“I’m incredibly grateful to be recognized by the ACLA for my work in comparative literature,” said Pham, who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in biophysics at Stanford University. “I’m especially appreciative that the ACLA has a history of recognizing undergraduate work in the field in an effort to make scholarship more accessible.”

Pham’s award-winning research project, “The Struggle Continues: Cosmopolitan Encounters and Spatial Disjunctions in Singaporean and Vietnamese Literature,” explores the idea that those living in city centers were multicultural citizens of the world despite their specific national contexts. 

Cosmopolitanism and Class

“My thesis tries to unpack how cosmopolitanism in Southeast Asia developed alongside the histories of colonialism, political violence and migration in the late 20th century,” said Pham. “Cosmopolitanism has historically applied to elites with the socioeconomic resources that would allow them to become world travelers, but I engage with an alternative view of cosmopolitanism influenced by postcolonial theory, which reads refugees and displaced people as cosmopolitan.”

For Pham, whose family experienced life as Vietnamese refugees in the 20th century, the project was deeply personal. 

“At the heart of the thesis are people; I tried to center those who have been pushed to the margins in mainstream history whether it be migrants in Singapore or Vietnamese refugees,” said Pham. “I felt honored to engage in scholarship and criticism that tried to make sense of their experiences.”

The thesis project was completed under the mentorship of , an associate professor in the , and , director of the and the inaugural director of the .  

“We couldn’t be prouder of Dominic, for his exceptional work and for this prestigious recognition,” said Pireddu. “With a distinct voice of his own, Dominic offered not only a groundbreaking study of complex novels across national, linguistic and historical boundaries, but also a compelling testimony to the power of literature in people’s lives.” 

“His exemplary dedication to the humanistic component of his academic formation despite the demands of his other major in science makes him really special. It was wonderful to be at the ACLA Conference in Montréal and celebrate Dominic’s achievements.”

Founded in 1960, the ACLA is the largest group of scholars in the United States whose work “involves several literatures and cultures as well as the premises of cross-cultural literary study itself.” The Presidential Undergraduate Prize is one of just two awards that the organization bestows upon students to highlight budding scholars in the field of comparative literature. 

Pham is a true polymath. As a graduating senior, he received the distinct honor of receiving two commendations at the ������̳ of Arts & Sciences 104th annual Tropaia Exercises. A double major in biochemistry and comparative literature, Pham took home both the Miljevic Chemistry Award and the Global and Comparative Literature Award. Additionally, the Faculty of Literatures, Cultures and Language Studies recognized Pham at its annual awards ceremony with a certificate for his achievement in global and comparative literature. 

“This project is a reflection of the personal growth I underwent as an undergraduate at Georgetown,” said Pham. “I went on exchange at the National University of Singapore and studied Singaporean literature with Gwee Li Sui for a semester and was introduced to Asian Diasporic literature in a class here at Georgetown with .”

His scientific research as an undergraduate, which focused on a signaling protein that controls processes of cell growth development and metabolism, earned Pham a Goldwater Scholarship, one of the most prestigious national awards for undergraduates in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

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Women in Poetry

Davis has perfected the art of translating Persian poetry. As noted during her introductory remarks, he strikes a difficult balance between flowery lines and scholarly translations. Davis has not only contributed greatly to the translation of Persian poetry but also sheds light on the underrepresented female authors of these works. 

Prior to the 20th century, most Persian poets were male. If poetry was written by a woman, she tended to be of a higher social standing, such as a princess or a member of the court. Even up to the modern day, many poems with female authors have not been studied with the veracity of their male counterparts. Davis has helped bring awareness to these poets by translating their work for the first time. 

Mirror of My Heart contains work by 83 female poets from the 10th to 20th centuries. While at Georgetown, Davis shared poems by three of these poets, the contents of which varied widely from the romantic to the philosophical. 

