The Great War set in motion all of the subsequent violence of the 20th century. The war took millions of lives, led to the fall of four empires, established new nations, and negatively affected others. During and after the war, individuals and communities struggled to find expression for their wartime encounters and communal as well as individual mourning. Throughout this time of enormous upheaval, many artists redefined their role in society, among them writers, performers, painters, and composers.

London’s Latin American community is the eighth largest, and one of the fastest growing, non-UK born populations in the city ( McIlwaine and Bunge 2016) . The recognition of Latin Americans as an ethnic minority in the UK has been long claimed by the Latin American community and in 2012, Southwark became the first council in the UK to recognise Latin Americans as an ethnic group. In 2018, Southwark Council in partnership with the Institute of Modern Languages Research, University of London, secured funding to work with the Latin American community organisations in Southwark.

The Institute is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Charles Burdett as its new Director. Currently Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Durham, he will succeed Professor Catherine Davies, who directed the Institute for more than five years. Professor Burdett will assume the full-time Directorship from 15 January 2021. Dr Godela Weiss-Sussex will continue to serve as Acting Director until this date. 

The Alice Emily Bithell Prize for 2019 has been jointly awarded to Sophie Kellam and Romney Wood. The Prize, established in memory of Dr Alice Emily Bithell of Birkbeck College, is awarded annually for the best performance in modern literature papers in German at BA level. Sophie Kellam was awarded a First Class degree in German and Comparative Literature at Queen Mary University of London.