IAFOR > The Barcelona Conference on Education > BCE2020 > Speakers

Speakers

This page provides information about presenters. For details of presentations and other programming, please visit the Programme page.

  • Isabel Alonso-Breto
    Isabel Alonso-Breto
    University of Barcelona, Spain
  • Herman Bashiron Mendolicchio
    Herman Bashiron Mendolicchio
    University of Barcelona, Spain
  • Stephen Copland
    Stephen Copland
    Artist
  • Nuria Fuentes-Peláez
    Nuria Fuentes-Peláez
    University of Barcelona, Spain
  • Donald E. Hall
    Donald E. Hall
    University of Rochester, USA
  • Emilienne Malfatto
    Emilienne Malfatto
    Documentary Photographer
  • Gloria Montero
    Gloria Montero
    Novelist, Playwright & Poet
  • Baden Offord
    Baden Offord
    Curtin University, Australia
  • Cornelis Martin Renes
    Cornelis Martin Renes
    University of Barcelona, Spain
  • John Ryan
    John Ryan
    Freelance Writer, Australia
Isabel Alonso-Breto
University of Barcelona, Spain

Biography

Dr Isabel Alonso-Breto obtained her PhD from the University of Barcelona in 2003, where she is currently a Senior Lecturer. A scholar in the area of Postcolonial Studies, she has worked on authors of Caribbean, Canadian, Indian and South-African origin, while her present research focusses on literature and life writing by Sri Lankan authors, mostly of the diaspora. A visiting scholar in recent years at the Universities of Toronto (Canada) and Marburg (Germany), Dr Alonso-Breto has been the guest editor of several issues of academic journals such as Coolabah and Indialogs, and is the general editor of the miscellaneous journal Blue Gum. Also interested in the social role of creative writing and translation, she has several pieces to her credit in this regard. Lately she has translated into Spanish the anthology Siembra solo Palabras, by Sri Lankan Tamil poet Cheran, published in 2019. Dr Alonso-Breto is a member of Ratnakara, a research group devoted to the study of the literatures and cultures of the Indian Ocean, and the Vice-Director of the Centre for Australian and Transnational Studies at the University of Barcelona.

Discussion Panel (2020): “In Conversation with Gloria Montero”
Herman Bashiron Mendolicchio
University of Barcelona, Spain

Biography

Herman Bashiron Mendolicchio is a researcher, writer, editor and curator working across different disciplines, territories and cultures. He holds an International PhD in “Art History, Theory and Criticism” from the University of Barcelona. He is currently teaching in different Universities and academic programmes: he is coordinator of the Postgraduate course on International Cultural Cooperation at the University of Barcelona and faculty member and core advisor at Transart Institute (NY-Berlin-Liverpool).

His current lines of investigation involve the subjects of intercultural processes, participation, collaboration, travelling, globalization and mobility in contemporary arts and cultural policies, art in public space and the cultural cooperation between different world regions. As an art critic, editor and independent curator he collaborates with international organisations and institutions and writes extensively for several international magazines. He co-authored publications such as “Art in Context. Learning from the field”, “Art and Mobility, “Walking Art / Walking Aesthetics”, among others, and curated projects and exhibitions like “Utopian Tomorrow”, “The Artist and the Stone”, “Minus Ego”, “Cyclic Journey” and several solo shows with international artists. He collaborated as Editorial contributor at Culture360 – Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF); was Managing Editor at ELSE – Transart Institute, and is co-founder of the Platform for Contemporary Art and Thought, InterArtive.

Panel Presentation (2020): Embracing Difference: The Work of Art
Stephen Copland
Artist

Biography

Stephen Copland studied at the National Art School, Sydney (1969-1972), in 1988 he was awarded a Graduate Diploma in Education (University of Technology Sydney) and a Masters of Fine Art, University of New South Wales (1995). In 2013 he completed a Doctorate of Creative Arts from Wollongong University.

