Program Coordinator, Associate Professor of Spanish

Education

• Ph.D., Hispanic Language and Literature. Department of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures, Boston University
• M.A., Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture. Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, Syracuse University
• B.A., International Relations. School of Arts and Sciences, Syracuse University

Teaching Areas

• Latin American Literature
• The Fantastic Short Story in Latin America
• Women Writers in Latin America
• Introduction to Literature in Spanish
• Hispanic Culture
• Spanish Language
  
  Main Areas of Research

• Afro-Colombian culture and literature
• Testimonial literature in Colombia and Latin America
• Women writers in Colombia and Latin America

Work in Progress

• Historias de vida/historias de mujeres: expresiones de la identidad colombiana de 1985 a nuestros días
  
  This Project won the fifth Call for Projects established by the Institute for Scientific and Technological Exchange Between France and Colombia—ECOS-Nord/COLCIENCIAS/ICFES/ICETEX. The proposal was presented in collaboration with scholars from France, Colombia and the United States. This project examines life stories by Colombian women in their multiple cultural expressions, such as in literature, plastic art, and film. The research will produce a book of articles that concentrate on the connection between cultural production, the genre of Testimonio,and the political and social crisis in Colombia in the past 20 years.

Books Published

• Forthcoming. "Chambacú, la historia la escribes tú". Ensayos sobre cultura afrocolombiana. Editora. Lucía Ortiz. Frankfurt, Germany: Iberoamericana/Vervuert, 2006.This book is a collection of essays that examine the contributions made by Colombian authors of African descent. Some essays also study the representation of Afro-Colombians throughout national literature. Some of the authors studied are Candelario Obeso, Jorge Artel, Manuel Zapata Olivella, Edelma Zapata, Amalia Lú Posso Figueroa and Alfredo Vanín. Contributing scholars include Laurence Prescott (Pennsylvania State University), Jonathan Tittler (University of New Jersey, Camden), and Betty Osorio (Universidad de los Andes).

• La novela colombiana hacia finales del siglo veinte una nueva aproximación a la historia. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 1997.

Recent Published Articles

• Forthcoming: "Chambacú corral de negros de Manuel Zapata Olivella, un capítulo en la lucha por la libertad". INTI. Revista de Literatura Hispánica.
• Forthcoming: "Chambacú by Régulo Ahumada Zurbarán. 'Drama' of an Afro-Colombian Community". Callaloo, Journal of African and African-American Literature.
• "El negro y la creación romántica de una identidad nacional. Hacia una relectura de María de Jorge Isaacs". Revista de Estudios Colombianos. Memorias del XII Congreso de Colombianistas. Universidad de Illinois, Urbana 1-4 de agosto de 2001. Nos. 25-6. 2003. Recent Research Grants and Awards
  • 2005 Regis College Virginia Kaneb Faculty Scholars Grant.
    Project: Literatura y cultura afro-colombiana: Ensayos críticos. Editor Lucía Ortiz.
  • 2000-2001/2001-2002/2002-2003 Regis College Faculty Development Grant.
    Project: "Afro-Colombian Culture and Literature: Critical Essays."

  Recent Regis College Service

  • 2002-present: coordinator, Spanish program
  • 2005-2007: chair of Women's Studies Committee and coordinator of women's studies program
  • 1995-present: Spanish faculty advisor
  • 1998-present: Multicultural Office faculty advisor
  • 1998-present: "Amigas," Latina Student Association faculty advisor