Barbara Fuchs, president of the Modern Language Association, will be presented with the inaugural Instituto Cervantes’s Ñ Award by King Felipe VI of Spain on the occasion of the institute’s thirtieth anniversary. The Instituto Cervantes was created in 1991 to further the teaching of Spanish and Spain’s vernacular languages and to enhance the visibility of Spanish and Latin American culture. This honorary distinction was created this year to recognize individuals or legal entities who have promoted the Spanish language around the world.
Fuchs is a professor of Spanish and English at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Her research interests include early modern Spanish and English literature, Mediterranean and transatlantic studies, literature and empire, transnationalism and literary history, race and religion in the early modern world, and translation and performance. Through her numerous books and articles published on these topics and her founding of the Diversifying the Classics project, an initiative that aims to foster awareness and appreciation of Hispanic classical theater, Barbara Fuchs has dedicated her career to the promotion of Spanish language and literary history internationally. During her term as president of the MLA, Fuchs has written about the centrality of multilingualism in the spring MLA Newsletter and has made multilingualism her presidential theme for the 2022 MLA Annual Convention in Washington, DC.
King Filipe VI will present the Ñ Award to Fuchs at the next annual meeting of the Instituto Cervantes board of trustees in October. Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s prime minister, will deliver the diploma certifying the award on 22 July at UCLA.