Franciscan Conference in Washington, D.C.

Sept. 11, 2018

On Oct. 13 and 14, 2017, Hood College students Megan Alfonso ’20 and Virginia Dunkley ’18 helped on-site with the conference “The Franciscans in Mexico: Five Hundred Years of Cultural Influence” at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C.

It was a two-day conference organized by Hood College history professor Jay Harrison and two of his colleagues from Washington, D.C., and Chile. The conference featured 13 accomplished historians of the Franciscan order’s history in Mexico, which began in 1521 with the arrival of Spanish conquerors and their Franciscan chaplains.

Alfonso, a Latin-American studies major, and Dunkley, a history major, assisted with logistics for the conference, giving direction to visiting scholars and participants. They were present for all of the panels during the weekend. Following each panel, they spoke with the scholars in personal conversations that reflected the speaker’s interests and the students’ understandings of the history under discussion. Faculty from Hood’s Department of Global Languages and Cultures participated as well, representing the college’s commitment to examining the diverse cultures of the Americas and Iberia.

Sponsored by the Jay I. Kislak Foundation, the Library of Congress, and the Academy of American Franciscan History, the conference enabled Hood to provide first-hand experience in academic conferences and subject matter of keen interest to its students.