Academic conferences were designed to share knowledge, to understand where your field stands, and where it is heading. But equally important is the opportunity they afford to meet new people in your field and to catch up with old colleagues.

This was the case at the recent Southeast Coastal Conference on Languages and Literatures hosted by Georgia Southern in Savannah, Georgia.

It all started when Grant, my mentor at UNC, who now teaches at Georgia Southern with his wonderful Sevillana wife Encarni, invited me to present at their conference. I was honored; I had never been invited to attend a conference! I had always just submitted a paper to a conference I wanted to participate in. Fortunately, I was already working on an article (you will have to wait for a post on that), so I agreed to go.

Savannah is a great place; you can read about it here.

The fact that this conference combines languages and literature means that you can learn about different aspects of language pedagogy. The Keynote speaker, Mary Risner from the University of Florida, spoke about the resources available online and innovative pedagogies and partnerships. Other great panels spoke about the study abroad experience and how to maximize it and “replicate” it in class, and so on.

My panel was wonderful. Bobby Nixon from Columbus State spoke about Spanish 70s horror films based on Becquer’s poetry, Adrianne Woods presented about the theatre of Buero Vallejo, and I presented about my main man, Isla, and the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spain.

But, as I mentioned earlier, the best part of conferences is reconnecting with old friends and colleagues. The evening’s reception was held at a great venue, a food truck plaza called Starland Yard. It was great to see dear friends from UNC and to meet new folks.

So, if you get a chance, write a paper and present it at a conference!! You are welcome.