Humanities and Social Sciences

Spanish Program

Research and Publications

Dr Ana Maria Ducasse - Lecturer

Dr Isabel Moutinho - Lecturer

Dr Lilit Zekulin Twaites - Honorary Associate

Dr Carlos Uxó González - Lecturer

Previous Lectors

Dr Ana Maria Ducasse

Research area

The nature of spoken language by adult learners, and in particular the testing of interaction in Spanish. The problems of assessing and validating assessment scales for adult learner paired oral interaction.

Research projects

• Distributive Leadership Project (DLP): Faculty Scholar 'Toeing the line on graduate attributes'
• Improving Student Learning Experience (ISLE) project: peer collaboration.
• Student perspectives on language and culture teaching in the Australian education system

Selected publications

• Ducasse, A & Brown, A (forthcoming July 2009) Assessing paired orals: Raters’ orientation to interaction. In L. Taylor & G. Wigglesworth (Eds) Pair work in learning and assessment contexts. Special Issue on Paired Interaction, Language Testing
• Ducasse, A. “Defining the construct for an empirically based rating scale for paired oral interaction”
• Ducasse, A. 2008 "La evaluación de la interacción en pruebas orales en parejas: un baremo empírico basado en el discurso de nivel inicial."
  ALFAL XV conference proceedings CdROM ISBN 978-9974-8002-6-7
  
• Ducasse, A. 'An empirically based rating scale for interaction in a paired oral test'. In A. Brown and K. Hill (Eds.)¨Performance Testing¨ Peter Lang (In press)
• Ducasse, A. 'How do candidates view interaction in a paired oral?' In C. Gitsaki (Ed.), Language and Languages: Global and Local Tensions, (pp. 184-200). Newcastle, UK: Cambridge22 September, 2009
  
• Ducasse, A. 'Lexis over grammar on Quaderns Digitals: Revista de Nuevas Tecnologías en la educación. (January, 2002)
• Ducasse, A. 'The place of Grammar in the post VCE language classroom'. Journal of the Modern Language Teachers Association of Victoria , Vol 6:3 (December, 2002), pp7-15
• Ducasse, A. 'La autoevaluación como parte de la nota semestral'. On Red electrónica de didáctica del Español como lengua extranjera. RedELE (March, 2002), Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia
• Ducasse, A. 'What is the message? Exploring the cultural input of a Spanish language undergraduate text'. Antipodas (under review)

Selected recent conference presentations

• "Raters and non verbal communication. Such a nice gesture: paired interaction in oral test discourse" Monash 2nd Discourse Symposium 'Discourse: Constructing Society and Text', Monash University November 2006
• “Candidate Awareness of Performance Features of Spoken Interaction in Peer-peer Test Performance” 29th Annual Language Testing Research Colloquium: Exploring diverse methodologies and conceptualizations in language testing research, University of Barcelona June 2007
• “'The partner' in paired interaction in peer-peer speaking test performance”,
  Paper presented at a conference for The socio cognitive aspects second language teaching and learning, University of Auckland April 2007
• "La evaluación de la interacción en pruebas orales en parejas: un baremo empírico basado en el discurso de nivel inicial", ALFAL XV Montevideo 2008
• "Learners’ perceptions: learning language and culture", ALAA 'Critical dimensions in Applied Linguistics', University of Sydney 2008
  

Dr Isabel Moutinho

Research Area

Contemporary Portuguese fiction. Cultural memory and identity. Postcolonial literatures. African fiction from the Portuguese-speaking countries. Latin American (especially Colombian) literature.

Research Projects

Tracing the presence of black characters in the contemporary Portuguese (and European) novel. Globalisation and literature.

Selected publications

• The Colonial Wars in Contemporary Portuguese Fiction. Tamesis, 2008
• 'Exile at the edges of empire.' Creativity in Exile, ed. Michael Hanne. 2004
• ‘Globalisation uncovered: what are the hallmarks in literature.’ International Journal of the Humanities, 1 (2003): 1513-1523
• 'Images of Africa in contemporary narrative in Portuguese.' The Paths of Multiculturalism, ed. M.A. Seixo et al. 2000
• 'A Crónica segundo José Saramago', Colóquio/Letras, 151/152 (1999) - Special Issue to commemorate the awarding of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature to José Saramago, pp. 81-92
• Volume co-edited: The Paths of Multiculturalism, edited by Maria-Alzira Seixo, John Noyes, Graça Abreu, and Isabel Moutinho. Lisboa: Cosmos, 2000

Dr Lilit Thwaites

Research Areas

Main areas of research: contemporary Spanish literature, in particular, the work of women writers (prose and drama), and writers of the Post Civil War period; contemporary Spanish society and cultures; (literary) translation.

Other interests: women writers' commentary on their society (links between society, social attitudes to women, and the fictional and non-fictional writings of Spanish women writers); literature and/through film; Hispano-Australian and Latina writers.

Research Projects

• English translation of El verano ingles by Carme Riera
• The portrayal of older women in contemporary Spanish literature and film
• Notions of (inner) exile
• Dislocation and women writers of the periphery (Basque and Catalan in particular).

