Ph.D. in Latin American, Iberian, and Luso-Afro-Brazilian Literatures and Cultures (LAILAB)
LAILAB General Information
The doctoral program in Latin American, Iberian, and Luso-Afro-Brazilian literatures and cultures welcomes candidates interested in interdisciplinary cultural, literary, and media studies. Our program exposes students to an array of research areas and methodologies, including the environmental humanities, cinema studies, urban studies, performance studies, gender and queer studies, diaspora studies, human rights, and literary translation. Coursework, workshops, lectures, film screenings, and other events expose students to cutting-edge approaches in Hispanophone and Lusophone cultural studies, broadly conceived, including Spain, Portugal, Spanish America, Brazil, the Caribbean, Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Africa, Black and Asian diasporas , and more, from the early modern period through contemporary times.
Recent dissertation projects have focused on transatlantic topics such as Lorca’s legacy in Latin America, gypsification in Cuban and Spanish film and performance, and Cuban indianos who return to Spain. Spanish American projects have focused on the environmental and social apocalypse in Latin America, the Venezuelan crónica and economic crisis, political and gender violence in Colombian cinema, women silent filmmakers in Chile, Central American poetry and environmental degradation, and indigenous autonomy in Peru, Bolivia, and Mexico. We welcome comparative and transatlantic dissertation projects that engage with materials in both Spanish and Portuguese; recent projects have compared the literature of the Amazonian rubber boom in Peru and Brazil and political violence in Portugal, Angola, and Colombia. Some of the current dissertations explore Afro and Indigenous futurisms in Spanish-American and Brazilian literature and film, as well as affective urbanism in migrant narratives and films in Spain.
As our TAs gain experience teaching Spanish or Portuguese, they are given the opportunity to teach higher-level undergraduate courses, both in language and literature. Student progress throughout the program is carefully monitored so that time to degree is consonant with individual research programs. In the recent past, our graduates have been offered tenure-track positions at Brigham Young University, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, University of North Florida, Jacksonville State University, Gettysburg College, SUNY-Oswego, Farmingdale State College, and Scripps College . Some are currently holding visiting assistant professorships at Washington and Lee University, Bingham Young University, and a postdoc position at the University of Pennsylvania. Our graduate student population comprises native-born U.S. citizens, as well as citizens of many countries in the Spanish-speaking world and beyond. Approximately half of our current faculty and graduate students are native Spanish speakers.
Funding
Starting from Fall 2024, students entering their Ph.D. graduate program that semester, at the conclusion of a full-time Ph.D. student’s one-year term of appointment as a TA or GA or following the conclusion of such student’s one-year fellowship, the University shall offer the full-time Ph.D. student support through the completion of the fifth year of the student's doctoral program provided the student is making adequate academic progress in their program through TAships, GAships or University-sponsored fellowships. Health insurance is provided. In addition, we offer all Ph.D. students generous funding for research and conferences.
Comprehensive Examination and Dissertation Prospectus
Dissertation: Research Credits
Ph.D. in LAILAB Learning Goals
Ph.D. in LAILAB Learning Goals
The doctoral program in Spanish literature trains students at the highest level to assume academic positions in the field.
Learning Goals
Attain marked scholarship, research and leadership skills related to Iberian and Latin American literatures and cultures.
Assessment of student achievement of Goal 1:
- Grades in graduate courses
- Qualifying examinations assessing depth and breadth of knowledge
- Review by faculty of student progress with close advising and mentoring
- Placement in positions and careers that require expertise and scholarship in Iberian and Latin American literatures and cultures
Role of the program in helping students to achieve Goal 1:
- Close advising to assure that students are being prepared in a coherent and academically rigorous fashion
- Effective monitoring of student progress
- Includes annual reports to graduate director to be shared with graduate faculty on research progress from both the student and the student’s committee chair
- Yearly faculty meeting of graduate faculty in Lit/Cult to assess student progress
- Evaluations of teaching effectiveness of instructors in graduate courses
- If effectiveness is below expectations, work with instructors to improve effectiveness
- Periodic review of curricular offerings, degree requirements and assessment tools
- By program faculty
- In consultation with the office of the dean of the graduate school and/or the unit dean
Engage in and conduct original research
Assessment of graduate student achievement of Goal 2:
- Preparation of and departmental approval of Ph.D. dissertation proposal
- Assessment of quality of Ph.D. dissertation:
- Public defense of dissertation
- Critical reading of dissertation by committee of graduate faculty members and a committee member from outside of the graduate faculty of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese
- Submission and acceptance of peer-reviewed articles and conference papers based on student research
- Achievement of students as evidenced by professional placements, selection for conference presentations, peer-reviewed publications and individual grant attainment
Role of the graduate program in helping students achieve Goal 2:
- Provide early introduction to research methods and opportunities for research
- Provide opportunities to present research and receive feedback
- Maintain adequate funding levels through the research phase
- Provide comprehensive advising and assist in the identification of mentors
Learning Goal 3 for Students:
Prepare to be professionals in academic careers in Iberian and Latin American literatures and cultures
Assessment of graduate student achievement of Goal 3:
- Review evidence of papers presented, publications and professional networking
- Evaluations of teaching effectiveness of graduate student instructors
- Collection of placement data
- Survey alumni/ae
Role of the program in helping students achieve Goal 3:
- Develop discipline-specific programs in concert with the Teaching Assistant Project and/or Carnegie Academy for Scholarship on Teaching and Learning programs
- Require enrollment in Teaching Methodologies course for funded students
- Encourage participation in professional development programs in such areas as library use, course management software, interview skills, presentation skills, development of CVs, use of research tools, training in the responsible conduct of research, and proposal writing
- Host discipline-specific training when appropriate
- Provide flexible options for students with interdisciplinary interests related to Iberian and Latin American literatures and cultures
- Develop or enhance programs related to job and networking skills, including activity in professional societies
The leadership of the graduate program in Spanish literature will regularly review the structure and content of the program and the feedback received from assessments and surveys. These reviews will be used to provide the best possible education to students in order to meet the needs for highly trained individuals in Iberian and Latin American literary and cultural studies.
