Department of Languages & Literatures

Staff

Main Office

Department of Languages & Literatures

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

Faculty

Alexander Alderman

Visiting Instructor of Languages & Literatures

Ph.D. Studies, Classics, Brown University

253-535-7211Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., Classics, Drama, and Philosophy, University of Dallas, 1999
  • Ph.D. Studies, Classics, Brown University

Claudia Berguson

Associate Professor of Norwegian and Scandinavian Studies

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

Kirsten M. Christensen

Associate 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

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

Jennifer Jenkins

Assistant Professor of Languages & Literatures

Ph.D., Modern German Literature and Culture, University of Wisconsin, 2008

253-535-8227Office Location
Education:
  • B.A. (Honors), German, Miami University, 1996
  • M.A., Modern German Literature and Culture, University of Wisconsin, 1997
  • M.A., Scandinavian Studies, Swedish Emphasis, University of Wisconsin, 2001
  • Ph.D., Modern German Literature and Culture, University of Wisconsin, 2008
Areas of Emphasis:
  • 18th and 20th Century German Literature, Hermann Broch, Peter Weiss, Aesthetics, Modern Scandinavian Literatures, Dutch and Flemish Literature

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

Maite Kilpatrick

Visiting Lecturer of Spanish

Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1994

253-538-5664Office Location
Education:
  • Licenciatura, University of Seville, Spain, 1980
  • M.A., University of Seville, Spain, 1983
  • Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1994

Jingzhen Li

Visiting Lecturer of Chinese

(253) 535-8445

Paul Manfredi

Associate Professor of Chinese

Ph.D., Indiana University, 2001

(253) 535-7216Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., Long Island University, 1992, B.A., Long Island University, 1992, 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, English Philology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, 1992, English Philology, 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 Peninsular Literature
  • Diaspora Issues
  • Spanish Civil War
  • Gender Studies
  • Pedagogical Approaches to Teaching Literature

Eric Nelson

Associate Professor Of Classics & Chair of the Department of Languages and Literatures

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

Associate Professor of Norwegian and Scandinavian 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

Giovanna Urdangarain

Assistant Professor of Spanish

Ph.D., Indiana University, 2008

253-535-7240Office Location
Education:
  • B.A., Secondary Education Literature, Artigas Teacher Training Institute, Montevideo, Uruguay, 1991
  • M.A., Hispanic Literature, Indiana University, 2001
  • Ph.D., Indiana University, 2008
Areas of Emphasis:
  • Contemporary Latin American Narrative
  • Southern Cone Dictatorial and Post-Dictatorial Narrative by Women Writers
  • Memory and Trauma Studies
  • Contemporary Brazilian Women Writers

Rebecca Wilkin

Assistant Professor of French

Ph.D., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2000

(253) 535-7313Office Location
Biography:

Professor Wilkin specializes in intellectual history in early modern France--skepticism, stoicism, Descartes and Cartesianism--from the standpoint of feminist criticism. She also works on Counter-Reformation culture: mysticism, demonology, and missionary encounters with the native peoples of North America. She teaches francophone literature from Europe,North America, and Africa.

Education:
  • B.A., Brown University, 1994
  • M.A., University of Michigan, 1996
  • Ph.D., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2000
Areas of Emphasis:
  • Intellectual history in early modern France
  • Feminist criticism
  • Counter-Reformation culture
  • Francophone literature

Tamara R. Williams

Associate Professor of Spanish

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 of Spanish & Language Resource Center Director

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