, Cheltenham & Gloucester College of Higher Education, U.K. (English), research topic: "Imaging Feminism: The Cultural Politics of Representing Gender in the British Press" (with Jackie Stacey); Anne Kornblatt, community associate, Amherst Public Schools, Amherst, MA (education), research topic: "How Will Boys Be Boys? Portraits of Aggression in Play"; Harriet Lutzky, research associate, University of Paris, France (psychology), research topic: "The Sacred and the Early Relation to the Mother"; Amanda Mitchell, research associate, University of Central Lancashire, U.K. (German literature), research topic: "The Myth of the 'Female Democrat': Exploring the Gendered Subject of German Right-Wing Politics"; Lisa Lynelle Moore, community associate, YWCA, Springfield, MA (social work), research topic: "The Impact of Violence on African American Mother-Daughter Relationships"; Jessica Nelson, community associate, Amherst Shelter for Adolescents, Amherst, MA (psychology), research topic: "Adolescent Girls and Power"; Rupal Oza, research associate, Rutgers University (geography), research topic: "Contentious Bodies: Globalization, Sexuality, and the Politics of Culture in India"; Hilary Sloin, research associate, writer/editor, Westhampton, MA (fiction), research topic: "A Novel: The Danger of Being a Girl"; Jackie Stacey, research associate, Lancaster University, U.K. (sociology), research topic: "Imaging Feminism: The Cultural Politics of Representing Gender in the British Press" (with Hilary Hinds).

What's new with you? Send news for "New & Notable" to Janet Tobin, Office of Communications, or email jtobin@mtholyoke.edu.