Hispanic Studies Community Engagement
Links with Hispano American and Spanish representatives in Australia
The Hispanic Studies program has strong links with the Spanish Embassy in Canberra and the Chilean and Spanish Consulates in Melbourne. Over the years close relations have been formed with La Consejera de Educacin de Espaa. With the assistance of the Hispanic Studies Program, colleagues from the Consejera de Educacin de Espaa have run Spanish programs in schools, trained Victorian school teachers and prepared students for the DELE (Diploma de Espaol como Lengua Extranjera).
Links with the wider Hispanic/Spanish Community
Staff in the program speak occasionally on SBS and ZZZ radio, and sometimes on Radio National, about issues relevant to both the Australian Hispanic community and to the community at large. These issues have included the Spanish language in Australia, aboriginal languages, communication and cultural issues. Occasional public lectures/talks are given by Hispanic Studies staff (often under the aegis of La Sociedad Hispnica de Victoria) on issues related to their fields of research (Latin-American and Spanish culture, especially popular culture and popular music, discourse analysis and cross-cultural communication). In Octover 2002 Jeff Browitt helped to produce a one-hour program on Radio National on the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges.
Filmoteca
The Melbourne Filmoteca (Latin-American, Portuguese and Spanish cinema group) is a community organisation which screens films monthly and provides a forum for socio-cultural and cinematographic exchange and discussion. Stewart King is a founding member and has been Secretary of the society since its inception in 1999. Hispanic Studies staff have been invited to introduce film screenings. In 2001 Stewart King introduced Carlos Saura's Cra Cuervos (Raise Ravens) and, in 2002, Jeff Browitt introduced two films on Mexican artists David Siquieros and Frida Kahlo). In 2002, Stewart King was also invited by the Cinema Nova, Carlton, to launch Before Night Falls and to participate in a round-table discussion.
Teaching resource materials
The Hispanic Studies program regularly provides teaching materials to Spanish programs in schools and to the Victorian Council for Adult Education. Marisa Cordella has been providing regular help and advice to these institutions. She also organises special talks to secondary schools about Hispanic Studies and invites students and teachers to attend special events at Monash.
Broader community
Marisa Cordella is involved in the Language Proficiency Test for Qantas/Australian Airlines.
Beyond academic involvement
The program's links with the community transcend the academic sphere. Students in 2nd and 3rd year (Spanish Linguistics in Trading and Communication and Spanish Level 3) are involved in conducting interviews with community representatives and other Hispanic/Spanish immigrants, in order to acquire a first hand insight into the life and traditions of the Spanish speakers resident in Victoria. Seminars are conducted in class to broaden the students' view of the Hispanic world.