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Research
Interests
I
am interested in the meeting of cultures through the first transatlantic
voyages that occurred upon and beyond the "Discovery" of the
"New" World and its repercutions through time. This leads me
to different areas of research: literatures and cultures of Early Modern
Spain (the so-called Golden Age) and Colonial Latin America, from the
16th and 17th centuries through our own 21st century. I pay attention
to the connections between the Old World and the New World through the
Chronicles of Indies and the cultural production from and across both
sides of the Atlantic to present-day times. The context of the colonial/transatlantic
phenomenon has me researching the texts of various authors from Spain,
Latin America and the Spanish Caribbean from the past and the present.
490
Senior
Departmental Studies. A seminar to prepare students for
the research and writing of their Senior Theses by means of close readings
of works from various periods and genres and through selected works of
criticism or theory. (Fall 2006)
205
Studies
in Spanish American Novel. Introduction to selected short
20th-century Spanish-American short stories and novels by García
Márquez, Bombal, Cortázar, Ferré, García Ramis,
Vega, etc. (Spring
2007)
313
Literature of the Caribbean. A selection of essays,
novels and plays, including Carpentier, Julia de Burgos, Luis Rafael Sánchez
and many others. Prerequisite: A 200 level course or consent of instructor.
(Spring 2006)
230
Medieval and Golden Age Spain: Literature, Culture, and Society.
Introduction to the culture and literature of medieval and early modern
Spain: Castilian expansion, religious diversity, and cultural transformations,
from the Reconquest to the Hapsburgs. Prerequisite: Spanish 102 or consent
of the instructor. (Fall 2005)
320 Spanish American Colonial Writings. A Seminar for
Majors based on the turmoil brought across the Atlantic by the first explorers
and conquistadores. Students read a good sample of the
representative writings from the textual legacy left by the Spanish discovery,
conquest, and colonization of the New World. Emphasis was placed
on the transformation of historical and literary genres, and the role
of Colonial literature in the formation of Latin American identity.
(Fall 2003)
001,
101, 102 Spanish. Language/grammar/composition in the
Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced levels.
Courses
taught elsewhere
559
Cervantes. A close reading of
the "first modern novel," Don Quijote de la Mancha
(Parts I and II), and the Novelas ejemplares served as representative
aides in understanding the impact of the salient happenings of the time:
the Catholic Inquisition; Imperial and Religious Wars; the influence of
Erasmus; the Reformation and the Counter Reformation; transatlantic travels;
the conquest and colonization of the New World. (Spring 2005, Temple
University)
387
Hispanic Influences in the USA. Students
got acquainted with writings dealing with the immigration experience since
the first Spanish explorers from the 15th century, to the Mexicans, Puerto
Ricans and Cubans of the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st. (Spring
2004, Temple University).
239
Puerto Rican Culture & Civilization. A course
based on Puerto Rico's history from its discovery to our days (Spring
2004, Temple University).
219 Puerto Rican Readings from 15th-19th Century,
depicting the newly discovered Island (1493), from the Chronicles of Indies
and later literary works where a Puerto Rican identity is shown to start
taking an independent form (Fall 2003, Temple University).
364-764 Survey of Spanish Golden Age Literature.
A course designed to familiarize students with the times of glory and
turmoil of the two centuries that mark the period of colonization and
empire. The concept of Empire, in light of
historical documents and the canonic works of 16th and 17th-century
Spanish writers, was discussed through postmodern theory (Spring
2003, Temple University).
010 En busca de América Latina, a course designed
to familiarize students with cultural, political and social issues in
Latin America through history, literature, music and film (Spring
2002, Swarthmore College).
086 El Nuevo Mundo, a course on Colonial Spanish-American
literature, based on post-colonial theory, including 20th-century short
stories, novels and films dealing with the topic of the first transatlantic
encounters (Fall 2001, Swarthmore College).
499 The Spanish Conquest of the New World,
a senior seminar on Colonial Spanish-American Literature, with primary
focus on the Chronicles of Indies (Fall 1999, Drexel University).
371 Spanish-Spanish American Cultures and
Literatures. Advanced course dedicated to the discussion
of cultural and political issues of various Spanish-speaking countries,
from Spain to South and Central America, and the Caribbean (Spring 1998,
Drexel University).
Language/grammar/composition
in the Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced levels, in every institution
where I have taught.
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