Graduate Program Faculty

Program Director

Dr. Benji Souza
Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures
Box 32063, L.S. Dougherty Hall
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608
Phone: (828) 262-2305
souzabj@appstate.edu

French

Dr. Jean-François Fournier 
fournierj@appstate.edu
Research interests: 19th-century fiction and poetry, bridges between literature & philosophy, comic discourses in literature & film 

Dr. Darci Gardner
gardnerdl1@appstate.edu
Research interests: 19th and 20th century France; literature and the visual arts; cognitive approaches to literature; aesthetics

Spanish

Dr. Victoria Cox
coxvk@appstate.edu
Research interests: Colonial and contemporary Latin America, Argentine theatre and literature

Dr. Adrienne Erazo
erazoad@appstate.edu
Research interests: Contemporary Mexican, Central American, and Latinx literature, Latin American immigration in literature, border theory, gender studies, identity theory, representation of marginalization and otherness.

Dr. Andres Fisher
fisheras@appstate.edu
Research interests: Contemporary poetry in Spain and Latin America, poetry translation, cultural studies, creative writing

Dr. Catherine Fountain
fountainca@appstate.edu
Research interests: Language change and variation, multilingualism and language policy, indigenous languages of the Americas 

Dr. Maria Patricia Ortiz
ortizowensmp@appstate.edu
Research interests: Contemporary Hispanic comparative literature, Hispanic authors in the US, gender studies

Dr. Benito del Pliego
delpliegob@appstate.edu
Research interests: Contemporary poetry in Spain and Latin America, literature and migrations of Spanish speakers, creative writing

Dr. Benjamin Souza 
souzabj@appstate.edu
Research interests: Bilingualism, second language phonology, effects of frequency on language production

Dr. Paul Worley
worleypm@appstate.edu
Research interests: Spanish, Latin American literatures and cultures, global indigenous literatures

LLC and Applied Linguistics

Dr. Elizabeth Deifell
deifelled@appstate.edu
Research interests: Second language acquisition, language program coordination, computer-assisted language learning

Dr. Alexandra Sterling-Hellenbrand
hellenbranda@appstate.edu
Research interests: Medieval German culture and literature, Middle Ages and Arthurian literature and arts, fairy tales

Dr. Paul Sebastian
sebastianpl@appstate.edu
Research interests: Foreign language methodology, second language acquisition, computer-assisted language learning, and linguistic landscapes