The XVIII interdisciplinary Diálogos conference, organized by the Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC) of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Indiana University-Bloomington, was held virtually on February 26-27, 2021. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first time that Diálogos was held virtually. The virtual nature made possible the participation of keynote speakers, presenters, and audience members from a wider geographical scope, including the US, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, and Algeria.

The conference was honored with the participation of three guest keynote speakers: Dr. Leila Lehnen, associate professor of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies at Brown University; Dr. Mario Santana, associate professor of Spanish Literature at the University of Chicago; and Dr. Rena Torres Cacoullos, professor of Spanish and Linguistics at Pennsylvania State University. Each keynote speaker gave a talk and a workshop where graduate students were able to learn and discuss the keynote speakers' work in depth. Dr. Lehnen spoke on "Beyond Democracy? Brazilian Literature and the Democratic Imagination," and her workshop was entitled "(Anti) Democracy and Brazilian Literature." Dr. Santana gave a lecture entitled "Una poética de la redención: La construcción de la memoria histórica en la novela contemporánea," and his workshop considered Iberian studies and translation. Dr. Torres Cacoullos presented "Data vs. Models: Bilingual Mixed NPs," and her workshop focused on studying grammars in contact. During the social lunch hour, graduate students had the opportunity to share their current research topics and received valuable feedback from the keynote speakers in a more intimate way.

Thirty-four graduate students presented original research on a variety of topics in Spanish and Lusophone literature and linguistics. Graduate students represented the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Indiana University, as well as other institutions including Cornell University, Universitat de Barcelona, Université d'Argel, Pennsylvania State University, University of Georgia, Harvard University, Louisiana State University, Universidade de São Paulo, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Brown University, University of Albany, University of Delaware, and University of Kentucky. Three undergraduate students presented outstanding papers written for an upper-division class in Hispanic literature at Indiana University. This year's conference also included a new panel entitled "My Dissertation in 15 minutes," where three advanced graduate students presented their dissertation in a concise way to an audience including people from outside of their field.