Western Connecticut State University

DRA. S. ALBA SKAR

 


EDUCATION:

PH.D.   (1997)  Spanish American Literature, University of Wisconsin (Madison)
Dissertation: "Political Violence in Latin American Narrative"

M.A. 
    (1993)  Spanish, University of Wisconsin (Madison)
B.A
.     (1991)  Spanish, University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana)
 


TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

2005-Current -- Assistant Professor of Spanish & Chair: Western Connecticut State University

Conversation and Composition-Film
Introduction to Analysis-Narrative
Hispanic Cultures of Connecticut
Cultures of Spanish America
Survey of Spanish-American Literature
Latino/a Literature in the USA
Spanish-Caribbean Identities
Revolution, Testimony & Memory in Spanish America
Gender & Sexuality in Spanish-American Literature
Teaching Methods - Spanish in Secondary Schools
University Supervisor for Student Teachers - Spanish in Secondary Schools

Global Study: Global Academy in Puerto Rico
 

1999-2005  --  Visiting Assistant Professor/Senior Lecturer: Trinity College (Connecticut)

Intermediate Spanish I, II
Advanced Grammar & Composition
Spanish for Heritage Speakers
Spanish Conversation
Foundations in Literary & Cultural Analysis
Latin American & Caribbean Culture (in English)
Latin American Culture II
Latina/Latino Writers in the United States
Literature of Popular Consciousness & Revolution
Colonialism and the American Consciousness
Gender & Sexuality in Spanish America
Hispanic Women from the Middle Ages to the 21st Century

1997-1999  --  Assistant Professor: Hartwick College (New York)  

Intermediate Spanish I, II
Spanish Composition & Conversation

Latin American Civilization

Peninsular Literature: Medieval and Golden Age Survey
Latin American Literature: Survey of Colonial Literature

Seminar: US Latino Literature

Introduction to Hispanic Cultures (In English)

First Year Seminar: Gender in the Arts and Sciences (In English)

Revolution and Counterrevolution: Cuban Culture and Politics from 1959-1999 (In English)

1995-1997  --  Lecturer: Fairfield University & University of Bridgeport (Connecticut)

Intermediate Spanish I, II
Continuing Spanish: Advanced Grammar and Latin American Civilization
Survey of Latin American Literature
 

1991-1995  --  Teaching Assistant: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Beginning Spanish
Intermediate Spanish
 
 


PUBLICATIONS

Books

Voces híbridas: La literatura de chicanas y latinas en Estados Unidos. Santiago, Chile: RIL Editores, 2001.  (223 pages) 

Reviews

  • Reviewed in "La República de las Mujeres" Sunday Cultural Supplement to La República (Montevideo, Uruguay, February 11, 2001).
  • Reviewed by Víctor Fuentes in Ventana Abierta 3.10 (Spring 2001) 85-86.
  • Reviewed by Alejandra Molina in Letras Femeninas (Fall 2001).
  • Review by Maribel Acosta Lugo in Pheobe: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Feminist Scholarship (Spring 2002).

Interviews

  • El Mercurio (Chile) March 2, 2001 "Desde las entrañas del monstruo"
  • Elgolpe.com (Chile) January 31, 2001 "Entrevista"


The Inferno. Translation with notes of El infierno by Luz Arce. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2004. (381 pages)



 

Reviews

  • Reviewed by Margaret Power in The Americas: A Quarterly Review of Inter-American Cultural History 62.1 (July 2005) 136-137.

Interviews

 

Journal Articles and Book Chapters

“Authoring Puerto Rican Identity: The Politics of Language and Literature” in National Association of Hispanic & Latino Studies 2008 Monograph Series. (In press)

"El narcotráfico y lo femenino en el cine colombiano internacional: Rosario Tijeras y María llena eres de gracia" Alpha: Revista de Artes, Letras y Filosofía 25 (December 2007) 115-131.

“Relecturas del testimonio contemporáneo en Chile: Desde 'el infierno' hasta 'la verdad'" in Ideologías y Literatura. Homenaje a Hernán Vidal. Eds. Moraña, Mabel and Javier Campos. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh-Instituto Internacional de Literatura Iberoamericana-Biblioteca de América, 2006. 281-97.