Davis was quick to mention that many of these female poets broke convention by writing poems that were seen as unladylike. He spoke of them with admiration for their wit and skill, but also of the timelessness of their writing on subjects like love, religion, and death. The awareness that Davis has brought to these poets reminds us that there is much about our past that we can learn from and apply to today, and that by engaging with poets like these, we gain a deeper understanding of our shared humanity. 

Lifelong Passion

Davis has made his career studying medieval Persian culture and poetry, which has helped him to glean the deeper meaning behind the poems he translates from centuries long past. He holds a masters degree from Kings ������̳, Cambridge, and a Ph.D from the University of Manchester. Davis has translated volumes of Persian poetry with the help of his wife Afkham Darbandi. He has also written and published his own poetry such as Belonging, and A Trick of Sunlight.

Collaboration Across Departments

The co-sponsored this event with the , the , the , the , and the Jalinous Endowed Fund for Persian Studies, as part of the , directed by .

Helping the Humanities to Flourish

Dean Christopher Celenza comments on the appointment of Prof. Pireddu. “I am delighted that Nicoletta Pireddu, a renowned comparatist and much-admired professor in our department of Italian, has agreed to take on the inaugural Directorship of the Georgetown Humanities Initiative. We have been sustained by the leadership of Vice Dean of Faculty David Edelstein, as well as that of our faculty advisory board. Prof. Pireddu’s leadership will allow us to continue that forward momentum and open up new areas of endeavor that will allow the Humanities to flourish robustly at Georgetown.”

“With its commitment to an integrated education and its vibrant location, Georgetown University is the ideal institution to foster innovative projects in the humanities that can involve and benefit faculty, students, and the wider community,” comments Pireddu. “Georgetown Humanities provides a university-level structure granting more visibility to the research that is already enriching our campus, but also promotes new synergies within the humanities, as well as between the humanities and other disciplines.”

Several Sponsored Projects in the Works

Georgetown Humanities already has several under its purview, including Georgetown University Buddhist and Silk Road Studies Initiative, Global Irish Studies, and the Georgetown Hyperhistory Hub.“Support from the Georgetown Humanities Initiative has been transformative for our efforts,” says , one of the co-directors of the Hyperhistory Hub; she partners with professors , and on the project. “This spring we are offering courses and programming that introduce Georgetown undergraduate and graduate students, DC-area faculty, and the broader public to the ways that historians can broaden their archives by responsibly using the data generated by a suite of methods in the historical sciences—everything from ancient DNA to ice cores for historical climate reconstruction, to the isotopes embedded in human and animal teeth. These opportunities also enrich our own research; the four of us faculty who are collaborating on this project fully expect to learn alongside our students.”

Through the projects it funds and the programming it develops, Georgetown Humanities strives to support work that has a deep impact in the academy while also engaging the public by demonstrating the continuing value of the humanities for understanding the challenges and opportunities of the human condition. 

“It is an incredible honor for me to contribute to this exciting endeavor, which foregrounds the importance of a humanistic approach to the understanding of our complex and interconnected world.” Pireddu states. “I look forward to working with colleagues and students inside and outside Georgetown to render our university a leading humanities hub.”

While many of their peers went home or took vacations, the three students stayed on campus to present original papers at the 2019 , the country’s largest annual gathering of comparative literature scholars.

Each presented their research papers as part of the conference’s undergraduate research seminar, “Spaces of Otherness in a Globalized World.” Awal’s paper was titled “The Political Takeover of Mentalities: The Otherization of Both the Jew and the Arab;” Leyja’s, “From Affect to Memory: Challenging the Borders of Latinidad in Literature;” and Rossi-Hawkins’ “The Contagion of Nationalist Othering: Mediterranean Colonialism in Miramar and Memoria del Vuoto.”

More than 80 students from around the world applied to participate in the undergraduate research seminar; only 15 were selected.

“Of the 184 multiday panels that comprised the ACLA conference, the Undergraduate Seminar was particularly dear to me,” said , who organized the conference. “I believe it is crucial to offer undergraduate students meaningful opportunities to showcase their research, and I am very proud of the sophisticated comparative scholarship that our panelists presented. I could have not asked for a better outcome.”

