Spanish & Latin American Faculty

Prof. Britt received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1998.  He regularly teaches courses in modern and contemporary Spanish literature and intellectual history. He is the author of Quixotism: The Denial of Spain’s Loss of Empire (Suny Press, 2005) as well as of various essays that study the role of the intellectual in the formation of nationalist and pan-nationalist identities in Spain and Latin America. Professor Britt's principal areas of interest include modern Spanish and Latin American nationalisms and their links to fascism, imperialism and post-coloniality.  He is currently writing a book on displacement in the Americas and editing a multi-author volume of essays on the legacy of the Enlightenment in the Spanish-speaking world.

Recent Publications:
• “Reivindicación del esclarecimiento” El Viejo Topo (July, 2011): 1-8.
• “Memoria de un letrado desplazado” in Escritura y esquizofrenia (México: Universidad de Guanajuato y Colegio de San Luis, 2010).
• "Torture, Tongues, and Treason" South Central Review, Vol. 24, no.1 (Spring 2007) pages 56-72.
• Reflections on Spain’s Essayistic Hall of Mirrors,” Colorado Review of Hispaniic Studies, Volume 5, 2007.

Professor Captain teaches courses related to Latin America and International Affairs at George Washington University. She is an expert on the African Diaspora, and South-South relations, particularly between Latin America and Africa. Her other research and practical expertise lies in the internationalization of college campuses. This latter knowledge is honed in her capacity as Executive Director of Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars which boasts a membership of over 175 colleges and universities. (http://www.phibetadelta.org) In addition, she was recently elected to the United Nations Association of the Capital Area (http://www.una-nca.org) She has published, interviewed, and lectured widely on the subjects of internationalization, south-south relations, and the African Diaspora. She is an active participant in issues of shared governance at the university level, having served as a member of George Washington’s Faculty Senate and on the Dean’s Council. She received her Ph.D. from Stanford University, and holds a Masters of International Policy and Practice at the university where she teaches.

Recent Publications:
• “Brazil’s Africa Policy under Lula” The Global South. Vol 4.1 Spring 2010: 183-198
• “West African Migrants in Spain: Human Factors and Emerging International Policy,” International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. Vol. 3.10. 2009: 61-68

Beatriz Cobeta has been teaching Spanish at the George Washington since 2006. Previously she taught at the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" in Rome, Italy. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language and Literature from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, during the course of which she spent one year studying at the Université Paris-Sorbonne in Paris, France. She earned a Master’s degree in Teaching Spanish as a Second Language from the UNED in Madrid and did her training as a Spanish instructor in the Instituto Cervantes in Rome. As an educator her goal is to create an environment in the classroom where students feel supported and confident as well as promote cross-cultural interest and understanding. She practices a communicative approach, using task-based activities and the latest instructional technologies to engage her students. She is currently co-authoring a content-based Advanced Spanish textbook with Professor María de la Fuente that has a strong emphasis on international and current affairs. This will be published by Pearson in 2012.

Professor María J. de la Fuente graduated from Georgetown University in 1998 with a PhD in Spanish and Second Language Acquisition. Before coming to GWU, she taught at Georgetown University, Duke University, and Vanderbilt University. Her research interests are the role of interaction in second/foreign language (L2) vocabulary acquisition, and the role of emerging technologies in language learning. The results of her research in these areas have appeared in refereed journals such as Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), and Language Teaching Research. Her current research focuses on the construct of task-based language learning. She is also working on an advanced Spanish textbook (forthcoming 2012) as well as the third edition of Gente, a widely-used textbook in college Spanish language programs. Prof. de la Fuente was the recipient of a 2008 Bender Teaching Award.

Professor Granja-Falconi received her PhD in Bilingualism and Second Language Acquisition from Rutgers University in 2010. She also obtained an MA in Spanish Language and Literature from the University of Maryland, an MAT in Spanish Instruction from Rutgers University, and a BA in Educational Sciences from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador with a specialization in History and Geography. In addition, she was certified as a Spanish teacher by the State of New Jersey. Her research and teaching interests focus on: Spanish applied linguistic (bilingualism in the U.S. and Andean region, language change induced by language contact, and interference at the syntax/semantic interface Spanish/ English); Spanish language instruction (curriculum development, social and cultural issues in second language and heritage language acquisition, and cross-cultural communications in a technology enhanced environment); and cultural expressions (Andean literature and Indigenous cultures).

