Chantell Smith Limerick

Ph.D. Romance Languages, specializing in Hispanic Studies '16. A researcher in Afro-Hispanic studies, Latin American narrative and African Diaspora studies, Dr. Limerick was a recipient of a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship in 2015 after receiving the Summer Field Research Grant from the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute (LACSI) and the Graduate Research Award from the Willson Center for Humanities & Arts while at UGA. In 2021 she was a Fulbright-Hayes Seminars Abroad grantee. 

A memorable international experience at Georgia was spending a month in Cuba in the summer of 2013 accompanying the UGA en la Habana program. I participated as a part-time program assistant and engaged in dissertation research. The experiences I had interacting with notable scholars on Afro-descendant identity in Cuba—Roberto Zurbano and Tomás Fernández Robaina—and spending time in la Habana as well as the eastern side of the island, Santiago de Cuba, were integral to not only my dissertation project, but to my current work as an Afro-hispanist.

Studying language, literature, and culture at Georgia prepared me to have a truly diverse and interdisciplinary formation. In addition to my concentration in Hispanic studies, I was also able to purse studies in Portuguese, in programs outside of Romance Languages such as History, and in fields related to Hispanic studies such as Latinx Studies. My courses on Afro-Hispanic cultural production informed my research analyzing Afro-Latin American alongside African-American literature.

I encourage students at Georgia today to get involved in the department—for example, the Romance Languages Colloquium Series and the Crossroads Graduate Conference—and take the time to establish and nurture connections not only with your fellow classmates, but also with your mentors, who may one day become colleagues! The connections I made at UGA have been long lasting and vital in my professional life.