Alarcon-Arana to discuss research on “In a Foreign Land”

Dr. Esther Alarcon-Arana, assistant professor in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, will discuss her research on Iciar Bollain’s 2014 film “In a Foreign Land” during a McKillop Library presentation scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 21.

“From Dispossessed to Agents of Change: Participatory Culture in Iciar Bollain’s ‘In a Foreign Land'” will be held at 4 p.m. in the library’s east wing.

Spain is in the middle of an economic crisis that has sent more than 700,000 of its young citizens abroad in search of jobs. Tackled by Spain’s highest-profile female director, “In a Foreign Land” portraits the experience of this intra-European exile.

In the presentation, Alarcon-Arana aims to demonstrate the capacity that participatory culture and social networks have to build a bridge for those “dispossessed” by the economic crisis, allowing them to become agents of social change. She will examine three modes of civilian participation, which are intertwined with the structure of the documentary: academic thought, artistic representation and citizen mobilization.

Alarcon-Arana holds an M.A. in English, an M.A. in Hispanic studies and a Ph.D. in Hispanic studies from the University of Pennsylvania.