Professor Marroquín received his Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin in 2006. His main areas of interest are Mexican Literature and the Latin American and Spanish history of ideas. He joined the George Washington University in Fall 2007.

Recent Publications:
“Reinventing Nationalisms. Mexico in the works of José Revueltas.” Trans. Revue de literature générale et comparée. No. 5 (2008). January 31, 2008 Trans is the Journal of Literature and Culture of The Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III.
La historia de los prejuicios en América. La Conquista. (Editorial Porrúa, 2007)

Prof. Serrano-Ripoll received her Licentiate and her Ph.D. from the University of Valencia in Spain where she specialized in Anglo-Germanic Philology and Shakespearean Drama. Professor Serrano-Ripoll taught British Literature at the University of Valencia, and Spanish as a Foreign Language at various institutions of higher learning. She joined the GWU faculty in 1996 where she has been teaching a wide range of Spanish Language and Culture courses. Professor Serrano-Ripoll currently supervises lower intermediate and advanced levels of Spanish. Among her publications are: "La oceanografía pone la ’ a flote" (on the use of the ’ in the American Press), [1999], "El Misterio de Elche"(1999), Las traducciones de Shakespeare en España: el ejemplo de Othello, Arcos, Inc. 1988, Bibliografía shakespeariana en España: crítica y traducción, Instituto de Estudios Alicantinos (1983).

Latest translations:
•Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Elche” (Spanish translation of “Our Lady of the Assumption at Elche”, by Isabel Allardyce, published in Historic Shrines of Spain, Quebec and New York, Franciscan Missionary Press, pages 157-171, 1912. Reedited in 1916, and in 2003 by Kessinger Publishing, Whitefish, Montana), in Sóc per a Elig, Elche, Spain, December 2010, vol. 22, pages 121-125.
•“En los bosques de palmeras de Elche” (Spanish translation of “In the Palm-Groves of Elche”, by Herbert Vivian (1865-1940), Published in The Wide World Magazine, London, May 1900, vol. V, number 26, pages 125-130; in Sóc per a Elig, Elche, Spain, December 2009, vol. 21, pages 113-117.
•“Una ópera en un templo” (Spanish translation of “An Opera in a Catedral”, by Herbert Vivian (1865-1940), Published in The Wide World Magazine, London, February 1900, vol. IV, number 23, pages 609-614. This important article was reproduced in the book The Romance of Religion, by Olive W. Vivian and Herbert Vivian, Longmans, Green & Co. New York, pages 157-172) in Sóc per a Elig, Elche, Spain, December 2007, vol. 19, pages 87-90.
•Illice, Las palmas, La Dama de Elche (Spanish translations of Illice, Las Palmas and The Lady of Elche, by Archer M. Huntington; Founder of The Hispanic Society of America). Patronato Histórico Cultural Artístico d’Elig, Elche 2006.

Professor Vergara received her licenciatura (teaching license) from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogotá) in 1974. She was awarded a Ph.D. from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY in 1988. After teaching for three years at The Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, she joined The George Washington University faculty as an Assistant Professor of Spanish in 1989. Professor Vergara’s main research areas are: Gabriel García Marquez, women writers, and contemporary Latin American writers. She has published extensively on these topics, and she has given lectures nationally and internationally In 1996, Professor Vergara was invited to participate as a literary critic in a seminar entitiled “Un escritor en su laberinto” with Gabriel García Márquez in Guadalajara, Mexico. She was elected Director of the Revista de Estudios Colombianos by The Association of Colombianists in 1993.

Prof. Waisman received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley (2000), and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Colorado, Boulder (1995). His areas of research and teaching include Latin American literature, literary theory and translation, comparative literature, and Jewish-Latin American literature. His book Borges and Translation: The Irreverence of the Periphery was published in English by Bucknell and in Argentina by Adriana Hidalgo (both in 2005). Sergio Waisman has translated six books of Latin American literature, including The Absent City by Ricardo Piglia (Duke Univ. Press), for which he received an NEA Translation Fellowship Award in 2000. His first novel, Leaving, was published in the U.S. in 2004 (Intelibooks), and in 2010 as Irse in Argentina (bajo la luna). His latest translations are The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela (Penguin Classics) and An Anthology of Spanish-American Modernismo (MLA, with Kelly Washbourne).