"El sujeto fronterizo en EEUU: 'Yo soy Joaquín' de Rodolfo Gonzales e Hija de la fortuna de Isabel Allende" "Fronteras de la literatura y de la crítica": XXXV Congreso Internacional del Instituto Internacional de Literatura Iberoamericana: Eds. Moreno, Fernando, Sylvie Josserand, and Fernando Colla. Poitiers, France: Centre de Recherches Latino-Américaines, 2004. 1-9.

“Pedagogía y tecnología en la educación norteamericana: Vínculos con la literatura y la lectura” in Fomento del Libro y la Lectura/3. Argentina: Ed. Fundación Mempo Giardinelli, 2002. 11-21.

"La poética de una cosmología femenina en la poesía chicana" Aérea: Revista Hispanoamericana de Poesía 4 (March 2001) 5-22.

"Tiempo femenino y maternidad: La construcción de una subjetividad femenina en la poesía chicana" in La poesía hispánica de los Estados Unidos: Aproximaciones críticas. Eds. Lilianet Brintrup, Juan Armando Epple, Carmen de Mora. Sevilla: Universidad de Sevilla--Secretariado de Publicaciones, 2001. 69-87.

"Jacobo Timerman's Preso sin nombre, celda sin número and the Reconstructing 'I'" in MACLAS: Latin American Essays from the Middle Atlantic Conference on Latin American Studies 14 (2000) 13-26.  Awarded James H. Street Prize for best article by the Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies.

 "Latin American Women's Testimonial Writing: What is Feminism's Role in Social Liberation?" in Latina Visions for Transforming the Americas. Connecticut: Southern Connecticut State University, Spring 2000. 13-19.

“Hacia una conciencia fronteriza en la poesía chicana: El caso de Gloria Anzaldúa y ‘la nueva mestiza’” Aérea: Revista Hispanoamericana de Poesía 3 (March 2000) 5-17.

 "Arriesgando la transculturación en Tiempo al tiempo de Isaac Goldemberg" in Alpha: Revista de Artes, Letras y Filosofía 14 (Fall 1998) 27-43.

 "En-gendering Violence: A Study of Sexuality in Roberto Athayde's Apareceu a Margarida and Plínio Marcos' Dois perdidos numa noite suja" in Cincinnati Romance Review 16 (1997) 52-59.

"Sonia Guralnik" in Jewish Writers of Latin America: A Dictionary Ed. Darrell B. Lockhart. Garland: New York, 1997. 247-51.

"Testimonial Dictionary to the Reading of Me llamo Rigoberta Menchú" with R. Avellaneda, K. Bilbija, L.Gutiérrez, M. Osorio and A. Wasia in Teaching and Testimony:  Rigoberta Menchú in the North American Classroom. Eds. Allen Carey-Webb and Steve Benz. New York: SUNY Press, 1996. 205-21.

 "La narrativa política y la subversión paradójica en Por la patria de Diamela Eltit" in Confluencia 11.1 (Fall 1995) 113-25.

Additional Translations

"Children's Stories Written from the Spaceship IV, VI" from El astronauta en llamas [The Astronaut in Flames] by Javier Campos. Phoebe: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Feminist Scholarship 10.2 (1999) 74-77.

"Writing from the Borderland" by Javier Campos. Review: Latin American Literature and Art 54 (Spring 1997) 57.


Book Reviews

Review of Blessed by Thunder: Memoir of a Cuban Girlhood by Flor Fernandez Barrios. Pheobe: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Feminist Scholarship  12.1-2 (2001) 265-66.

Review of Delia’s Way by Olga Berrocal Essex. Pheobe: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Feminist Scholarship 10.2 (1998) 102-103.

Review of Grandmother's Grandchild: My Crow Indian Life by Alma Hogan Snell. Ed. Becky Matthews. Pheobe: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Feminist Scholarship 13.1 (2001) 117-118.

Review of I Used to Be a Superwoman Chicana by Gloria L. Velásquez. Pheobe: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Feminist Scholarship 11.1 (1999) 87-88.

Review of Relaciones de poder y carnavalización en la novela chilena contemporánea by Guillermo García-Corales. Revista Chilena de Literatura 50 (1997) 147-48.


