Dr. Beate Gilliar grew up in Germany, where she pursued degrees in English and music before completing her undergraduate (B.A. in English) and graduate studies at the University of Arizona. There she also received an M.A in teaching English as a second language and an M.A. in German, followed by a Ph.D. from the English Department. 

Her book A Rhetoric of (Re)Unification: Constructing Identity through East and West German Newspapers presents a series of critical analyses of the political rhetoric of East and West German newspapers that relate directly to the public attitudes toward reunification. These analyses offer insights into how mass media represent political developments in light of contrasting political ideologies and purposes. By using rhetoric and hermeneutics as methods of inquiry, this book explores how public discourse advanced social emancipation. 

Professor Gilliar’s scholarly and creative projects have appeared in academic journals and anthologies, and explore how rhetoric, composition, ESL, Native American literature, the Holocaust, and poetry are essential for a liberal arts education. She also translated Arthur Giron’s dramatic play Edith Stein from English into German; the play is based on Edith Stein’s life and demonstrates how the religious faith of this intellectual thinker and nun is first challenged and ultimately destroyed by Nazi ideology. 

In her courses, such as First-Year Writing; Creative Writing; Introduction to Literary Studies; Contemporary Literature; and World Literature, Professor Gilliar seeks to help students discover how reading and writing are informed by the intersection of artistic, historical, social, musical, psychological and poetic knowledge.

Throughout the past 10 years Professor Gilliar has conducted monthly writing retreats in bookstores and libraries for writers of all ages. Her joy of conducting community work in North Manchester, Wabash and Fort Wayne has traveled with her to Germany. During the summer months, she enjoys working with workshop participants in southern Germany. There, during her sabbatical year in Freiburg (2007-2008), she has been researching the latest developments in German patriotism, a project that aims at publication.

Dr. C. Arturo Yáñez received his B.A. (Licentiate in Education) from the Universidad de Los Andes (Mérida, Venezuela) with majors in education and foreign language teaching. His M.Ed. is from the University fo Toronto (Ontario, Canada) where he specialized in curriculum design and foreign language education. His Ph.D. is from the University of Iowa (Iowa, USA) where he specilized in secondary education, Spanish linguistics and foreign language education. Before he came to Manchester University, Dr. Yáñez was a professor of Spanish and TESOL at the University of the Andes in Merida, Venezuela for 25 years and a visiting professor of Spanish and TESOL at Arkansas Tech University.

Dr. Yañez has published several refereed journal articles and two book chapters. His research is on the pedagogy of foreign languages, evaluation and writing across disciplines. The book chapter entitled "The Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians: Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education" has been widely cited by scholars in a number of disciplines in the USA and in Europe. He also published the book, Writing History: Instructional and Pedagogical Complexities.

As editor of the journal Entre Lenguas for the Universidad de Los Andes´ School of Modern Languages, he wrote and edited research-based articles on the best of pedagogical practices for teaching reading, writing, speaking and listening in a second or foreign language.

Dr. Yáñez has presented several research papers in different international conferences in Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Spain and in the United States. Dr. Yañez has taught many types of courses both in Spanish and English at both undergraduate and graduate levels and has traveled extensively in Spanish-speaking America and Europe.

He is an active member of NCTE, ACTFL and AATSP. Dr. Yáñez is an active foreign language Program Review Evaluator for ACTFL/NCATE and has received training as an ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interviewer (OPI).

Last but not least, Dr. Yáñez has a passion for fine art photography, national parks, orchids and sports. He is a percussionist and played congas professionally for salsa bands since he was twelve.