His Migration Series 1992-2002, a project of international exhibitions earned him a Commendation Award from the Consulate General of Lebanon (1999). He is the recipient of a Migration Heritage Grant, an International Programs Grant – NSW Ministry for the Arts, a Vermont Studio Center Grant and was awarded in 2011 the Moya Dyring Studio, Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris AGNSW.

He is the founder of the Migration as Art Museum, an archive of visual ethnography developed over two decades that explores forms of identity, place and migration. Copland has developed innovative programs of migration and heritage education with an emphasis on the study of works of art that engages with interdisciplinary, philosophical and ethical discourse.

In 2016 Copland was invited to present a paper about the museum at ICOM 24th General Conference/Museums and Cultural Landscapes/Milano, Italy.

The artist was selected for the Juror’s Choice at Art Venice Biennale 1V San Marco Salizada Malipiero Venice, and Liquid Rooms—The Labyrinth Palazzo Ca’ Zanardi, Venice
. 2017.

More recently Copland 2018 presented a paper at EASA Biennial Conference “Nationalism Old and New: Europe, Australia and their Others” He also exhibited in the exhibition “Otherings” Curated by Fiona Fell and Jaume de Cordoba, University of Barcelona.

Following this the artist conducted a 3-day workshop in conjunction with his Migration as Art Museum at the Albertina Academy of Fine Arts, Turin Italy. The Academy of Turin is one of the oldest in Italy. In recent years the Albertina Academy has been transformed and renewed, promoting countless didactic and cultural activities.

In 2019 Copland accepted an invitation to attend the Diaspora in Action conference (https://www.lde-leb.com/) and exhibit artworks from his The Migration Series (1992-2002) at the amazing Diaspora Museum, Batroun (http://www.al-mohajer.com/social.php?id=29&lng=en). Recently his video work "Drifting through Data" was selected for exhibition at the 2nd Biennale of Contemporary Art, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Alita/Byblos, Lebanon.

His Migration Series 1992-2002, a project of international exhibitions earned him a Commendation Award from the Consulate General of Lebanon (1999).
(https://izi.travel/en/ea5c-migration-as-art-museum/en)

Panel Presentation (2020): Embracing Difference: The Work of Art
Nuria Fuentes-Peláez
University of Barcelona, Spain

Biography

Dr Nuria Fuentes-Peláez is a Professor at the Faculty of Education at the University of Barcelona. Currently, she is teaching and researching in the Department of Research Methods and Diagnosis in Education. Her teaching is mainly in the degree of Social Education and in the Master on social and educative interventions where she is the Coordinator of the Master´s Thesis.

She is the head of the research group GRISIJ (Socio Research Group Interventions in Children and Youth). She is a member of various scientific associations and international networks (AIFREF, AIDIPE, APFEL, Foster Care Research Network). Her research is related to child protection, children's welfare systems and family education, especially with regard to foster care and adoption, and mainly using action research orientation. Her research interest has led her to address different issues such as kinship and non-kinship foster care, birth-family interventions, child participation, resilience and socio-educational training and support programs (design, implementation and evaluation).

She has led and participated in several research projects and notably three projects in which she is currently involved: “Keys for the articulation of socio-educational group programs in the foster care and family reunification processes”, funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of Spain, “The perspective of foster carers and fostered children to face the challenges of foster care” funded by the The Catalan Government and supported by the La Caixa Foundation, and “Growing in Family Today” funded by the European Union. Publications include contributions in various educational and support programs (addressed to foster care and adoptive families, as well as families in vulnerable situations, biological families), book chapters and scientific articles.