National Reports


"Hispanic Students Success in State Colleges and Universities: Creating Supportive Spaces on Our Campuses." Multiple authors. Washington D.C.: American Association of State Colleges & Universities, 2007. (48 pages)





CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION & INVITED LECTURES:

Conference paper: "Desmitificaciones domésticas en la poesía guatemalteca: Maya Cú, Rosa María Chávez Juárez y Carolina Escobar Sarti". VIII Jornadas Andinas de Literatura Latinoamericana: Latinoamericanismo y Globalización. Universidad de Chile. Santiago, Chile (August 2008)

Invited Lecture:  “The Global Academy in Puerto Rico: An IMPACT on Diversity" Brookfield Commons & Ridgefield Crossings (May 2008)

Conference paper:  “Authoring Puerto Rican Identity: The Politics of Language and Literature” National Association of Hispanic & Latino Studies Conference, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (February 2008)

Invited Lecture: Keynote Speaker for 2007 Scholarship Recipients of The Latino Scholarship Fund of Greater Danbury. Danbury, Connecticut. (June 2007)

Conference paper: "Colonialism, Diaspora and Bilingualism: The Violence of 'Home' in the Literature of Rosario Ferré" 32nd Annual Conference of the Caribbean Studies Association, Salvador da Bahia, Brazil (May-June 2007)

Conference paper: "El narcotráfico y lo femenino en el cine colombiano internacional" 54th Meeting of the South Eastern Council of Latin American Studies, San José, Costa Rica (April 2007)

Conference paper: "On the Margin of Feminism: Women’s Writing and Testimony in Chile" Romance Studies Colloquium, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon (October 2006)

Conference paper: "Hybrid Subjectivity in the United States: The Legend of Joaquín Murrieta in Latino/a Literature" CSU Faculty Research Conference, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, Connecticut (October 2006)

Invited Lecture: "Reconstruir el 'yo' testimonial en la traducción de El infierno (Chile, 1994) de Luz Arce. VI Seminario Internacional de Traducción y Poética,  Asociación Internacional de Amigos da Universidade Libre Iberoamericana en Galicia, Rianxo, A Coruña, Spain (November 2005)

Conference paper: "La mujer y los derechos humanos en Chile: Dos voces al margen del feminismo" XV Congreso Internacional de Literatura Femenina Hispánica, Tegucigalpa, Honduras (October 2005)

Invited Lecture: "Migrating Wor(l)ds: Isabel Allende's Writing and Reception from Chile to California" Pequot Library Isabel Allende Program Series. Southport, Connecticut (September 2005)

Conference paper: "El sujeto fronterizo en EEUU: 'Yo soy Joaquín' de Rodolfo Gonzales e Hija de la fortuna de Isabel Allende" XXXV Congreso Internacional del Instituto Internacional de Literatura Iberoamericana: "Fronteras de la literatura y de la crítica" University of Poitiers, Poitiers, France (June-July 2004)

Conference paper: "Entre la reconciliación y la justicia: El discurso testimonial en Chile y la redemocratización" Democracy in Latin America: 30 Years after Chile's 9/11, University of Albany, New York (October 2003)

Conference paper: "Ficciones históricas de la trans(cultura)ción puertorriqueña y debates de la identidad nacional" XIII Congreso Internacional de Literatura Femenina Hispánica, Centro de Investigaciones Literarias, Santo Domingo, República Dominicana (October 2002)

Conference paper: "La casa en llamas: (Des)construcciones de una geografía doméstica en la narrativa de Rosario Ferré" XII Congreso Internacional de Literatura Femenina Hispánic, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky (September 2001)

Invited Lecture: "Pedagogía y tecnología en la educación norteamericana"  VI Foro Internacional por el Fomento del Libro y la Lectura, Centro de Altos Estudios Literarios y Sociales Chaco, Resistencia, Argentina (Argentina 2001)

Conference paper: "Fronteras de la hibridez: La poesía hispánica de mujeres en Estados Unidos" Poetic Discourses at Play 2001: Hispanic, Luso-Brazilian and US Latino/a Poetry Conference, University of California-Irvine, California (April 2001)

