Ali Alalou, associate professor of French and pedagogy, co-directed the Critical Amazigh Studies Summer Institute in Agadir, Morocco (June 29, 2026 – July 10, 2026), teaching students from the United States, Europe and North Africa about Amazigh language and culture. Alalou delivered a lecture at the Institute and was featured in the local magazine Agadir O'fella, which published his interview with a Moroccan artist.

Julia Domínguez, professor of Spanish, has been selected for a 2026–2027 Faculty Fellowship with the Wolf Humanities Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where she will participate in the Mellon Research Seminar, “Forum on Practice.”

Julia Domínguez and Basia Moltchanov, associate professor of Spanish, marked their fourth year of leading the Spanish Teachers Program in Cáceres, Spain. This year's program welcomed educators from North Carolina alongside teachers from Delaware for two weeks of cultural immersion and instruction.

Ikram Masmoudi, associate professor of Arabic, is serving as a visiting scholar at the Université de Montréal while on research sabbatical. During the fall semester, she will deliver invited talks at Columbia University, “The Arab Apocalyptic Narrative in Contemporary Fiction,” Oct. 23; University in Cairo Oct.6  on her upcoming book, Apocalyptic Imaginings in Arabic Fiction, coming Nov. 2; and Université de Montréal, “From Daniel to the Whatsitsname: Postapocalypse in Baghdad,” on Nov. 18.

Ana Oancea, associate professor of French, discussed her book Dangerous Creations: The Inventor Novel in Fin-de-siècle France in two recent events: a feature on the New Books Network / French Studies podcast with Gina Stamm (associate professor, University of Alabama) and an on-campus panel sponsored by European Studies, “Who’s Afraid of French Inventors?” with Andrea Goulet (professor, University of Pennsylvania). Oancea also has a forthcoming article, “Adapter Thérèse Raquin : espace, héritage et postérité du naturalisme,” examining recent film adaptations of Émile Zola's 1867 novel in an interdisciplinary journal focused on intermediality and visual culture.

Alexander Selimov, Elias Ahuja Chair and professor of Spanish and Latin American studies, received two international poetry honors in 2026: the Gold Poetry Award “Aristotle” at the 5th International Poetry Festival of Naoussa in Greece (Sept. 6) and the International Poet Distinction at the XIII International Poetry Encounter “Ciudad de los Anillos,” during the 27th International Book Fair of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia (June 1–6).

Yoel Villahermosa Serrano, assistant professor, game studies and Spanish, is expanding hands-on opportunities for game studies students through two new game development projects. Both give students opportunities to work on interdisciplinary, professionally oriented projects with real audiences:

Interactive Simulation Grant: Partnership with Charis Asante-Agyei, assistant professor of entrepreneurship, and Lochlan Belford, instructor of computer & information sciences. Villahermosa received a $5,000 2026 Paul J. Rickards, Jr. Teaching Innovation Grant for “Playing Main Street: Prototyping an Interactive Simulation for Entrepreneurial Decision-Making.” The cross-disciplinary project includes paid student development roles through a GAME 401 internship.

Development and Alumni Relations Collaboration: In partnership with DAR, Villahermosa is creating a second video game slated to launch alongside the next “I Heart UD Giving Day,” offering paid student interns real-world experience with institutional partners, deadlines and deliverables.

Haihong Yang, assistant professor of Chinese studies, published "Anger, Femininity, and Lyric Poetry in Late Ming China" in Studies in English Literature 1500–1900 (SEL): The Roundtable (spring 2026). Her article “Lines Intended for Public View: Everydayness and Performative Lyricism in Early Modern British and Chinese Women’s Poetry” will appear in an upcoming volume of Hsiang Lectures on Chinese Poetry.

Yang is also UD’s liaison for the Delaware Bridge Program (Chinese), an advanced language pathway for students in the First State’s Chinese immersion school program. The Bridge Program allows students to earn college credits while still in high school.