Degrees
- B.A., Spanish and Art History, Washington University in Saint Louis, 1995
- M.A., Spanish, University of California, Irvine, 1998
- Ph.D., Spanish, University of California, Irvine, 2004
Areas of Interest
- Nineteenth and twentieth century Spanish Literature (Realism, Modernism)
- Spanish and Latin American Cinema (Neorealism, Postmodernism, Documentary)
- Intersections of Philosophy, Literature, and Cinema
- Spanish and Latin American Intellectual History
- Cultural Studies
- Immigration Studies
I am currently preparing a manuscript on the role of skepsis in the critical outlook of Miguel de Unamuno and his incorporation of it in his novelistic production around themes of personal or collective crisis.
Courses Taught
- Beginning Spanish
- Intermediate Spanish
- Readings in Spanish Peninsular Cultures
- Poetic Lives, Poetic Lines: An Introduction to Spanish Poetry
- Hispanic Film
- Cervantes and Don Quijote
- Don Juan in the Spanish Cultural Imaginary
- Fate, Freewill, and Entrapment in Modern Spanish Narrative
- Spanish Existentialist Writers and Filmmakers
- Diversity, Intersectionality, Otherness (FYS)
Teaching Philosophy
I design my courses to take students on a journey of sustained inquiry and discovery that challenges them to continue to grow as Spanish speakers and to practice critical thinking. My courses provide a structured path to their established learning goals, and I support my students by giving them the necessary tools, guidance, motivation, and encouragement to succeed. I believe that learning entails trial and error and that with the right balance of hard work, discipline, and planning everything is attainable.
Independent Study Advising
- Ciclo de la Historia Repetida: El Juego de Espera de los Dreamers, by Fernanda Ba簽uelos, spring 2024. (double major with Education)
- Joder Aqu穩 vienen los delinquents. Una exploraci籀n de dos pel穩culas de Eloy de la Iglesia: Colegas y El pico, by Hannah Grosman, spring 2023. (double major with Education)
- Nativism, another word for racism? A study of how anti-immigrant sentiments create animus towards the Latinx Community, by Elizabeth Su獺rez, spring 2021. (double major with Political Science)
- Miguel de Cervantes, Plat籀n, y Francisco de Goya: La conexi籀n entre la fantas穩a y la realidad, by Dezmond Morrow, spring 2021.
- La libertad y sus acontecimientos: un enfoque en el existencialismo y el uso de la
libertad dentro de artefactos culturales, by Carlos Hern獺ndez, spring 2020. (double major with Education) - Moral Obligations: Towards a Just System of Immigration, by Mayra L籀pez, spring 2019. (double major with Philosophy)
- Fronteras entretejidas: texto, textil, y la formaci籀n de una narrativa mestiza en las obras de Sor Juana In矇s de la Cruz, Gloria Anzald繳a, y Sandra Cisneros, by Claire Billingsley, spring 2016.
- De monstruo a modelo: C籀mo el mito de La Llorona refleja los cambios en la Sociedad, la identidad, y la cultura en tres libros infantiles, by Charlotte Tierney, spring 2016.
- Cervantes y Vel獺squez: Dos artistas revolucionarios y c籀mo exploraron los mismos conceptos en sus t矇cnicas diferentes, by Cathryn Rudawsky, spring 2015.
- Oaxaca vive, 聶la lucha sigue?: Una cr籀nica de conflictividad social, by Lauren Hines, spring2009. (double major with English)
- Espa簽a vista desde afuera: la evoluci籀n del turismo en Espa簽a desde los finales del siglo XIX hasta el nuevo milenio, by Rebecca Beyer, spring 2007.
- El concepto de la salvaci籀n en las obras de Miguel de Unamuno, by Emily Richardson, spring 2007.
- El problema del libre albedr穩o en Niebla, by Sean Hennessey, spring 2006.
Publications
- The Rebranding of Don Juan Tenorio as a Social Misfit in Tristana, in Approaches to Teaching Benito P矇rez Gald籀s. New York MLA: (forthcoming)
- Las ra穩ces filos籀ficas de la actitud cr穩tica de Unamuno, in Actas del XXI Congreso de la Asociaci籀n Internacional de Hispanistas. Madrid: Iberoamericana / Vervuert. (forthcoming)
- San Manuel Bueno, m獺rtir as Literary Artifact, in Approaches to Teaching Miguel de Unamuno. New York: MLA, 2020. 143-152.
- Atributos esc矇pticos y nietzscheanos de Pachico Zabalbilde de Paz en la guerra de Unamuno in Perspectivas actuales del hispanismo mundial. Christoph Strosetzki. Vol. II. Munster: Readbox Unipress, 2019. 173-184.
- La arquitectura epistemol籀gica de La forma del silencio de Mar穩a Luisa Puga, in Mar穩a Luisa Puga y la (re)construcci籀n del espacio. Mexico City: Editorial de la Universidad Aut籀noma Metropolitana de M矇xico, 2018. 91-116.
- Unamuno y Montaigne: una aproximaci籀n a Niebla desde la Apolog穩a a Raimundo Sabunde, in Hispanismos del mundo: di獺logos y debates en (y desde) el Sur. Leonardo Funes. Buenos Aires: Mi簽o y D獺vila, 2016. 99-107.
- Incongruent Visions: Documentary Incursions into the Debate Over Illegal Immigration. Vanderbilt e-Journal of Luso-Hispanic Studies 8 (Fall 2012): 13-22.
- U紳硃鳥喝紳棗s San Manuel Bueno, m獺rtir: Philosophical Skepticism in a Time of Political Upheaval. Revista de Estudios Hisp獺nicos 1 (Spring 2011): 177-199.
- Synchronicity in Julio Medems Los amantes del C穩rculo Polar: Poeticizing Coincidence in a Taoist Vernacular. Anales de la literatura Espa簽ola 唬棗紳喧梗鳥梯棗娶獺紳梗硃 36.1 (Winter 2011): 33-53.
- The Convergence of Mysticism and Psychosis in Almod籀vars Hable con ella. 倏轍獺紳釵硃紳棗 37 (Spring 2010): 21-40.
- The Hellenic Origins of Unamunos Skepticism and Nieblas Skeptical Parody of Cartesianism. Hispanic Review 77.4 (Autumn 2009): 471-493.
Professional Affiliations
- Asociaci籀n Internacional de Hispanistas (International Association of Hispanists)
- Modern Language Association
- American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese