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Education

Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University

M.A., Claremont Graduate University

B.A. University of Southern California

Biography

I was born and raised in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. My parents are immigrants from Ecuador and Peru, and I am proud of my heritage, as well as of being a first-generation college student. When I am not teaching, researching, or engaging in service, I like to spend time with my family, cook, write poetry, listen to and perform music, and to hang with my two cats.

Teaching

I teach courses in Latino/a/x/e literatures, American Literature from beginnings to present with a focus on American Gothic literature, and hemispheric America literatures of the 17th and 18th century. I also teach courses in English composition and business communication. My goal in every course is to teach students the importance of critical thinking, reading carefully and intentionally, and to write ethically and effectively; skills that are indispensable, regardless of their future professional pathway.

Scholarship

My research and scholarship is rooted in the fields of Latino/a/x/e literary and cultural Studies. I have published numerous articles on Gothic elements in Latino/a/x/e Literature, particularly in urban Latino/a/x/e spaces, or the barrio. I used this theoretical lens to look at texts such as Latina life writing, queer Latinx YA literature, and Latinx Gothic social media accounts. I have also published on punk and Latinx punks as represented in literature. Currently, I am working on a nascent project tracing a history of queer history of Gothic Latinx poetics from the 17th century to present tentatively titled ‘don’t forget—things haunt’: A History of Queer Gothic Latinx Poetry.

I view my scholarship as an act of recovery and of amplifying the voices of those who are often pushed into the shadows.

Service

I am a member of the Undergraduate Studies Committee and the Graduate Studies Committee in the English department and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Strategic Planning Committee.

Student Involvement Opportunities

I am the faculty advisor for Sigma Alpha Epsilon.