Goal 1) The graduate program faculty has decided to move the date of the comprehensive exam to the end of the summer before the 5th semester, as a result of the new policy to prioritize incoming students with an MA degree.
Goal 3) A professional development committee has been established to guide students in job placement.
Ph.D. in LAILAB
General Course work:
Doctoral candidates must complete forty-eight credits of coursework (including 12 transferred credits) and twenty-four research credits. Students are required to take a literary theory course (940:612 Seminar: Literary Theory, 195:501 Introduction to Literary Theory or any other literary theory seminar offered during the first two years), as well as 940:501 Methodology of Teaching and Research (required of all new incoming fellowship and TA recipients). Doctoral students in LAILAB must take two courses offered in the department and an elective each semester. Elective courses can be used to meet the requirements for a certificate program. In the last two weeks of August or the first week of September before the start of their third year, students must take their Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination.
Transfer of credits:
If a student holds a master’s degree in a relevant field, a maximum of twelve credits may be transferred from another institution after completing twelve Rutgers credits. These are determined by the Graduate Director, and final approval must be attained from the Graduate School.
Language requirements:
Ph.D. students must demonstrate the ability to conduct research in a language other than Spanish or English. The language will be chosen in consultation with the Assistant Graduate Director. This requirement must be completed before taking the PhD exam. Normally, candidates can satisfy this requirement by 1) taking a written reading exam offered through the Graduate School at the language lab, 2) successfully completing an advanced course in the literature of that language, or 3) submitting a summary translated into English or Spanish, of an academic work written in the target language.
Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificates:
Many of our students pursue a graduate certificate in another field via elective courses. Students most frequently opt for certificates in Women and Gender Studies, Cinema Studies, Africana Studies, Cognitive Psychology, Environmental Studies, Public Humanities, and World Languages Teaching.
Graduate Program Consortium:
Rutgers participates in a regional consortium of graduate programs at other universities. These include Princeton University, NYU, Columbia, Fordham, and the CUNY Graduate Center. Students may take elective courses at these universities. All students have access to the library collections of all the consortium universities.
Courses Outside Rutgers:
Normally, no more than six credits taken outside Rutgers during the coursework may be counted toward the degree.
Summer:
A limited number of summer teaching positions are available, paid at the official summer school rate. The department runs study abroad programs in Cuzco, Peru, and Salamanca, Spain, in the summer, and doctoral students are eligible to apply as program assistants. Study abroad assistants are paid a salary as well as all travel expenses.
Extracurricular Activities
Our students participate in student-run initiatives that involve community service, literary and artistic creations, and cultural activities.
Metáfora is an organization which aims to celebrate and explore art and culture in the Hispanic, Portuguese, and Luso-Brazilian contexts. By developing interdisciplinary workshops that explore the wonders of art and literary making (painting, creative writing, translation, music, recitals...). Its goal is to create an innovative and creative cultural community between students, faculty, and staff within the Rutgers community and beyond.
RU-Bilingual is an outreach program in the New Brunswick community that addresses social, cultural, and educational aspects of bilingualism. This is an organization of Rutgers graduate students whose primary research involves bilingual populations. Their goal is to make the most recent investigations and established benefits of speaking more than one language accessible to the public outside of academia. RU-Bilingual will host workshops and forums in the New Brunswick area to aid in informing, educating, dispelling myths, and discussing concerns with interested community members. They will also provide specific strategies and resources to help parents and educators support literacy development in both languages.
More information here:
- Website: https://sites.google.com/view/rubilingual
- Instagram: @ru_bilingual
- Contact: Robert Esposito (
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).
Yzur: Biannual Journal of Literature, Culture and Artistic Creation
Yzur is the Department of Spanish and Portuguese’s biannual journal of literature, culture, and artistic creation at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. In 2001, Yzur took its first steps and traveled between worlds thanks to a group of graduate students from Rutgers. In 2018, after being dormant for a few years, Yzur returned with the current generation of graduate students in the department to follow and renew this literary legacy. Yzur publishes texts (poetry, fiction, essays) and visual art related to the Iberian Peninsula, Latin America, and Lusophone Africa. The selected works will be published two times a year on the journal’s website: www.yzurlit.com
