Areas of Research / Interest
- Contemporary Spanish Literature and Film
- Multiculturalism and Migration Studies
- Hybrid and Online Language Course Development
Recent Courses Taught
- Spanish 1101/1102, Elementary Spanish I and II (Traditional, Hybrid and Online)
- Spanish 2201/2202, Intermediate Spanish I and II (Traditional and Hybrid)
- Spanish 2251/2252, Conversation and Composition I (Traditional)
- Humanities 1800, Culture and Civilization of Costa Rica
- Humanities 1800, Culture and Civilization of Spain
Current Projects
- Study Abroad in Costa Rica (Summer 2013 / 2016)
- Study Abroad in Spain (Summer 2014 / 2015)
Conferences
"Engaging Students Online Using Blackboard Collaborate." Department of Instructional Improvement and Distance Learning of Elgin Community College: Enriching Learning Environments with Technology. Elgin, IL. March 2016 (with Edith Jaco).
"Student success in an online learning community in the teaching of culture and languages." Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Fall Conference: Packing the Essentials: the Journey to Professional Success. Tinley Park, Illinois, October 2015 (with Edith Jaco).
"Spaces Occupied, Literal and Metaphorical, in Contemporary Spanish Fiction and Film: 1997-2011." Chapter 11 in Toward a Multicultural Configuration of Spain: Local Cities, Global Spaces. Ana Corbalán and Ellen Mayock, eds. Lanham: Fairleigh Dickinson UP, 2014. [publication]
"Women Immigrants as the Other in Contemporary Spanish Fiction and Film 1997-2011." Annual Convention of the Midwest Modern Language Association: Art and Artifice. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, November 2013. [conference paper]
"Hybrid Learning: Reaching a Diverse Population of Students." Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Fall Conference: Diversity is Delicious. Tinley Park, Illinois, October 2013 (with Edith Jaco).
"Una identidad marginada en Canto rodado de Maria Barbal." 11th Annual Colloquium
on Spanish Literature, Linguistics, and Culture, University of Central Florida, April
2011. [conference paper]
Education
- Ph.D. Spanish (Literature), University of Florida
- M.A. Spanish, Saint Louis University-Madrid Campus
- B.S. Physical Therapy, UIC-Chicago
- B.A. Spanish and Zoology, Miami University-Ohio