Annual Pennsylvania Foreign Language Conference to Begin Friday

Academics, students, and language and linguistic enthusiasts from across the country will visit campus this week to explore a variety of literary genres, authors, comparative literature and topics in linguistics from the Middle Ages to contemporary times at the 28th annual PA Foreign Language Conference (PAFLC).

The conference, which is hosted by the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, begins with a welcome reception on Friday, Sept. 25. A variety of sessions, including a reading of participants’ original works of poetry, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the sixth and seventh floors of Fisher Hall.

During the two-day conference, lectures such as The Pennsylvania German Dialect Poetry of Louise A. Weitzel, Fostering Inter-disciplinarity in the Liberal Arts Curriculum and Satire in Eighteenth-Century Paris will be presented in several different languages, primarily English as well as in French, German and Spanish to fully convey the cultural authenticity of other countries.

The annual PAFLC provides opportunities for scholars to share, promote and encourage research, learning and professional development in the fields of language and linguistics.

“We have been proud to host this conference for nearly 30 years, and I believe it enhances Duquesne’s image as a University with strong academic objectives,” explained Dr. Gregorio C. Martin, professor emeritus in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. “It offers our professors the opportunity to interact with those from other schools and to exchange ideas and research related to their area of study.”

The PAFLC is free and open to the Duquesne community. For additional information, email Mary Ann Hess.