BA, Drew University. MA, PhD, Vanderbilt University. Special interests include Caribbean and Latin American literatures and cultures since the 19th century; Afro-Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx fictions; women’s and gender studies; ethnic and race studies; nationalism; film studies; ecocriticism; and ecofeminism. Scholarly publications appeared in A Contracorriente and Journal of Haitian Studies. SLC, 2023–
Undergraduate Courses 2023-2024
Spanish
Advanced Spanish- Black Presence and Representations in Contemporary Latin American and Latinx Cinema
Advanced, Seminar—Spring
Prerequisite: placement test taken during interview week at the beginning of the fall semester
What lessons can we draw from contemporary Latin American and Latinx films about Black subjects’ perceived and actual presence in these societies? How can the seventh art shape our perceptions and understanding of hegemonic ideologies about Blackness circulating in Latin American societies? In this seminar, we will critically reflect on these questions by analyzing films produced in the last two decades centering on the theme of Afro-Latin American and Afro-Latinx’s nuanced experiences. Alongside learning the vocabulary and developing tools for basic film analysis, we will discuss polemics around authorship in cinema. Through advanced grammar review and writing workshops, students will hone their communication, analytic, and essay-writing skills in Spanish. Films include Afroargentinos, Chocó, Pelo malo, Entre fuego y agua, and La soledad, among many others. Students will complete an individual project.
Faculty
Advanced Spanish: Latin American Female Artistic Productions
Advanced, Seminar—Fall
Prerequisite: placement test to be taken during interview week at the beginning of the fall semester
In this seminar, we will analyze how Latin American women reflected on traditional gender roles, heteronormative standards, intricate racial systems, class dynamics, technology, and environment concerns in their literary and cinematographic works. Through advanced grammar review and writing workshops, students will hone their communication, analytic, and essay-writing skills in Spanish. Readings include texts by Aida Cartagena Portalatín, Cristina Cabral, Gabriela Mistral, and María Fernanda Ampuero; films include La ciénaga, El último verano de la Boyita, and Fever Dream, among many others. Students will complete an individual project.
Faculty
Intermediate Spanish: Contemporary Issues in Latin America
Intermediate, Seminar—Year
Prerequisite: placement test taken during interview week at the beginning of the fall semester
This course is designed for students who have at least one year of Spanish at the college level or more in high school. Through extensive grammar review and engagement with authentic materials, students will broaden their vocabulary, hone their verbal and written communication, as well as improve their reading and analytical skills. We will discuss topics relevant to Latin American societies—such as health, education, migration, environmental concerns, gender and sexuality, race, historical memory, and technology—through poetry, short stories, documentaries, films, music, and legislation. We will carefully discuss the cultural productions of Samanta Schweblin, Andrés Wood, Valeria Luiselli, Elizabeth Acevedo, Sebastián Borensztein, and Cristina Cabral, among many others. In addition to class time, you will complete an individual conference project each semester and attend a conversation session every week with a language tutor.