Category Archives: HISP faculty news

HISP Faculty Focus, November 2018: Dr. Susan Divine

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Dr. Susan Divine

After completing B.A. degrees in both Spanish and Anthropology at Iowa State University, Professor Susan Divine earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Spanish at the University of Arizona, and then spent four years as a faculty member at Westminster College (Fulton, MO) before joining the College of Charleston’s Department of Hispanic Studies in August 2013.  Both her prior teaching expertise and her ongoing research have enabled her pedagogical contributions at various levels at the College to include classes on Spanish language, conversation and composition, undergraduate courses on Hispanic culture and contemporary Spanish literature and film, the First Year Experience, and her collaboration with the M.Ed. in Languages program.

Complementing her teaching is Dr. Divine’s extensive research on 19th and 20th-century Spanish film, literature and cultural studies that has resulted in articles in leading peer-reviewed journals in her discipline, guest lectures, and numerous conference presentations in both regional and international venues.  On the editorial side of publishing, Professor Divine has earned her reputation as a seasoned editor and reviewer with current roles as Managing Editor for both Hispanic Studies Review and Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies, Invited Editor for Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, a previous appointment as Technical Editor for Letras Hispanas, and peer reviewer for multiple academic journals, among other related activities.

Despite the demands of her teaching and research, Dr. Divine has still managed numerous impactful service contributions campus-wide to include her work on the General Education and By-laws Committees, the Scholarship Selection Committee for Women and Gender Studies, and Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF), among other activities; and her contributions at the departmental level have been equally significant as Co-Adviser of the College’s award-winning chapter of the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society, Co-Director of the Maymester Program in Trujillo, Spain and Assessment Reader.

In Professor Divine’s own words:

Everyday I am grateful that I am at CofC and get to teach students who want to grow as Spanish-speakers and world citizens. From my roles on the college-wide General Education committee, to classroom instructor, to serving as co-faculty advisor to our national Hispanic Honor Society, Sigma Delta Pi, I am able to help students explore their passion, reach their potential, and celebrate the highest levels of their success. I love those classroom moments when students finally understand a difficult concept, or when they make valuable connections between ideas and practice. I am most honored to watch them grow from timid novice to confident speakers of Spanish while traveling through Spain on the Trujillo program. 

The Department of Hispanic Studies congratulates Dr. Susan Divine for her many impressive contributions to her department, the College, the broader profession, and for being selected for our November 2018 “Hispanic Studies Faculty Focus.”

Stay tuned for December 2018’s feature…

Dr. Carrillo Arciniega Enjoys Multiple Publications

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Professor Raúl Carrillo Arciniega’s chapter “Instrucciones para existir en México” is set to be published in the book México en el tiempo de la rabia. Arte y literatura de la guerra, el dolor y la violencia, edited by Gustavo Ogarrio y Alejandro Zamora and to be released by York University (Canada)-UAEM y-UNAM.

In addition, a short story by Professor Carrillo Arciniega has been published in the book Testigos de ausencia with Editorial Artificios.

Dr. Del Mastro Participates in 2018 MIFLC

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Professor Mark P. Del Mastro had multiple roles at the 2018 Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference (MIFLC) held October 4-6 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville:

  1. Organized and presented in panel on the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society.
  2. Organized, chaired and presented the second annual session on “Stop the Bleeding: Language Departments and the Dwindling Major”
  3. Participated in the MIFLC Executive Committee and Business Meetings in his role as Secretary-Treasurer of MIFLC.

Dr. Del Mastro (far right) with panelists of “Stop the Bleeding”

Dr. Divine’s Study to Appear in _Ecozon@: European Journal of Literature, Culture and Environment_

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Professor Susan Divine’s article “The Nature of Anxiety: Precarious City Lives in La piqueta and La trabajadora” has been accepted  for publication in the journal Ecozon@: European Journal of Literature, Culture and Environment.