Awal’s paper focuses on “the relationship and the ‘otherization’ of the Arabs and Jews of the Israeli-Palestinian Crisis through the analysis of various works of literature.” Drawing from works by Benjamin Tammuz, A.B. Yehoshua, Amos Oz, and Sayed Kashua, Awal addressed themes of “love, separation, death, growing up in the middle of the conflict, identity, and courage” in what was originally her final paper in Prof. Maital Orr’s “Re-examining the Middle-Eastern Crisis Through Literature and Film” class.

“The characters in these works often have to face the reality of the trauma that arises as a result of the political conflict,” Awal said. “What I find intriguing is how thoughts of these characters often give rise to nostalgic recollections of the days where the Arabs and the Jews did not see one another as the ‘other,’ prior to political conflict and hostilities among different families.”

Rossi-Hawkins’ paper stems from a project she began while enrolled in the Liberal Arts Seminar, an intensive humanities course exclusively for first-year ������̳ students. She examines themes of colonial oppression and decolonization through Frantz Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth, then analyzes “the tension between multi-faceted reality and the vestiges of colonial polarity” through Naguib Mahfouz’s Miramar and Marcello Fois’ Memoria del Vuoto.

“In high school, I had been taught to study culture — history, literature, and art — within parameters dictated by modern political borders,” Rossi Hawkins said. “In the Liberal Arts Seminar, I began to perceive Mediterranean countries as a cultural unit. As an Italian, this new way of thinking of my native region deeply challenged me and excited me. … My essay for the ACLA is the first of many forays into this subject.”

The Georgetown participants in the research seminar came away with valuable feedback on their work and a powerful first impression of high-level academic inquiry.

“I had the honor of listening to perhaps the most intelligent group of people within my age group that I have ever met,” Rossi-Hawkins said. “I was simultaneously challenged and moved not only by my co-presenters’ arguments, but by their sophistication and variety.”

“What I found most fulfilling about my experience is that the undergraduate seminar paralleled the experience of graduate students and academic professionals,” Awal said. “In the future, I aspire to acquire my Ph.D. and pursue a career in academia, so I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to participate.”

Professor and Chair  of the , a comparative literature specialist, has spent the last two years planning the conference — the first time Georgetown has hosted the ACLA’s flagship event.

“I have been an active ACLA member for over two decades. Bringing its annual conference to our campus gives me the chance to serve an association that I deeply appreciate, and to promote scholarly debates across languages, literatures, and cultures that reflect the international and global mission of our university,” Pireddu said. “This conference covers an impressive variety of topics and innovative approaches, and I am delighted that the world-renowned novelist Amitav Ghosh has accepted my invitation to be our keynote speaker.”

Visiting scholars will participate in 184 themed seminars, with a total of nearly 2000 papers featured. Each seminar will include eight to twelve participants meeting over two or three days, a format designed to promote meaningful feedback and dialogue.

The ACLA Annual Meeting also includes one undergraduate research seminar, “Spaces of Otherness in a Globalized World,” which drew more than 80 submissions from the United States, Europe, India, and Turkey, for 15 spots. Three of the 15 presenters are Georgetown undergraduates, who will be forgoing a portion of their spring break to attend the conference.

“We are impressed by the quality of all the selected students,” Pireddu said. “This initiative highlights the pivotal role that an undergraduate education in the humanities plays in shaping sophisticated critical thinking.”

The conference represents an opportunity for Georgetown to showcase its robust scholarship at the intersection of teaching and research.

“On this welcome occasion, we are especially proud of our thriving Comparative Literature Program, which involves over twenty members of our distinguished faculty across the humanities, generates interdisciplinary research, and serves countless students,” Georgetown ������̳ Dean  wrote in a letter to conference attendees. “Your presence here will help catalyze projects already underway, even as we look forward to new horizons. I hope and trust that your time at Georgetown University and in Washington D.C. will prove fruitful for your work. Thank you for being with us.”