Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures

Faculty and Staff

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Faculty & Staff

  • Irina Barclay

    Dr. Irina Barclay

    Professor, Russian & Russian Literature

    barclayiy@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-2918

    Research and teaching interests: Author, translator, and editor of the book, Twenty Years in a Siberian Gulag. A Memoir of the Political Prisoner. I teach in Russian and English and my research and teaching interests include Russian and Slavic Literature in Translation, the methodology of teaching Russian courses for ASU students.

  • Salwa Ali Ben Zahra

    Dr. Salwa Ali Ben Zahra

    Associate Professor, Arabic and Director of the Arabic Program

    zahrasb@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-2304

    Research and teaching interests: English, Arabic and French literatures in multidisciplinary connections with Disability and Postcolonial Studies.

  • Blankenship, Bobby

    Mr. Bobby Blankenship

    Adjunct Instructor, Spanish

    blankenshipbd@appstate.edu

    Research and teaching interests: I teach beginning Spanish 1010 & 1020.

  • Ms. Isabelle Breden

    Adjunct Instructor, French

    expositobredenir@appstate.edu

    Research and teaching interests: Beginning level French

  • Victoria Cox

    Dr. Victoria Cox

    Professor, Spanish

    coxvk@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-7101

    Research and teaching interests: Spanish Language. Latin American Literature and Culture. Andean Studies. Latin American Women Writers. Performance Studies. Business Spanish.

  • Photo of Dr. Elizabeth Deifell

    Dr. Elizabeth Deifell

    Senior Lecturer

    deifelled@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-8598

    Research and teaching interests: Second Language Acquisition, Language Program Coordination, Computer-Assisted Language Teaching and Learning, Heritage Language Instruction

  • Benito del Pliego

    Dr. Benito del Pliego

    Professor, Spanish

    delpliegob@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-2306

    Research and teaching interests: Contemporary Spanish and Latin American Poetry, Contemporary Spanish and Latin American Literature, Transatlantic Studies, Peninsular Studies, Migrations and Exile in the Spanish Speaking World

  • Dr. Adrienne Erazo

    Assistant Professor of Spanish
    Advisor for the Spanish for Health and Helping Professions Minor

    erazoad@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-2929

    Research and teaching interests: Spanish for the Professions (Spanish for Healthcare and Social Services). Contemporary Mexican, Central American, and Latinx literature. Latin American immigration in literature. Border theory. Gender studies. Identity theory. Representation of marginalization and otherness.

  • Andres Fisher

    Dr. Andres Fisher

    Professor, Spanish

    fisheras@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-2309

    Research and teaching interests: 20th century poetry, both Peninsular and Latin American. Poetry translation. Literature and culture of Spain and Latin America. Transatlantic studies. Creative writing in poetry.

  • Jim Fogelquist

    Dr. Jim Fogelquist

    Professor, Spanish

    fogelquistjd@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-3096

    Research and teaching interests: Medieval and Golden Age Spanish literature; Cervantes; Mexican literature and popular culture; Chicano literature

  • Catherine Fountain

    Dr. Catherine Fountain

    Professor, Spanish and TESL/Applied Linguistics

    fountainca@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-2308

    Research and teaching interests: Historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, history of the language sciences, Indigenous languages of the Americas, Spanish in the United States

  • Jean-François Fournier

    Dr. Jean-François Fournier

    Associate Professor, French
    Assistant Department Chair

    fournierj@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-2307

    Research and teaching interests: Teaching: French Language and Literature; Literature & Film; Political and Cultural History of Contemporary France; Crossed Cultural Glances between France, Germany, and the US. Research:19th Century Fiction and Poetry; Bridges between Literature & Philosophy; Comic Discourses in Literature & Film.

  • Dr. Darci L. Gardner

    Associate Professor, French
    Director, High Country Humanities
    Affiliate faculty: Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies

    gardnerdl1@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-2928

    Research and teaching interests: 19th- and 20th-century France; literature and the visual arts; cognitive approaches to literature; aesthetics

  • Ito, Kinji

    Dr. Kinji Ito

    Assistant Professor, Japanese

    itok@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-7513

    Research and teaching interests: Japanese language and culture, Japanese-English translation, business Japanese, language pedagogy, second language acquisition

  • Liz Kunkel, MA

    Lecturer, Spanish

    kunkella@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-2913

    Research and teaching interests: First and second-year Spanish; Spanish for Healthcare and Social Services

  • Lynn McNeil

    Lynn McNeil

    Senior Lecturer, French

    lm72294@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-8511

    Research and teaching interests: Beginning & intermediate level French

  • Sarah Miller

    Ms. Sarah Miller

    Lecturer, TESL/Applied Linguistics

    millers3@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-8592

    Research and teaching interests: Sociolinguistics, language pedagogy & critical materials development, intercultural communication, multilingual/cultural educational policy and practice.

  • Dr. Beverly Moser

    Professor, German and TESL/Applied Linguistics

    moserba@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-2303

    Research and teaching interests: I teach all levels of German and am passionate about language teaching and helping to develop new language teachers for the future. I love working on practical projects like language textbooks, hoping that this work makes language learning more fun for students. Most recently, I've been working on campus on our project for the QEP on Global Learning.

  • Dr. Ortiz profile picture

    Dr. María Patricia Ortiz

    Professor, Spanish

    ortizmp1@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-7356

    Research and teaching interests: Teaching: Latin American Literature and Cultural Studies, Border Crossings U.S. Hispanic Literature and Culture, and 20th Century Spanish and Latin American Novel. Research: Comparative Literature, and Narratives of women's immigration in relation to literature, culture, and border crossings.

