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Ph.D. Candidate
Natalia Álvarez Zanza
Ph.D. Candidate

M.A in Literary Studies (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)
B.A. in Education, (Universidad de Valladolid)
B.A in Literary Theory and Comparative Literature (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)

Research Interests

Medical Humanities, Modern and Contemporary Spanish Literature, Literature and Cinema, Literature and Music, Critical Theory

Erika Casillas Spanish PhD
Graduate Student
Erika Casillas
Graduate Student

M.A., Spanish, Middlebury College, Vermont, 2023.
B.A., Spanish, California State University, Channel Islands, 2022. 

Research Interests

20th-21st Century Mexican Literature and Culture

AleCast.Spanish
Ph.D. Candidate
Alejandra Castellanos
Ph.D. Candidate

Ph.D., Candidate, Spanish, University of California, Irvine.
M.A., Spanish Literature, University of California, Irvine. 
B.A., Spanish, Minor in Chicano Studies, English/Spanish Translation Certificate, California State University, Channel Islands.

Research Interests

The intersection between gender, identity, inequality and race, as well as the intersection and conflict between the human being and nature. In particular, the gaze as a device for the creation, indoctrination, verification and disciplining of masculinity in contemporary Latin American narrative.

FDLC PhD Student in Spanish
Ph.D. Candidate
Luis Fernando de la Cruz Herrera
Ph.D. Candidate

Ph.D. Candidate, Spanish, University of California, Irvine.
M.A., Spanish, Ohio University.
B.A., Humanidades y Filosofía, Universidad Mesoamericana de San Agustín, Yucatán, México.

Research Interests

Pedagogy, creative writing, literary translation, & language teaching/acquisition. Research interest: Poetry in its many forms, particularly in native Mexican languages.
I have published over twenty titles mostly of poetry ( (lyric, satirical, and for children). I believe in a sense of community based on understanding and unconditional love. I also believe that poetry (and the arts) can be an instrument for that (for building community and understanding), but not always is.

FDP PhD Student in Spanish
Graduate Student
Federico De Palma
Graduate Student

B.A., University of California, Irvine, 2023.

MF PhD Student in Spanish
Ph.D. Candidate
Melinda Franke
Ph.D. Candidate

Ph.D. Candidate, Spanish, University of California, Irvine, 2022. 
M.A., Spanish, University of California, Irvine, 2019. 
B.A., Spanish & Physics, DePauw University, 2018. 

Research Interests

Early Modern Spanish Literature  and Culture, Sound Studies, Critical Theory.

Julia Gomez PhD Spanish
Ph.D. Candidate
Julia Verónica Gómez Rodríguez
Ph.D. Candidate

Ph.D. Candidate, Spanish, University of California, Irvine, 2024.
M.A., Comunicación de la Ciencia y la Cultura, ITESO, México.
B.A., Letras Hispánicas, Universidad de Guadalajara, México,

Research Interests

Representations of violence in non-fiction narratives, particularly in contemporary Mexican Chronicles.

Fernanda Hdz PhD Spanish
Ph.D. Candidate
Fernanda Hernández Paredes
Ph.D. Candidate

Ph.D. Candidate, Spanish, University of California, Irvine, 2024.
M.A. in Spanish, University of California, Irvine, 2023.
B.A. in Hispanic Literature, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. 

Research Interests

Her work focuses on material poetics, the intersections between activism and literature, and women writers of the 20th and 21st century in Mexico. Along with her academic work, she also writes fiction and non-fiction exploring themes such as language, pain, and violence.

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Ph.D. Candidate
Juan Nelson Marcos Villahoz
Ph.D. Candidate
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Ph.D. Candidate
Jacqueline Martinez Cerna
Ph.D. Candidate
MassenaElizabeth
Graduate Student
María Elizabeth Massena
Graduate Student

M.A., Spanish, California State University, Northridge, 2020.
M.A., Education, Universidad Adventista de Chile, 2016.
B.A., History, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, 2010. 