Featured Presentation (2020): Parenting Education Within Contexts of Vulnerability and Child Protection: Positive Parenting, Resilience and Vulnerability
Donald E. Hall
University of Rochester, USA

Biography

Donald E. Hall is Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering at the University of Rochester, USA. Prior to moving to Rochester, he was Dean of Arts and Sciences at Lehigh University, USA. Dean Hall has published widely in the fields of British Studies, Gender Theory, Cultural Studies, and Professional Studies. Over the course of his career, he served as Jackson Distinguished Professor of English and Chair of the Department of English (and previously Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages) at West Virginia University. Before that, he was Professor of English and Chair of the Department of English at California State University, Northridge, where he taught for 13 years. He is a recipient of the University Distinguished Teaching Award at CSUN, was a visiting professor at the National University of Rwanda, was Lansdowne Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University of Victoria (Canada), was Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Cultural Studies at Karl Franzens University in Graz, Austria, and was Fulbright Specialist at the University of Helsinki. He has also taught in Sweden, Romania, Hungary, and China. He served on numerous panels and committees for the Modern Language Association (MLA), including the Task Force on Evaluating Scholarship for Tenure and Promotion, and the Convention Program Committee. In 2012, he served as national President of the Association of Departments of English. From 2013-2017, he served on the Executive Council of the MLA.

His current and forthcoming work examines issues such as professional responsibility and academic community-building, the dialogics of social change and activist intellectualism, and the Victorian (and our continuing) interest in the deployment of instrumental agency over our social, vocational, and sexual selves. Among his many books and editions are the influential faculty development guides, The Academic Self and The Academic Community, both published by Ohio State University Press. Subjectivities and Reading Sexualities: Hermeneutic Theory and the Future of Queer Studies were both published by Routledge Press. Most recently he and Annamarie Jagose, of the University of Auckland, co-edited a volume titled The Routledge Queer Studies Reader. Though he is a full-time administrator, he continues to lecture worldwide on the value of a liberal arts education and the need for nurturing global competencies in students and interdisciplinary dialogue in and beyond the classroom.

Professor Donald E. Hall is a Vice-President of IAFOR. He is Chair of the Arts, Humanities, Media & Culture division of the International Academic Advisory Board.

Emilienne Malfatto
Documentary Photographer

Biography

Emilienne Malfatto is an independent documentary photographer. She focuses on post-conflict and social issues, especially in Iraq, developing long-term projects that allow her to have depth and closeness with her subjects.

She studied in France and Colombia and graduated from Sciences Po Paris. She then joined Agence France Presse (AFP) and worked in France and in the Middle East. In early 2015 she moved to northern Iraq as a freelancer. She now works mostly in Iraq, with occasional reporting in Latin America and elsewhere.

Emilienne's work has been exhibited internationally and featured by The Washington Post, The New York Times’ Lens blog, UNESCO, MSF and Le Monde, among others.

Emilienne is the Grand Prize Winner of the 2019 IAFOR Documentary Photography Award.

emalfatto.com

Panel Presentation (2020): Embracing Difference: The Work of Art
Gloria Montero
Novelist, Playwright & Poet

Biography

Novelist, playwright and poet Gloria Montero grew up in a family of Spanish immigrants in Australia’s North Queensland. After studies in theatre and music, she began to work in radio and theatre, and then moved to Canada where she continued her career as an actress, singer, writer, broadcaster, scriptwriter and TV interviewer.

Co-founder of the Centre for Spanish-Speaking Peoples in Toronto (1972), she served as its Director until 1976. Following the success of her oral history The Immigrants (1973) she was invited to act as Consultant on Immigrant Women to the Multicultural Department of the Secretary of State, Government of Canada.

She organised the international conferences "Amnistia" (1970) and "Solidaridad" (1974) in Toronto to support and make known the democratic Spain that was developing in the last years of the Franco dictatorship, and in 1976 at Bethune College, York University, "Spain 1936-76: The Social and Cultural Aftermath of the Spanish Civil War".

With her husband, filmmaker David Fulton, she set up Montero-Fulton Productions to produce documentary films on social, cultural and ecological themes. Their film, Crisis in the Rain, on the effects of acid rain, won the Gold Camera Award American Film Festival 1982. Montero was consultant-interviewer on Dreams and Nightmares (A-O Productions, California) about Spain under Franco, a film that won international awards in Florence, Moscow, Leipzig and at the American Film Festival 1975.