  • Olivia A. Posada

    Ms. Olivia A. Posada

    Senior Lecturer, Spanish

    posadaoa@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-8510

    Research and teaching interests: Teach SNH 1010 - 1020 Beginning Spanish I & II, SNH 1040 - 1050 Intermediate Spanish I & II, SNH 1030 - 1060 Accelerated Beginning and Intermediate Spanish, and SNH 2005 Spanish Grammar in Context.

  • Dr. Karola Rico García

    Visiting Assistant Professor

    ricogarciaj@appstate.edu

    Research and teaching interests: All levels of Spanish, English as a Second Language, The Mesoamerican Cultural Tradition, Global and Intercultural Connections (Indigenous Peoples of Mexico), The Culture and Civilization of Spanish America, Field Methods in Linguistics, and Academic Discourse.

  • Dr. Christoph Schmitz

    Dr. Christoph Schmitz

    Assistant Professor

    schmitzc@appstate.edu

    Research and teaching interests: Contemporary German Literature, Sound Studies, Science Fiction

  • Carmen Scoggins

    Ms. Carmen Scoggins

    Adjunct Instructor, Spanish

    scogginscl@appstate.edu

    Research and teaching interests: Spanish and Foreign Language Methodology

  • Paul Sebastian

    Dr. Paul Sebastian

    Associate Professor, Spanish & TESL/Applied Linguistics
    Undergraduate Teacher Education Program Director for World Languages

    sebastianpl@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-2932

    Research and teaching interests: I teach courses in language methodology, second language acquisition, computer-assisted language learning and Spanish as a second language. My research deals with the relationship between language and the constructed environment whether that be physical, hybrid, or online.

  • Benjamin Souza

    Dr. Benjamin Souza

    Professor, Spanish Linguistics

    souzabj@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-2305

    Research and teaching interests: I teach all levels of Spanish and specialize in Spanish linguistics. I study a wide array of second language acquisition topics and Spanish phonetics and dialectology.

  • Kendra Souza

    Ms. Kendra Souza

    Senior Lecturer, Spanish

    souzakl@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-8508

    Research and teaching interests: Beginning and Intermediate Spanish

  • Alexandra Sterling-Hellenbrand

    Dr. Alexandra Sterling-Hellenbrand

    Professor, German and Global Studies

    hellenbranda@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-7225

    Research and teaching interests: Teaching areas include German language and culture, medieval German literature, fairy tales, Arthurian legends, "Mittelalterrezeption" and medievalism.

  • Photo of Anneliese Thomae Elias

    Anneliese Thomae Elias

    Adjunct Instructor

    thomaeeliasam@appstate.edu

    Research and teaching interests: Spanish language, language justice

  • Cindy Trivette

    Ms. Cindy Trivette

    Administrative Assistant

    trivetteca@appstate.edu

    Research and teaching interests: Administrative Support Specialist, ASU Staff Senator, AppKIDS Committee Member. Hobbies include taking Spanish classes, crocheting, reading and spending time with my family.

  • Dr. Stephanie Tsakeu Mazan

    Assistant Professor, French and Francophone Studies

    tsakeumazansd@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-8512

    Research and teaching interests: French Language and Literature, Francophone Cultural Aesthetics, Rhetorics of Postcoloniality, African and Africana Studies, Literature and Philosophy, Global South Studies.

  • Xiaofei Tu

    Dr. Xiaofei Tu

    Associate Professor, Chinese and Japanese

    tux@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-6649

    Research and teaching interests: East Asian literature and philosophy

  • Photo of Dr. Paul Worley

    Dr. Paul Worley

    Professor, Spanish and World Literatures
    Department Chair

    worleypm@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-6709

    Research and teaching interests: Spanish, Latin American Literatures and Cultures, Global Indigenous Literatures

  • Dr. Wendy Xie

    Professor, Chinese

    xiew@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-2302

    Research and teaching interests: Chinese language of all levels; Twentieth-Century Chinese Poetry, Fiction, and Drama; Chinese Popular Culture; Gender Performance in Chinese Theater and Film; Melodramatic Imagination and Emotional Intimacy

  • Misa Yamamoto

    Ms. Misa Yamamoto

    Senior Lecturer, Japanese

    yamamotom@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-7083

    Research and teaching interests: All the Japanese language courses: Beginning JapaneseI,II, Intermediate Japanese I, II and Advanced Japanese I, II

  • Stephen profile picture

    Dr. Stephen L Young

    Senior Lecturer, Latin and Classical Cultures

    youngsl2@appstate.edu
    (828) 262-7826

    Research and teaching interests: Latin; Greek and Roman mythology; Classical philosophy and religion; biblical literature; history of ideas about marriage, gender, freedom, and morality; religion and politics in America.

Emeritus Faculty

Per the Appalachian State University Faculty Handbook, Emeritus/Emerita/Emeritx faculty status is a privilege that may be conferred to honor a faculty member who has retired, resigned due to a long-term disability, or who has died after a distinguished professional career that included significant contributions to the University.

The title is awarded to faculty members with permanent tenure and at least ten years of employment at Appalachian State who demonstrate one or more of the following: a substantive record of scholarly achievement commensurate with national and international standards within the specific discipline; a recognized record of outstanding teaching and educational contributions; and evidence of significant service both to the University and to the candidate’s respective discipline.

  • Dr. K. Martial Frindéthié (French)
  • Dr. Rainer Goetz (Spanish)
  • Dr. Kevin Kennedy (German)
  • Dr. Richard McGarry (Linguistics, TESL)