Research Interests

Latin American Chronicles, 20th Century Latin American literature, Narcoliterature, Narcoviolence and Feminist Literature in the Southern Cone. 

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Graduate Student
Isabel Medina
Graduate Student

M.A., Spanish Language and Literature, San Diego State University, 2024
B.A. Spanish, Minor in Teaching English as a Second Language, San Diego State University 2022.

Research Interests

Women writers in the 20th and 21st century in Latin America with an emphasis in Mexico; Latin American feminist violence; Feminist theory.

Munrayos
Graduate Student
Robert Munrayos
Graduate Student

M.A., Hispanic Studies, Boston College, 2024.
B.A., Spanish, French and Italian, University of Rhode Island, 2015

Fiona Oconnor
Graduate Student
Fiona O'Connor
Graduate Student

B.A. in Comparative Literature and International Political Economy, Fordham University, 2019.
Minors in Spanish and Philosophy.

Mell Rivera PhD Spanish
Ph.D. Candidate
Mell Rivera
Ph.D. Candidate

B.A., Comparative Literature, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras.

Research Interests

Contemporary Caribbean Literature, Feminist Theory, Affect Theory, Postcolonial Studies

Romo PhD Student
Graduate Student
Raúl Romo
Graduate Student

M.A., Spanish, California State University, Bakersfield, 2023.
B.A., Design & Spanish, University of California, Davis, 2016. 

Research Interests

Contemporary Mexican Literature and Film; LGBTTQIA+ Activisms and Visual Culture.

Carina Saiiidi
Graduate Student
Carina Saiidi Padilla
Graduate Student

M.A., Urban Education, Language & Culture, Loyola Marymount University, 2014.
B.A., History, Spanish & Portuguese, UCLA, 2011.

Research Interests

Representations of addictions, particularly, alcoholism, intergenerational trauma, and healing practices in Mexican and Chicano literature and culture.

SanchezCano PhD Spanish
Graduate Student
Marco Antonio Sánchez-Cano
Graduate Student

M.A., Spanish Language and Literature, San Diego State University, 2023
B.A., Spanish, Minor in Latin American Studies, San Diego State University, 2021
B.A., Communications, San Diego State University, 2021

Research Interests

20th-21st century Latin American literature (México and Argentina), Mexican Revolution, dictatorships, violence, pain, nationalism, critical theory, psychoanalysis.

Toscano PhD Spanish
Ph.D. Candidate
Jeanie Toscano
Ph.D. Candidate

Spanish Literature, University of California, Irvine
German, Spanish and Social Work, University of Portland
Fulbright Research Fellowship to Germany: 2008-2009

Research Interests

20th and 21st century Latin American and US Chicanx Literature, aesthetics of violence, narcoliterature, border studies, gender and sexuality, postcolonial studies, and Hispanic musical cultures.

Urdaneta PhD Spanish
Ph.D. Candidate
José María Urdaneta Azuero
Ph.D. Candidate

M.A., University of California, Irvine, 2019.
B.A., Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia, 2016.

Research Interests

My research focuses on autobiographical writings, diaries and documentary cinema. Amongst others, I study the works of Luis Ospina, Joao Moreira Salles, Albertina Carri, Fernando Vallejo, Julio Ramón Ribeyro, Alejandra Pizarnik, Ricardo Piglia and Andrés Di Tella. More broadly, I am interested in literary theory and media studies.

Vasquez PhD Spanish
Graduate Student
Jennifer Vasquez
Graduate Student

M.A., Spanish, University of New Mexico, 2019
B.A., English Comparative & Literary Studies / Spanish Literary Studies, Occidental College, 2016.

Research Interests

Latin American literature and culture in the 20th and 21st century; Central American immigration; Post-colonial studies; Feminist theory

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Graduate Student
Landon Yanez
Graduate Student