The University of Iowa’s Translation Program extends our warmest congratulations to MFA in Literary Translation alumna Bruna Dantas Lobato ('19) for winning the prestigious National Book Award in Translation for her translation of Stênio Gardel's debut novel The Words That Remain (New Vessel Press) from Portuguese.

Marlén Mendoza’s career path was shaped by her time at Iowa, from her coursework and work experience to her study abroad experiences.

A recent petition signed by nearly 900 food professionals calling for a cease-fire raises, once again, questions of contested cuisines. “We tend to think of food as humanizing but when there is conflict, food becomes part of the conflict,” said Ari Ariel, an associate professor at the University of Iowa who has written about and lectured on what he calls the Hummus Wars.

Orion Little (International Studies major and Global Health Studies and Spanish minors) and a Diversity Ambassador Scholarship recipient went abroad in Spring 2023 with USAC Montevideo.

The Department of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures, and Cultures will offer a new Data Analytics focus for the MA in Linguistics beginning Fall 2024. The focus (12 semester hours of coursework beyond the core requirements) is designed to train students in the basics of experimental and linguistics-focused data analytics to better prepare them for career opportunities in industry as well as advanced graduate work in Linguistics.

Maria Osman's study abroad experience in Jordan inspired the University of Iowa grad to co-found Posterity International, a non-profit charity.

Diana Thow is a literary translator and scholar working from Italian. She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley (2020) and an MFA in Literary Translation from the University of Iowa (2008).  Her academic research areas include Translation Studies, translation pedagogy, poetry and poetics, gender and translation, the translator's archive, Italian, French, and Anglophone literatures from the 19th century to the present and her publications include “Translation Pedagogy in the Literature Classroom: Close Reading and the Hermeneutic Model of Translation,” in L2 Journal: The Future of Translation in Higher Education (Fall 2021). She is currently at work on a book project about translations of poetry by women in Italy and the USA during the 1930s and 40s. As a literary translator she has received a Best Translated Book Award, and her publications include Close To The Teeth by Elisa Biagini, translated with Sarah Stickney, Autumn Hill Books (2021) and Hospital Series by Amelia Rosselli, Otis/Seismicity Books (2017).

Learn more about the Chinese Speech Contest

Laura McDowell, who will receive a BA in linguistics and Spanish from the University of Iowa in May 2023, is the winner of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Turkey for 2023-24.

Olivia Dunn, who will receive an MA in linguistics from the University of Iowa in May 2023, is the winner of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Morocco for 2023-24. Follow the link provided to read about Olivia's thoughts on this achievement.