Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese

SIP Graduate Student Organization

The purpose of the SIPGSO is to allow graduate students in the department to discuss issues which affect them as graduate students, teaching assistants, and future professionals in academia.

SIPGSO plays an important role in graduate student life within the department. Representatives serve on the department's Graduate Committie, Activities Committee, International Committee, and they are also counted as a voting member in department meetings. In these ways the graduate students have a voice in the matters which affect them most.

All graduate students in the department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese are members of SIPGSO, and are eligible to hold office in the organization. Meetings are held several times throughout the semester. All graduate students are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Aleph Literary Jounal

Aleph is an annual literary journal edited since 1995 by graduate students and professors at the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese at The Pennsylvania State University. Aleph features articles and essays by graduate students on the literatures and cultures of the Hispanic, Luso-Brazilian, and Italian worlds.

Aleph intends to foster and develop understanding of the literary and cultural productions in the Hispanic, Luso-Brazilian and Italian worlds, and welcomes individual, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary analyses on a wide range of topics from all historical periods. The journal invites rigorous, original research, and is receptive to all scholarly methods and theoretical approaches. The signature policy of Aleph is to promote research and publication at the graduate level.

Aleph is divided in two sections. In tandem with the Graduate Student Symposium, the journal’s younger sibling, which each year has a different focus, the body of every issue of Aleph will specialize on the symposium’s major theme. In addition, another section will feature articles on alternative topics.

Publishing policies:

1. Aleph welcomes both articles read at each Graduate Student Symposium and independent submissions.
2. Submissions will not be under 6000 words, and will not exceed 9000 (the word-count includes notes, but excludes works cited lists and/or translations).
3. Aleph publishes articles in Spanish and English. Authors must provide translations for passages in a different language.
4. Aleph encourages social sensitivity in the language used and wording free of discriminatory overtones. 
5. The writings published in Aleph reflect the opinions of the authors themselves, not those of the editors, the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, or the Pennsylvania State University.
6. All articles must follow the latest edition of the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing at the time of submission.
7. The editors will consider only original works, not published or submitted for publication elsewhere.
8. Manuscripts will not be returned.
9. Authors’ names should not appear on manuscripts. Submissions, in duplicate, must be accompanied by a cover sheet with the following information: full name, title of the article, e-mail address, and institution. In addition, authors should submit en electronic version of their text.
10. Submissions must be sent to Aleph. C/o Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. The Pennsylvania State University. 202 Burrowes Bldg. University Park, PA 16802.
11. Subscriptions: individuals $6.00/annum; institutions $8.00/annum.
12. Aleph is indexed in the MLA International Bibliography.
13. For more information, please e-mail us at sur149@psu.edu.

Aleph is a publication by graduate students for graduate students.

Coloquio Iberoamericano

El Simposio Anual de Literatura Hispánica para Estudiantes Graduados tiene como objetivo contribuir a incrementar el valor de los Estudios Hispánicos en Penn State. El alto nivel de aceptación que nuestra iniciativa ha tenido en los años anteriores ha contribuido, además a demostrar la importancia que un evento como este tiene.

En los simposios previos, no sólo hemos recibido el apoyo de los Estudiantes Graduados y de los Profesores del departamento; sino que también hemos tenido éxito al convocar a profesores de diferentes departamentos y de diferentes universidades. Otro de nuestros logros ha sido el recibir el apoyo de estudiantes subgraduados, y no sólo de aquellos que se especilizan en español sino también de otras especialidades.

Nuestro último simposio ha contribuido, de ese modo, a construir un espacio intelectual en el que estudiantes de diversos niveles y con distintos intereses pueden reunirse con sus profesores en el marco de un intercambio cultural beneficioso para todos.

Este año, esperamos una respuesta semejante de nuestros participantes y esperamos que disfruten de su experiencia en Penn State. Nuestro Tercer Simposio de Literatura Hispánica para Estudiantes Graduados tiene como objetivo contribuir a incrementar el valor de los Estudios Hispánicos en Penn State. Para más información: http://www.clubs.psu.edu/up/coloquio/spanish/coloquio07.htm

Graduate Student and Professional Conferences

Graduate students are encouraged to present their research at graduate student and professional conferences in the United States and abroad. Funding is available for graduate students for travel to and from these conferences. Use the Travel Request Form to apply for travel funding.

Graduate Student Resources

There are several resources available to graduate students through The Graduate School such as thesis information, alumni society, volunteer services, graduate council, graduate diversity, equity programs, and much more.

Graduate Student Handbooks and MA Reading List

Graduate Student Handbooks for Literature and Linguistics. The MA Reading List in literature.

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