Department of Languages & Literatures

Faculty & Staff

Main Office

Department of Languages & Literatures

Administration Building, Room 222 Tacoma, WA 98447-0003
253-535-7320

Faculty and Staff

Claudia Berguson

Assistant Professor of Languages & Literatures

Ph.D., University of Washington, 2003

(253) 535-7512Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., Concordia University, , 1987
  • M.A., University of Minnesota, 1987
  • M.A., Lesley College, 1992
  • Ph.D., University of Washington, 2003

Roberta Brown

Professor of French

Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, 1981

(253) 535-7630Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., Stanford University, 1967
  • M.A., University of Oregon, 1969
  • Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, 1981

Kirsten M. Christensen

Assistant Professor of German

Ph.D., Germanic Studies, emphasis on Medieval and Early Modern Literature and Culture, University of Texas, 1998

(253) 535-8775Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., German Major, Minor emphases in French and Business, Arizona State University, 1984
  • M.A., Language Acquisition, German emphasis, Brigham Young University, 1991
  • Ph.D., Germanic Studies, emphasis on Medieval and Early Modern Literature and Culture, University of Texas, 1998

Emily Davidson

Instructor in the Department of Languages & Literature

M.A., Spanish, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont and Madrid, Spain, 2000

(253) 535-7240Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., Spanish, Pacific Lutheran University, 1998
  • M.A., Spanish, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont and Madrid, Spain, 2000

Maria Ferrer-Lightner

Visiting Instructor of Spanish

Ph.DC., Spanish Literature and Theory of Literature, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Spain, 2007

(253) 535-8133Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., Spanish, Pacific Lutheran University, 1997
  • M.A., University of Washington, 1999
  • Ph.DC., Spanish Literature and Theory of Literature, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Spain, 2007

Kamaal Haque

Visiting Assistant Professor of German

Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis, 2006

(253) 535-8227Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., Drew University, 1997
  • M.A., Washington University in St. Louis, 2000
  • Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis, 2006

Mark Jensen

Associate Professor of French

Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1989

(253) 535-7219Personal Web site
Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., Princeton University, 1974
  • M.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1983
  • Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1989
Areas of Emphasis:
  • Nineteenth Century French Literature
  • Alfred de Vigny
  • Romanticism
  • History of Ideas/Intellectual History

Zena Li

Professor of...

(253) 535-8445Office Location

Paul Manfredi

Assistant Professor of Chinese

Ph.D., Indiana University, 2001

(253) 535-7216Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., Long Island University, 1992
  • Dual M.A., Indiana University, 1998
  • Ph.D., Indiana University, 2001
Areas of Emphasis:
  • Modern Chinese Literature, primarily poetry
  • East-West literary/cultural influence studies

Paloma Martí­nez-Carbajo

Assistant Professor of Spanish

Ph.D., Spanish, University of Washington, 2000

(253) 535-7311Office Location
Education:
  • Licenciatura, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, 1992
  • M.A., Spanish, University of Washington, 1996
  • Ph.D., Spanish, University of Washington, 2000
Areas of Emphasis:
  • Contemporary Women's Issues
  • Golden Age
  • Colonial Spain
  • 19th-20th Century Spanish Peninsula Literature
  • Diaspora Issues
  • Spanish Civil War
  • Gender Studies
  • pedagogical approaches to teaching literature

Eric Nelson

Assistant Professor Of Classics

Ph.D., University of Washington, 1992

(253) 535-7235Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., Pacific Lutheran University, 1982
  • M.A., University of Washington, 1985
  • Ph.D., University of Washington, 1992

Carmiña Palerm

Assistant Professor of Language and Literature

Ph.D., Stanford University, 2001

(253) 535-7756Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1993
  • M.A., Stanford University, 1994
  • Ph.D., Stanford University, 2001

James R. Predmore

Associate Professor of Spanish

Ph.D., University of Washington, 1977

(253) 535-7243Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., Spanish, Swarthmore College, 1967
  • M.A., Spanish, Middlebury College, 1969
  • Ph.D., University of Washington, 1977

Rochelle Snee

Associate Professor of Classics

Ph.D., University of Washington, 1981

(253) 535-7220Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., University of Maryland, 1969
  • M.A., University of Washington, 1972
  • Ph.D., University of Washington, 1981

Troy Storfjell

Assistant Professor of Scandanavian Studies

Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 2001

(253) 535-8514Personal Web site
Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., Andrews University, 1989
  • M.A., University of Wisconsin, 1995
  • Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 2001

Scott Taylor

Visiting Assistant Professor of French

Ph.D., Florida State University, 2003

(253) 535-8774Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1994
  • M.S., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1995
  • Ph.D., Florida State University, 2003
Areas of Emphasis:
  • French Theater
  • Performance Studies
  • Semiotics
  • 20th Century Contemporary French Literature

Tamara R. Williams

Associate Professor of Spanish & Chair of the Language and Literature Department

Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1989

(253) 535-7678Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., Spanish, Queen's University, 1979
  • M.A., Pennsylvania State University, 1981
  • Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1989

Bridget Yaden

Assistant Professor in Spanish & LRC Coordinator

Ph.D., University of Washington, 2003

(253) 535-8330Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., Spanish, Western Washington University, 1991
  • M.A., University of Washington, 1994
  • Ph.D., University of Washington, 2003
Areas of Emphasis:
  • Romance Linguistics
  • Technology for Language Learning
  • Linguistic Minorities