IU East is observing Hispanic Heritage Month from September 13th to October 13th this year, and there’s plenty to see and do!
We started last week with a visit from Alice Driver, a photographer and documentarian, who spoke about her photojournalism and film career (her documentary is If Images Could Fill Our Empty Spaces) and visited a number of classes to talk about US-Mexico border relations and related issues. But if you missed seeing Dr. Driver, there are still plenty of other activities to participate in.
Hispanic Health segments will air all month on WCTV’s ‘Let’s Talk’ series, focusing on needs and resources within Richmond. IU East students who have recently studied abroad in Argentina are presenting their artwork in Room 912, and it will be displayed there through October 15th. IU East Spanish students are visiting Fairview Elementary School and the Starr Academy to read books provided by the library to children in a Bilingual Storytelling program. And Hispanic children’s author Xavier Garza, writer of some of the books being used, will visit IU East to speak with students about his writing on Monday, October 13th at 11:15 a.m. in the Whitewater Hall Community Room.
Plus, the library is again hosting the ‘Day of the Dead’ altar building competition – Spanish students will build and present their altars, known as ofrendas, in the library on October 9th (anyone can contribute photos of loved ones for the displays). Then, starting at 1:30 you can vote on which altar you think is the best. The altars will remain on display until October 15th.
But seeing the Day of the Dead altars is only the beginning of what you can learn in the library. We’re well supplied for any academic need with databases like Informe Revistas en Espanol, Latin American Women Writers, Latino Literature: Poetry, Drama, and Fiction, and Sabin Americana, 1500-1926. And we have plenty of books, too, including titles like Comparative Cultural Studies and Latin America by Sophia McClennen, Sociedad: Guardians of Hispanic Culture along the Rio Grande by José Rivera, or Riddle of Cantinflas: Essays on Hispanic Popular Culture by Ilan Stavans.
So if you’re interested in learning more about Hispanic culture, the library has your back. You can contact us with any questions at iueref@iue.edu!