Ph.D. Berkeley (2002). Assistant Professor of Latin American Literature.
My primary research interests are Spanish American and Brazilian fiction and essay, film studies, North-South issues and popular music. I am especially keen on the cultural commerce between Latin America and the United States, particularly during the first half of the 20th century. During my first years at Vanderbilt I edited an anthology of essays from the 1920s-1940s documenting the initial impact of North American cinema on Latin American intellectuals, titled Avances de Hollywood and published in 2005 by Beatriz Viterbo (Argentina). More recently, I wrote a full-length study (Latin American Writers and the Rise of Hollywood Cinema) exploring the various ways in which Latin American novelists, poets and journalists first came to terms with the international film industry (Routledge, 2008). In addition to my two books, in the last couple of years I have written articles on such issues as the Latin American literary vanguards' appropriation of jazz music, and the circus and sports as seminal influences on early 20th century Argentine and Brazilian literature.
My teaching at Vanderbilt focuses on Latin American literature, cultural studies and film.
Ph.D. Berkeley (2002). Assistant Professor of Latin American Literature.