HISP Faculty Focus, October 2018: Professor E. Berenice Marquina Castillo

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Prof. Berenice Marquina Castillo

A graduate herself from the College of Charleston with an M.Ed. in Spanish, Professor Marquina Castillo has taught every course in the Basic Spanish Language Program since she joined the Department of Hispanic Studies in August 2009.  A native of Mexico, she also earned her undergraduate degree in Hispanic Language and Literature at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the same alma mater of renowned writers Carlos Fuentes, Octavio Paz and Elena Poniatowska, among others.  Besides sharing her first-hand cultural perspectives in the classroom, she has also bolstered her pedagogical skills through her participation in the College’s Professional Learning Club and her certification in Distance Education Readiness, which in turn has enabled her to teach online Spanish courses for the department.

Beyond the classroom, Professor Marquina Castillo has also served  the department and College in numerous capacities to include her role as a mentor for SPECTRA (Speedy Consolidation and Transition Program), member of the LCWA IT Advisory Group and Distance Education Committee, Co-Adviser of the Spanish Club, and a departmental mentor for new faculty, among other activities.

In her own words:

Being a part of the Hispanic Department has been a wonderful experience, I get to share my passion for the Spanish language with enthusiastic and inspiring students, and I am surrounded by talented and creative colleagues who constantly reinforce and fuel my interest in learning. I am fortunate to work with students as a mentor and advisor, but also, to learn and share knowledge with colleagues through committees and learning clubs.

The Department of Hispanic Studies congratulates Professor Marquina Castillo for her dedication to students, colleagues and programs at the College of Charleston, and for being selected for our October 2018 “Hispanic Studies Faculty Focus.”

Stay tuned for November 2018’s feature…

Dr. Gómez’s Study to Appear in _Anales Galdosianos_

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Professor Michael Gómez’s article “Shedding Light on José Fernández Bremón’s ‘Un crimen científico’: Science and Science Fiction in Restoration Spain,” will be published in the December 2018 issue of the journal Anales Galdosianos.

Dr. Owens’ Essay Published in _Women in Colonial America, 1526 to 1806: Texts and Contexts_

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Professor Sarah E Owens’ study “Sor Ana’s Travel Excerpt from Mexico to Manila (Mexico and Manila, 1620)” has been published in the edition Women in Colonial Latin America, 1526 to 1806: Texts and Contexts with Hackett Publishing Company.

HISP Faculty Focus, September 2018: Dr. Vicki Garrett

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Dr. Vicki Garrett

After obtaining her Ph.D. in Hispanic Languages and Literatures at the University of California, Los Angeles, Professor Vicki Garrett moved east where she spent four years as a Teaching Assistant Professor and Director of Latin American Studies at West Virginia University.  In August 2015, she joined the College of Charleston’s Department of Hispanic Studies as an Adjunct Instructor, and in 2016 she transitioned to her current position as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish.  In her 3 years to date at CofC, she has already managed to teach an impressive range of courses to include basic Spanish language through advanced literature for the Spanish major, Spanish literature in translation, and classes for the Latin American and Caribbean Studies and First Year Experience programs. Dr. Garrett has also contributed to the College outside the classroom through her service on the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Executive Committee and Curriculum Review Committee as well as the Hispanic Studies Student Awards Committee.

Also an active scholar, Dr. Garrett researches Latin American theater and cinema; Argentine cultural studies; disability studies, violence, and the body; and the intersections of gender ethnicity and the environment.  Since joining the College of Charleston faculty, she has enjoyed multiple publications, yet her most ambitious scholarly project to date is her book Performing Everyday Life in Argentine Popular Theater, 1890-1934 that will be published with Palgrave Macmillan in late 2018.

In her own words:

It is so inspiring to teach students who are passionate about social and environmental justice in an institution that empowers faculty to address these pressing 21st-century issues within our areas of expertise. One of my favorite things about teaching at CofC is that students are so eager to explore different perspectives on social issues through Latin(x) American literature and culture.

The Department of Hispanic Studies congratulates Dr. Garrett for her multi-layered contributions to our academic community at the College of Charleston, and for being selected for our September 2018 “Hispanic Studies Faculty Focus.”

Stay tuned for October 2018’s feature…

CofC’s M.Ed. in Languages ESOL Now Completely Online!

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The College of Charleston’s M.Ed. in Languages ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), which is currently directed by Dr. Emily Beck of Hispanic Studies, has just become the first all-online master’s degree offered by the Graduate School of the University of Charleston, SC.  For more details, click here for The College Today’s official news release.