Selected publications

• 'Writing from the periphery: Basque writer Luisa Etxenike and her novel Efectos secundarios (1996)'. In A. Horno-Delgado & J. Gold, eds. Mujeres y Cambio desde la Letra. Santo Domingo: Secretaria de Estado de La Mujer, 2005, pp. 391-401
• 'Limpiaculos, cucarachas and marujas: Pilar Pombo’s monólogos and the Older Spanish Woman.' In King, S. & J. Browitt, The Space of Culture. Critical readings in Hispanic Studies. Newark: Univ. of Delaware Press, 2004, pp. 29-38
• 'The search for identity, the search for place in Olga Lorenzo’s The Rooms in My Mother’s House.' In S. Ballyn et al., eds, Changing Geographies: Essays on Australia. Barcelona: Promocions I Publicacions, 2001, pp. 211-220
• 'From spinning wheels and embroidery to typewriters and computers: women's narrative writing in post-civil war Spain.' In F. Brooks and M.J. Scurrah, eds, Iberia and Latin America: the Last Twenty-Five Years, 1966-1991. Adelaide: The Flinders University of S. Australia, 1992, pp. 1-10
• 'Historical Truth and 'Real' Truth: a Case of History and 'Her' Story in Urraca and Anillos para una dama." In R. Boland and A Kenwood, eds, War and Revolution. Madrid & Melbourne:Voz Hispánica, 1990, pp. 211-19

Sample reviews, short articles, etc

• Translation into English of "Voluntarios australianos en la Guerra Civil Española 1936-39." Spanish Original published in Revista Española del Pacífico 14 (2001): pp. 89-105
• "La Virgen de los Sicarios." in Journal of Iberian and Latin American Studies, 7:2 (Dec 2001): pp. 191-93
• Review of Homenaje a Antonio Buero Vallejo, MonteArabí, No 23, año 1996, in Estreno XXV, no 1 (primavera 1999): p. 67

Selected conference papers and lectures

• 'Frida Kahlo and La Malinche: Two Key Women of Mexico'. Lecture at CWA Study Weekend on Mexico, Armidale
• 'Crossing Boundaries, Establishing Links: Aspects of the Work of the (Catalan-Chilean) Artist Roser Bru.' AILCFH 2007 International Conference, Sevilla
• 'The Sleep of Reason': Human Folly, Francisco de Goya and Antonio Buero Vallejo.” Lecture at National Gallery of Victoria (Goya Exhibition)

Dr Carlos Uxó González

Research Area

The representation of the black population in contemporary Cuban literature. Detective fiction by Leonardo Padura Fuentes. Narrative fiction by Martin Gaite.

Research Project

PhD dissertation: The representation of the black population in contemporary Cuban literature.

Selected publications

Edited book

• The Detective Fiction of Leonardo Padura Fuentes. Manchester Crime Fictions Research Series. Manchester: Manchester Metropolitan University Press, 2006

Book chapters

• 'Cinco años de estudios sobre Carmen Martín Gaite. 1998-2002.' [Five years of studies on Carmen Martín Gaite] Carmen Martín Gaite.Ed. Alicia Redondo Goicoechea. Madrid: Ediciones del Orto, 2004, pp. 215-226
• 'La cola de la serpiente de Leonardo Padura.' The Detective Fiction of Leonardo Padura Fuentes. Ed. Carlos Uxó. Manchester Crime Fictions Research Series. Manchester: Manchester Metropolitan University Press, 2006, pp. 160-170
• 'Interview with Leonardo Padura Fuentes.' The Detective Fiction of Leonardo Padura Fuentes. Ed. Carlos Uxó. Manchester Crime Fictions Research Series. Manchester: Manchester Metropolitan University Press, 2006, pp. 27-37

Articles in refereed journals

• 'Renovación y estereotipo en la narrativa breve de los novísimos cubanos.' Hispanitas [Centre for Afro-Hispanic Research, University Omar Bongo, Libreville, Gabon] 2 (November 2006), pp. 109-133
• 'Tres programas de autor para distintas necesidades.' [Three Authoring Programs for Different Needs] Frecuencia L, 22 (2003), pp. 46-51
• 'Programas de autor: algunas opciones (casi) gratuitas para crear ejercicios online.' [Authoring Programs: Some (Almost) Free Options to Create Online Exercises] Frecuencia L, 19 (2002), pp. 39-42
• 'La recuperación de la memoria en La Reina de las Nieves de Carmen Martín Gaite.' [The Recovery of Memory in Carmen Martin Gaite’s The Snow Queen] Donaire, 13 (1999), pp. 39-46. Online. http://www.sgci.mec.es/uk/Pub/ Don/Don13/uxo.html
• 'El interlocutor en La Reina de Las Nieves de Carmen Martín Gaite.' [The interlocutor in Carmen Martin Gaite´s The Snow Queen] The Journal of Iberian and Latin American Studies (Association of Iberian and Latin American Studies of Australasia), Melbourne, Australia, 5.1 (1999), pp. 59-71
• 'El lector y la información narrativa en La Reina de las Nieves de Carmen Martín Gaite.' [Reader and Narrative Information in Carmen Martin Gaite's The Snow Queen] Anuario de Estudios Filológicos, Universidad de Cáceres, XXI (1998), pp. 425–440
• 'Revisión crítica de los estudios de la obra de Carmen Martín Gaite.' [Critical Review of Studies on Carmen Martin Gaite] Espéculo (Journal of the Facultad de Ciencias de la Información, Universidad Complutense, Madrid), 8 (1998) Online. http://www.ucm.es/info/especulo/ cmgaite/c_uxo1.htm
• 'Propuesta de actividades en clase: la mejora de la rapidez de respuesta.' [A Proposal for Class Activities: Improving Interaction Speed], Frecuencia L, 2 (1996), pp. 11-14

Peer-reviewed conference proceedings

• 'La santería cubana en Fresa y Chocolate.' [Cuban Santeria in the Film Strawberry and Chocolate]. Nancy Serrano and Barrie Wharton, eds. Selected Papers from the 1999 Crossing Boundaries Conference at the University of Limerick. Limerick: University of Limerick Press, 2000, pp. 246-261.

Previous Lectors

Ana Fernández Marrero
Publications

Javier Medina Lòpez
Publications

Fernando González Grueso
Publications