About Us
and who we are
Digital Buenos Aires started during a Summer 2019 Study Abroad Program in Buenos Aires with a project that asked students to collaborate on the creation of a group digital project: Digital Buenos Aires, which consists of the mapping of digital artifacts (images, texts, audio, videos) compiled by the students during their cultural visits around Buenos Aires. Throughout this study abroad experience, students captured digital artifacts (images, videos) during the visits and created relevant supporting artifacts (audio, text, in English) to provide context for the digital artifacts. This project was designed and led by Dr. Laura Levi Altstaedter, with the collaboration of Prof. Magalí Krosl, Dr. Irina Swain, and Brandon Suggs, as well as Makayla Harris, Lena Hobson, Max Kilgore, Brianna Plumb, and Garrett Reid.
Since then, Dr. Laura Levi Altstaedter added a new advanced Spanish Directed Readings course for students who studied abroad in her and Dr. Mauro Falasca’s faculty-led Summer in Buenos Aires program. The goal of this course is to provide students with the opportunity to explore more in depth spaces and places visited as part of their study abroad experience and connect of those spaces and places to their academic experiences at ECU . The updated Digital Buenos Aires project part of the Directed Readings course allowed Dr. Levi Altstaedter and her team to add the opportunity for advanced Spanish students interested in designing and implementing a Digital Humanities project connected to their study abroad experience upon return from their program.
Faculty and Staff
Dr. Laura Levi Altstaedter
Dr. Levi Altstaedter’s research focuses primarily on second language pedagogical innovation at the college level. Her research has focused on second language writing, particularly on how peer feedback impacts students’ writing proficiency in their L2, as well as on technology-mediated L2 instruction. She also specializes in L2 student motivation and has published on student perceptions of second language assessment and pedagogical innovations such as a Spanish for Health Professions course. Her background includes a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Wake Forest University, as well as a an MA in History/Latin American Studies, a Future Professoriate Graduate Certificate, and a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction, Second Language Education, from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She holds NC teaching licenses in Spanish K-12 and Academically and Intellectually Gifted.
Lily Rose Johnson
After completing her degree in Information and Computer Technology with a concentration in Security, Lily was inspired to work for the department of Foreign Languages and Literatures by childhood experiences abroad. Lily lived in Japan for 18 years prior to moving to the US and has a deep love for foreign cultures. She has enjoyed working as an Educational Technology Consultant because it has allowed her to work closely with faculty and students, to combine her knowledge of technology and love for language and culture to enhance the faculty-student teaching and learning experiences.
Student Researchers
2024 Student Researchers
Coming soon…
2022 Student Researchers
Nina Carrillo-Corujo
A senior undergraduate student from Puerto Rico, pursuing a degree in Foreign Languages and Literature at East Carolina University after being inspired to learn more about other cultures in addition to her own. She had the opportunity to participate in two study abroad programs in Spain and Argentina while completing her bachelor’s degree program. She is now motivated to share her experiences and help others have the same opportunities to immerse themselves in a different culture.
Julia Kohake
Julia is a student at East Carolina University majoring in Social Work and minoring in Hispanic Studies. She will be graduating this coming May 2023 and will be pursuing her Master in Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She hopes to utilize her background in Hispanic Studies to work in the international social work field. With this research project, she has enjoyed combining her passion for macro social work and policy with her interest in the Spanish language and culture. She is also getting the opportunity to expand on her experiences studying abroad in Buenos Aires in 2022, gaining valuable experience with research, and exploring more about the culture of Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has been focusing on street art in Buenos Aires and analyzing research that looks at art from a socio-political lens.
