, professor and former chair of the 91探花’s , has been awarded one of Spain’s highest civil honors.
In a ceremony April 16 in Brechemin Auditorium on the 91探花campus, Geist was admitted into the with his nomination to the first-class title of Caballeros de la Gran Cruz de Oficial, or Knights of the Officer’s Cross. The honor is conferred on those who have given exceptional service to the benefit of Spain.
The award was bestowed on Geist by Spain’s Honorary Consul in Washington state, Luis Fernando Esteban, and the event included a concert by Grammy Award-winning pianist .
Geist said his “enduring love affair” with Spain began with his first visit there as a junior from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Since then, he has devoted his professional life to studying and teaching the language, literature, history and culture of Spain.
“The award recognizes the richness and beauty of Spanish literature and culture and its importance in the United States,” Geist said. “I am honored to have contributed to its presence in this country and on the 91探花campus.”
He has published a dozen books, including “La po茅tica de la Generaci贸n del 27 y las Revistas Literarias” (1980), “Cartograf铆a Po茅tica” (2004) and “El Canon Abierto” (2015), as well as roughly 100 articles.
His other work includes a 2002 and book, “They Still Draw Pictures: Children’s Drawings from the Spanish Civil War to Kosovo,” and a 2001 photo essay and 2006 documentary about the , as well as its first as its first public monument in the U.S., on the 91探花campus, in 1998. In 2015 he curated an exhibit of the Basque exile painter Miguel Marina.
Geist also established and is executive director of the UW’s , which has hosted programs from 15 departments or units involving more than 600 students.
Read a 2014 at the Spanish and Portuguese studies website.