Associate Professor, Spanish
montesyx@jmu.edu
Contact Info
Office
Keezell 419
Fall 2024 Office Hours:
W 1-4pm in person or on zoom by appointment
Education
Ph.D. University of California, Riverside
(Spanish Literature)
M.A. University of California, Riverside
(Spanish and Latin American Literature)
B.A. University of California, Riverside
(Spanish and Psychology)
Courses
SPAN 320: Oral and Written Communication
SPAN 335: Introduction to Hispanic Literature
SPAN 446: Special Topics in Spanish Literature (Spanish Civil War and Historical Memory; Spanish Civil War through Literature and Film; Contemporary Spanish Theatre: Antonio Buero Vallejo and Fernando Arrabal).
SPAN 461: Post War Literature in Spain
SPAN 490: Special Studies in Spanish
SPAN 498: The Generation of 1898
Information
Dr. Yenisei Montes de Oca is an Associate Professor at the Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at James Madison University. Her academic career at the University of California, Riverside broadened her interest in Hispanic Literature which then led her to focus on 20th Century Peninsular Literature with a special emphasis on studies on Trauma and Memory in relation to the Spanish Civil War. At JMU she teaches courses relating to these topics, period and theory. As a research scholar she has delved into a transnational project that examines how trauma and memory intersect within other nations, particularly, Colombia. She is the Co-chair of the Madison Hispanic Caucus (MHC) and is the faculty advisor for the Spanish Club. As a first-generation college student herself, she is very honored to be the faculty advisor for the Madison First Generation Society (MFGS) the first generation and low-income student organization on campus. Since January 2023, she has been serving as the Assistant Secretary-Treasurer for the Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Association (MIFLA).
Research Interestests
20th and 21st Spanish Peninsular Literature, Trauma and Memory Studies with emphasis on Collective Memory, Contemporary Colombian Literature.
Memberships
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Midwest Modern Language Association (MMLA)
American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP)
Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Association (MIFLA)
Publications
Book
Narrativas española y colombiana: una aproximación transnacional al trauma cultural contemporáneo. Pijao Editores, 2022.
Peer-reviewed articles/Book chapters
“La fotografía y su poder sinérgico en ‘La trampa’ por Carlos Orlando Pardo.” Modernidad y posmodernidad en la narrativa del Tolima – Colección de Ensayos, edited by Carlos Pardo Viña, Pijao Editores, 2022, pp.193-205.
“Memory Recovery from the Site of Trauma in Josefina Aldecoa’s Trilogía de la memoria.” Transformations of Trauma in Women’s Writing, edited by Laura Alexander, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2023, pp. 133-149.
