Angelo State Professor Earns Fulbright Grant to Research in Mexico

SAN ANGELO – Dr. Karen Cody, a professor in Angelo State University's Natalie Zan Ryan Department of English and Modern Languages, is one of only 16 college faculty nationwide selected for a 2023 Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program to conduct research in Mexico this summer.

A professor of Spanish, French and linguistics, Cody will receive a grant to fund her travel and lodging expenses as she spends four weeks participating in the seminar titled "Mexico and the United States: Understanding the Development of a Strategic Relationship."

The seminar participants will visit landmarks of shared Mexico-U.S. history and hear lectures by Mexican scholars dedicated to research on fundamental bilateral issues, such as public health, the environment, security, science, technology and cultural exchange, financial geography and migration. They will also spend time with Mexican peers in museums, libraries and universities in various cities, where they will learn and discuss ongoing collaborative work and have the opportunity to network for future bilateral projects.

"I'm thrilled to have been selected for the Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program this summer in Mexico," Cody said, "and I am extraordinarily grateful for this new chance to experience Mexico, a land and culture so integral to my childhood, as well as my career."

The seminar will kick off in New Orleans, where the U.S.'s first Mexican consulate was established in 1824, and will include stops in Mexico City, Cuernavaca, Puebla, Veracruz and Guadalajara before closing in Miguel de Allende, a World Heritage City that is home to a large number of U.S. nationals. While all aspects of the Mexico-U.S. bilateral relationship will be highlighted, greater emphasis will be put on the two countries' shared values and cooperation.

This is the second time Cody has been selected for a prestigious Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program after previously completing a seminar conducting research in Senegal in 2016.

"This trip will be very different from my bus rides through the savannas of Senegal, a country I knew about but had never visited," Cody said. "I look forward to sharing what I discover with students, colleagues and the greater community. I've given over 50 talks to many different groups since my trip to Senegal, and I hope to be as engaged upon my return from Mexico."

An ASU faculty member since 2001, Cody also coordinates ASU's teacher certification program for students planning to be high school Spanish teachers. Her specific research interests include sociolinguistics, how language and society intersect, and issues of ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic class, politics and education, as well as second language learning and teaching. She holds a bachelor's degree from Texas Christian University and master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Texas.

The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists. It was founded by U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright in 1946.