Where are Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Dissertations Headed?

In this issue, Dr. David Knutson (Professor of Spanish at Xavier University, see bio below) explores in-progress and completed doctoral dissertations in Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian studies in the United States from his role as Hispania Associate Editor and long-time organizer of the annual list of doctoral dissertations. The dissertation list has been a feature in Hispania for decades. In his guest column, Knutson writes about the history and evolution of the list, as well as the importance of the tool for both graduate students and established professionals. He also notes some trends in the content and quantity of doctoral dissertations. The progression of the list suggests a narrative that indicates where we have been and where we may be heading collectively as a discipline.

Our current focus on Hispania’s dissertation list is timely. The Hispania Editorial Board approved to make the dissertation lists available online beginning in September 2015. Historically, the list was published in Hispania’s September issue. The transition from exclusively appearing in print to a print/digital hybrid on Hispania’s Open Access page on the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese’s webpage (see http://www.aatsp.org/page/Hispania) makes consulting the dissertation list easy. The dissertation list is now accessible to the profession and to the public worldwide and year round.

I invite you to read Knutson’s guest column and learn more about the dissertation list. Then, please click into the Hispania Open Access page and view the annual dissertation list from 2009 through the present.

David Knutson

David Knutson (PhD in Spanish, University of Wisconsin-Madison) is Professor of Spanish in the Department of Classics and Modern Languages at Xavier University. His primary research interests are contemporary Spanish language and culture, with increasing focus on the crime fiction of literatures in Spanish and other world literatures. He is a frequent presenter at the Congreso Internacional de Literatura Medellín Negro in Medellín, Colombia and at the Congreso de Novela y Cine Negro in Salamanca, Spain, and regularly contributes to the publications of these conferences. At Xavier University, he teaches all levels of Spanish language, literature, and culture, and he also coordinates a summer study abroad program in his department.