Recent Publications:
• Irse, 2010
• The Underdogs, 2008
• An Anthology of Spanish-American Modernismo, 2007
• Borges and Translation, 2005
• Borges y la traducción, 2005
• Leaving, 2004
• The Absent City, 2000

Emily Adelman , Lecturer in Spanish
Office: PHIL 512A, (202) 994-1296
E-mail: eadelman@gwu.edu
Spring 2012 Courses: SPAN1004.15
Spring 2012 Office Hours: R 10:45-11:45

Emily holds a master’s degree in Spanish and Bilingual/Multicultural Education from George Mason University and a bachelor’s degree with honors in Spanish and Latin American Studies from Cornell University. Her research interests include language acquisition, varieties of Spanish, languages in contact, language ideologies and attitudes, multilingualism, and heritage languages in the United States. In addition to teaching at GW, Emily stays connected to Latin America through her work at a foundation for sustainable development in the region, and to the Latino community in the Washington, DC region by collaborating with organizations that promote basic literacy, financial literacy, language access, access to capital, and community-based economic development.

Belen Fernandez de la Pena , Lecturer in Spanish
Office: PHIL 513C, (202) 994-6956
E-mail: belenfp@gwu.edu
Spring 2012 Courses: SPAN1002.13, SPAN1002.14
Spring 2012 Office Hours: MW 1:10-2:10

Maria Gonzalez, Lecturer in Spanish
Office: 2136 Penn. Ave. 301A, (202) 496-8390
E-mail: chus@gwu.edu
Spring 2012 Courses: SPAN1003.12, SPAN1003.14
Spring 2012 Office Hours: M 10:00-12:30 and by appointment

Ramon Menocal Leon, Lecturer in Spanish
Office: PHIL 512A, (202) 994-1296
E-mail: rmenocal@gwu.edu
Spring 2012 Courses: SPAN1003.10, SPAN1003.11
Spring 2012 Office Hours: TRF 6:00-7:00

Born in Havana, Cuba, Ramon finished his studies of Fine Arts in the Academy of San Alejandro in Havana; he holds a  Bachelor’s degree in Painting and Drawing and a Master's in Art History from the University of Havana. He has won numerous awards in the Art field and a full scholarship to study at the National Center for Art Restoration in Madrid, Spain. He has combined his art with the teaching of Spanish since moving to the States. He has taught Art and Spanish in New York and Washington, DC both at the secondary and university level. He currently resides in Washington, DC where he has his own Art Studio.

Margarita Moreno, Adjunct Instructor of Spanish
Office: PHIL 513C, (202) 994-1296
E-mail: mmorenoh@gwu.edu
Spring 2012 Courses: SPAN2006.13, SPAN2006.14
Spring 2012 Office Hours: 30 min after Prof. Moreno's 9:35 class and by appointment

Maria Olivares, Lecturer in Spanish
Office: PHIL 513D (202) 994-6965
E-mail: mariaoh@gwu.edu
Spring 2012 Courses: SPAN1002.12, SPAN1002.15
Spring 2012 Office Hours: TR 3:15-4:15

María Olivares is a Ph.D. Candidate in Spanish at The Catholic University of America, received a M.A. in Spanish from University of Oregon (2006), and a B.A. in Education from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Her areas of research include Contemporary Latin American literature with emphasis on theater, Latin American cinema, literary theory, history, sexuality, and second language pedagogy. She is currently finishing the manuscript of her dissertation entitled “Intertextual Politics at Play: A Dialogic Relationship between the Discourses of the Conquest and Chilean Theater."

Recent Publications:
“Mujeres mapuches migrantes en escena: Visualizando vidas desde la sombra.” Letras Femeninas (Summer 2012) (Forthcoming)
Book Review
Márquez Montes, Carmen. Isidora Aguirre: Entre la historia y el compromiso. Sevilla: Secretariado de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Sevilla, 2008. Latin American Theater Review 44.2 (2011): 217-18. Print

Eliana Parker , Lecturer in Spanish
Office: PHIL 512A, (202) 994-1296
E-mail: eparker@gwu.edu
Spring 2012 Courses: SPAN1003.13, SPAN1003.15
Spring 2012 Office Hours: TR 10:00-11:00

Contact Prof. Perillan for more information about the PUENTES service learning opportunity!

