Priscilla Gac-Artigas, Ph.D., a full professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures who teaches all levels of Spanish plus all courses on Latin American literature and culture, adds an important achievement to her list of accomplishments. She became an elected full member of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language, (ANLE) in December 2021.
For seven years, Gac-Artigas has been a part of ANLE for seven years, being initially appointed Contributing Member and getting promoted to Corresponding Member two years later. As a full member, she is automatically considered a Corresponding Member of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), Spain’s official royal institution, founded in 1713.
Gac-Artigas said excitedly, “For me, to become a full member of the ANLE, coupled with being automatically appointed a Corresponding Member of the RAE was more than a goal, a dream. It represents at the same time a great honor and an enormous responsibility.”
ANLE is one of the 23 academies around the Hispanophone nations and territories that are united into an association called Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (ASALE). According to the ANLE website, its mission is “the study, elaboration, and implementation of the normative rules of Spanish in the United States of America.”
The process of becoming an elected member took time, but it was worth it. After seven years, she was invited to present her candidacy for the promotion to full member, for which she submitted a curriculum vitae highlighting her professional activity and contributions to the study of the language and Hispanic literature inside and outside the frame of the Academy. After having her submission work reviewed by the Board of Directors, who made the recommendation to the group of 50 Full members of the Academy, a decision was made.
Gac-Artigas’ full member status comes with more responsibilities. She is expected to publish more research, suggest news projects on behalf of their particular concerns for the preservation of the Spanish language and heritage in the US, and to keep alive inclusive language.
Mirta Barrea-Marlys, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures, recognizes the hard work Gac-Artigas did to receive this accomplishment. Barrea-Marlys stated, “I, as well as my colleagues in the department, are very happy for Dr. Gac-Artigas as we all work together to advance the linguistic and cultural abilities of our students here at Monmouth.”
The ceremony will be held virtually sometime in May, where Gac-Artigas will have the opportunity to present a keynote speech of 20 to 30 minutes on her research. A Full Member will respond to her speech, and she will receive a medal and certificate from the Director.
Her research revolves around autofictions and their transgressions into a new modality Gac-Artigas developed, which is called “collectfiction”. She said, “In this way, autofictional literature or art is reconfigured by the reader or viewer with the sum of his memories, dreams, knowledge, and experiences.” She added that it becomes a collection or reconfiguration of a given era.
Gac-Artigas said with great pride, “This distinction comes from a life of love for languages, particularly the Spanish language.” She added that it also comes from her professional training at the various institutions she attended, including the University of Puerto Rico, la Sorbonne, and the University of Franche-Comté in France where she obtained her PhD.
After reflecting on her many accomplishments, including this one, Gac-Artigas tries to instill this love of language in her students at Monmouth University. She said, “I would like to dedicate it to my students at MU who day after day accept the challenges that I present to them to go further in their thinking, in their text analysis, and in their use of the language, and their passion, commitment, and accomplishments make me extremely proud.”
