We congratulate Alexa Mendez, who has successfully passed her candidacy exam! 

Alexa advanced to candidacy with a stellar exam whose focus was evocations of Blackness in German and Russian literature and the question of their translatability—formidable topics that Alexa treats with both passion and nuance. We are excited to see how her thinking evolves as she makes her way through the dissertation-writing process. Congratulations, Alexa!

Advisor: Paul Reitter 

Committee Members: 
Juan-Jacques Aupiais, Cynthia D. Porter, and Sunnie Rucker-Chang (SLAVEES) 

Presentation Title 
Translating the Black Idiom: Mediation and Performance of Black Identity Across Black German, Russian, and American Literature