Summer 2026: Methodology for the Analysis of Space in Contemporary Latin American Cinema (Graduate Course), National Autonomous University of Mexico

This course introduces students to methods for analyzing space in contemporary Latin American cinema. Through the study of films from diverse Latin American contexts, students will examine how cinematography, sound, narrative structure, and art direction contribute to the construction of audiovisual and social space. The course combines film screenings, in-class discussion, close analysis of selected sequences, and written reflections. By the end of the course, students will be able to apply tools of film analysis to representations of territory, social relations, and contemporary Latin American realities.

Spanish & Gender and Women – 434, Le Moyne College (Spring 2024)

This course explores cinema’s role in reinforcing or challenging exoticized sexual representations in the Latin America, impacting transnational tourism. Students will analyze how film depict the interplay of tourism and gender, how these portrayals influence global film consumption and how filmmakers navigate tourism’s commodification. Additionally, we will investigate the intersection of race, gender, and ethnicity in these narratives. Through film analysis and anthropological literature, students will gain insights into how cinema and tourism interact in shaping perceptions of Latin America.

Spring 2025: Spanish – 433 & Communication – 433, Le Moyne College

Spring 2023: Spanish – 440 & Communication – 225, Le Moyne College

Situated in a region characterized by stark contrasts, encompassing some of the world’s most populous cities alongside vast rainforests, today’s Latin American filmmakers confront pressing global debates, ranging from ecological sustainability to migration, inequality, and violence. This course explores the intersection of Contemporary Latin American cinema with pivotal contemporary issues. Through film discussions and readings, students will contemplate themes such as indigenous cultures and the quest for environmentally sustainable societies, social justice and migration, and the dynamics of race amidst uneven urban development, among others. These films serve not only as a portal to witness the intricacies of Latin America but also as a means for students to view their own reality from a not-so-distant perspective.

Fall 2025: Spanish – 431, Le Moyne College

Fall 2023: Spanish – 431, Le Moyne College

This course aims to introduce students to different illustrative styles, cultural expressions, writers, and movements in Latin American literature. It mainly focuses on fundamental themes in twentieth and early twenty-first-century Latin American fiction, particularly the short story. During the course, students will read and analyze key issues related to Latin American fiction in the selected time period. Moreover, secondary sources will be referred to during class activities and written and oral assignments. Close reading of texts and group discussions will be an integral part of this course.

Spring 2026: Major Authors: José Martí – 210, Le Moyne College

This ENG 210 Major Authors course offers an intensive study of the work of José Martí (1853–1895), a major writer of the nineteenth century whose poetry, essays, journalism, and letters shaped literary culture in the Americas. Through close reading of texts from multiple genres, the course examines Martí’s work in relation to the historical and cultural contexts in which it was produced, including exile, modernity, and transnational exchange. The course places particular emphasis on Martí’s years in New York, where he wrote extensively about U.S. society, literature, and public life for Latin American audiences. Students analyze these writings alongside Martí’s poetry and essays to understand his role as a transnational author and cultural observer.

Spanish – 412, Le Moyne College (Fall 2023)

This course explores the transformation of Latin American cultures through issues of race, gender, and social justice, as well as interdisciplinary topics in history, social sciences, politics, and economics. The class will examine how telenovelas introduce these intersectional and interdisciplinary issues to working-class Latin American viewers. Although telenovelas (soap operas) are widely stigmatized in academia, they have served as a long-term referent for the Latin American general public to reflect on pressing social topics. As the philosopher Jesús Martín Barbero asserts, telenovelas have shaped Latin America’s collective imagination of the historical past, present, and future for many decades. A significant part of the course also examines the misrepresentations of diverse communities in Spanish-speaking mainstream media. Additionally, students will engage with literary, visual, and musical products ranging from canonical novels to less prestigious art forms, including narcocorridos, tattoos, and fashion.

Spanish – 300, Lehman College (Fall 2020, Spring 2019)

This course is an introductory exploration of literary analysis, with a focus on poetry, narrative, and theater texts. By studying this course, students will develop the ability to recognize and identify the most significant illustrative styles, movements, influential writers, and cultural expressions present in Spanish and Latin American literature.