November 7, 2012

Professor Julia Coll, Ph.D., Spanish professor at Shawnee State University, presented a paper this summer at the International Conference of Spanish Professionals in America (ALDEEU), in Cadiz, Spain.

"This was a very important conference," Coll said. "Spanish professors in American had to opportunity to exchange ideas about their research and teaching in the United States in Cadiz, the oldest city in Europe."

Her paper, "De Cadiz a Nueva Cadiz: Superstición en la novella Caribena" ("From Cádiz to a New Cádiz: Superstition in the Caribbean Novel"). Cadiz dates back to 1100 B.C. and the city is celebrating the bicentennial of its Constitution this year.

"Because of this, many positive and stimulating commentaries emerged about the influence it had in the Hispanic American culture," Coll said. "Many civilizations have gone through Cadiz – Romans, Visigoths, Moors – and all these civilizations have fought over Cadiz to have it as a strategic base."

Spanish Professionals in America is an interdisciplinary nonprofit association, grouping Spanish residents in the United States and all those professional "friends of Spain" dedicated to all branches of knowledge.

The association was created in 1980 by a group of professionals, full of hope and initiatives, in order to protect and promote Spanish culture in the United States. It opens the doors to the academic world as the most appropriate forum to build intercontinental bridges between Spain and America.

The theme of the conference was "America and Cadiz Building Bridges over the Ocean." The conference takes place in the United States every other year and in 2013, the conference will be in the oldest city in the U.S., St. Augustine, Fla.