Conference paper: "Problematización de la identidad fronteriza: Un estudio de la poesía de mujeres chicanas y latinas de Estados Unidos" Poesía Hispánica de Europa y de Las Américas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile (January 2000)

Conference paper: "Voces femeninas y discursos nacionales en la narrativa de Cristina García" XI Congreso Internacional de Literatura Femenina Hispánica, York University, Toronto, Canada (September 2000)

Conference paper: "Jacobo Timerman's Preso sin nombre, celda sin número and the Reconstructing 'I'" MACLAS Human Rights Conference, St. John Fisher College, Rochester, New York (April 2000)

Conference paper: "Hacia una reconstrucción pos-traumática de la identidad: La voz testimonial de Nora Strejilevich y Alicia Partnoy" Louisiana Conference on Hispanic Languages & Literatures, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (March 2000)

Conference paper: “Arquetypal Mothers and Creative Cosmologies: A Study of Chicana Poetry” Global Justice, Women’s Rights, Southern Connecticut State University, Connecticut (October 1999)

Conference paper: "Chicana Feminist Consciousness and Literary (Re)visions of Identity" Communities of Women: Woman Writing and Written in Literary & Cultural Experience, Baylor University, Waco, Texas (September 1999)

Conference paper:  Soñar en cubano de Cristina García: Un paisaje familiar y su na(rra)ción” Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, The University of Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky (April 1999)

Conference paper:  "Tiempo femenino y maternidad: La construcción de una subjetividad femenina en la poesía chicana" Encuentro de Poesía Hispánica, Universidad de Sevilla, España (September 1998)

Conference paper:  "Latin American Women's Testimonial Writing: What is Feminism's Role in Social Liberation?" Latina Visions for Transforming the Americas, Southern Connecticut State University, Connecticut (October 1997)

Conference paper:  "En-gendering Violence: A Study of Sexuality in Three Contemporary Brazilian Plays" Cincinnati Conference on Romance Languages and Literatures, University of Cincinnati, Ohio (May 1996)

Conference paper:  "Feminismo y tortura: Desconstrucción literaria del espectáculo del poder" SCOLAS: Southwest Council of Latin American Studies, Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, México (March 1996)

Conference paper:  "Nacer de la cripta: La poesía y la cárcel en 'Que diré de la cárcel...' de Lucía Fabbri" Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, University of Kentucky-Lexington (April 1995)

Conference paper:  "La identidad heterogénea y fronteras culturales en Tiempo al tiempo de Isaac Goldemberg" Mid-America Conference on Hispanic Literature, University of Kansas-Lawrence (September 1994) 

Conference paper:  "La narrativa política y la subversión paradójica en Por la patria de Diamela Eltit" Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, University of Kentucky-Lexington (April 1994)



PROFESSIONAL SERVICE EXPERIENCE: 2005-Current

Professional Organizations

Modern Language Association
Asociación Internacional de Literatura y Cultura Femenina Hispánica

 

Professional Service & Committee Participation

Current

Board Member: Latino Scholarship Fund (2008-Current)
General Education Committee (2008-Current)
Advisor to Student Club "IMPACT" (2007-Current)
NCATE (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education) Spanish 7-12 Coordinator (2006-Current)
Senate Representative for World Languages & Literature (2005-Current)

Chairperson, Department of World Languages & Literature (2005-Current)

Faculty Liaison to Library - World Languages & Literature (2005-Current)

Advising Committee Representative for World Languages & Literature (2005-Current)
Webmaster for World Languages & Literature (2005-Current)

Previous

Co-Leader for Project IMPACT "Latino Student Success" Grant (2007-2008)
AASCU Latino/Hispanic Student Success Study Associate Leader (2007)
Search Committee Member: Assistant Director of Admissions (2007)

CSU-AAUP Research Grant Committee (2006-2007)
Education Review Committee (2005-2007)
Faculty Liaison to Education - World Languages & Literature (2006-2007)
Assessment Coordinator for World Languages & Literature (2005-2006)

Women's History Month Planning Committee (Spring 2005, Spring 2006)
University Advancement Group (2005-2006) 

 



(Please feel welcome to contact me for further information.)

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