Ariadna Pichs, Lecturer in Spanish
Office: PHIL 513C, (202) 994-6956
E-mail:pichs@gwu.edu
Spring 2012 Courses: SPAN2006.10, SPAN2006.15
Spring 2012 Office Hours: MW 9:00-10:00

Rosa Isela Pozos, Adjunct Professor of Spanish
Office: 2136 Penn. Ave. 301A, (202) 496-8390
E-mail: rpozos10@gwu.edu
Spring 2012 Courses: SPAN2005.10, SPAN2005.12
Spring 2012 Office Hours: MWF 10:30-11:00 (FNGR), 12:10-1:00pm (Penn Ave)

Michael Rodman, Lecturer in Spanish
Office: PHIL 513C, (202) 994-6956
E-mail: rodman@gwu.edu
Spring 2012 Courses: SPAN1002.10, SPAN1002.11
Spring 2012 Office Hours: T 12:30-2:30

Carolina Rodriguez , Lecturer in Spanish
Office: PHIL 512A, (202) 994-1296
E-mail: anacarodrigu@gwu.edu
Spring 2012 Courses: SPAN2006.12, SPAN2006.16
Spring 2012 Office Hours: R 10:00-12;00

Manuel Muñoz Romero, Lecturer in Spanish
Office: 2136 Penn. Ave. 301B, (202) 496-8387
E-mail: mromero@gwu.edu
Spring 2012 Courses: SPAN1002.16
Spring 2012 Office Hours: By appointment

Mila Sanchez-García, Lecturer in Spanish
Office: PHIL 513C, (202) 994-1296
E-mail: mila@gwu.edu
Spring 2012 Courses: SPAN2005.13, SPAN2005.14
Spring 2012 Office Hours: TRF 12:00-1:00

Teresa Fernandez Ulloa, Lecturer in Spanish
Office: PHIL 513C, (202) 994-6956
E-mail: tfulloa@gwu.edu
Spring 2012 Courses: SPAN2005.11, SPAN2005.15
Spring 2012 Office Hours: W 9:00-11:00

A native of Orense, Spain, Teresa holds a master’s degree in Spanish Language and Literature from Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca and a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Navarra, and course work at Universidad de Valencia and UNED in Spain. Teresa has extensive experience teaching Spanish in a variety of capacities, from the world-renowned Berlitz Languages Inc., to foundations such as The School for Ethics and Global Leadership and schools in Maryland’s Montgomery County School District as well as private schools in Dade County, Florida. Well-traveled throughout Europe and Latin America, Teresa is an avid reader and history enthusiast whose research interests include new media and communications tools, and methods designed to improve IT-oriented teaching. 

Mercedes Valen, Adjunct Professor of Spanish
Office: 2136 Penn. Ave. 301B, (202) 496-8387
E-mail: mvalen@gwu.edu
Spring 2012 Courses: SPAN2005.16, SPAN2005.17
Spring 2012 Office Hours: MW 1:00-2:00 and by appointment

Jean Yates, Professorial Lecturer in Spanish
Office: PHIL513D, (202) 994-6965
E-mail: jeany@gwu.edu
Spring 2012 Courses: SPAN3600.10
Spring 2012 Office Hours: R 2:15-3:15

Professor Yates received a B.A. in Spanish and an M.A. in Linguistics from American University, and a PhD in Spanish Philology at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.  She has taught English as a Second Language and Spanish at Northern Virginia Community College, Marymount University, the Australian National University, and Dhaka University (Bangladesh); Spanish-English translation at the Canberra (Australia) College of Advanced Education;  and has conducted corporate training in both languages for private and international organizations both in Washington, D.C. and abroad.  She has worked as a free-lance translator in Washington, Spain,  Australia, and Bangladesh.   She joined the GW faculty in 1997.  Her paper comparing the English Present Perfect Tense with the Spanish Pretérito Perfecto was presented at the International Conference on the Semantics and Pragmatics of Spanish, Ohio State University, in 1999 and published in 2001 by Lincom Europa, Munich.  She has published 5 books for  Spanish and English for Barron’s Educational Series, and 10 for McGraw-Hill, several of which are now in their second editions.  She is particularly interested in Spanish-English translation and in the description and translation of discourse markers in Spanish and English, and in ways to incorporate their acquisition into all levels of instruction.