Among her many radio documentaries for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation are: The Music of Spain – a series of 18 hours which presented Spanish music within a social and historical framework; Segovia: the man and his music — a 2-hour special (Signature); Women and the Law (Ideas); Foreign Aid: Hand-out or Rip-Off (Ideas).

Since 1978 Montero has been living in Barcelona, where she has continued to write and publish novels such as The Villa Marini, All Those Wars and Punto de Fuga. Her poem Les Cambres was printed with a portfolio of prints by artist Kouji Ochiai (Contratalla 1983). A cycle of prose poems, Letters to Janez Somewhere in Ex-Yugoslavia, provided the basis for collaboration with painter Pere Salinas in a highly successful exhibition at Barcelona's Galería Eude (1995).

She won the 2003 NH Premio de Relato for Ménage à Trois, the first time the Prize was awarded for a short story in English.

Well known among her theatre work is the award-winning Frida K., which has toured Canada, played New York and Mexico and has been mounted in productions in Spain, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden and Latvia.

Photo by Pilar Aymerich.

Keynote Presentation (2020): KNOCK KNOCK... WHO'S THERE?
Discussion Panel (2020): “In Conversation with Gloria Montero”
Baden Offord
Curtin University, Australia

Biography

Baden Offord holds the Dr Haruhisa Handa Chair of Human Rights, is a Research Professor in Cultural Studies and Human Rights, and is Director of the Centre for Human Rights Education at Curtin University. An internationally recognized specialist in human rights, sexuality, culture and education, he works across Australian, Cultural and Asian Studies. His work includes the co-authored book Inside Australian Culture: Legacies of Enlightenment Values (Anthem, London: 2015); Towards Inanition: Diminishing the Humanities, Communications and Arts at Our Peril (2020) and "Beyond our Nuclear Engagement: love, nuclear pain and the whole damn thing." Angelaki: Journal of the Theoretical Humanities 22 (3): 17-25. (2017). He is an Adjunct Professor at Southern Cross University, and has previously been a Visiting Professor at the University of Barcelona and also Chair (Visiting Professor) in Australian Studies in the Centre for Pacific and American Studies at the University of Tokyo.

Professor Offord is a member of IAFOR’s Academic Governing Board. He is Chair of the Cultural & Area Studies section of the International Academic Advisory Board.

Keynote Presentation (2020): The Relevance of the Humanities and Arts in Uncertain Times
Cornelis Martin Renes
University of Barcelona, Spain

Biography

Dr Cornelis Martin Renes graduated from the University of Barcelona with a BA in 2001, an MA in 2006 and PhD in 2010. He joined the English and German Philology staff in 2001. His main teaching areas have been English poetry from the Renaissance to contemporary times, and postcolonial studies with a special emphasis on the Asia-Pacific area and Australia in particular. He wrote his thesis on indigenous Australian literature and identity formation. He co-directs the Australian Studies Centre at the university, which was recognised as an official University of Barcelona Centre in 2000. Since the 2000s his main area of research has been indigenous Australian literature, and more recently he has become a member of a research project, POCRIF, which looks at postcolonial crime fiction and is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education. He currently holds the positions of Adjunct Lecturer, Co-Director of the Australian Studies Centre at the University of Barcelona, and Member of the EASA (European Association for Studies of Australia) Board. He maintains steady contact with Australian academia through visiting fellowships.

Panel Presentation (2020): Embracing Difference: The Work of Art
John Ryan
Freelance Writer, Australia

Biography

John Ryan is an independent scholar and educator. From 2011-2019 he was Head Teacher English in New South Wales Secondary Education and currently works for Western Australia Distance Education. He has published widely in the fields of cultural studies, social justice and education, and in 2018 he was a visiting fellow at the Centre for Australian and Transnational Studies, University of Barcelona. John’s interdisciplinary research focuses on connecting critical and creative pedagogy and cultural theory to matters of marginalization, inclusion and diversity.

Keynote Presentation (2020): Utopia Depends on a U-turn: Intertextuality, New Writing and Educating for Diversity