Faculty

Soheila Amirsoleimani
Associate Professor, Persian
LNCO 1951
s.amirsoleimani@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 1995, University of Michigan
Interests: Classical Persian texts; history, historiography, & the literature of the early Perso-Islamic world

Gary Atwood-Mendez
Assistant Professor (Lect.), Spanish
LNCO 1213
gary.atwood@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2006, University of California, Irvine
Interests: Peninsular Literature and Culture, Poetry, Avant-Garde Literature

Shoji Azuma
Professor, Japanese
LNCO 1225
shoji_azuma@yahoo.co.jp

Education: Ph.D., 1991, University of Texas at Austin
Interests: Japanese studies, sociolinguistics, Japanese linguistics

Yoko Azuma
Instructor (Lecturer), Japanese
LNCO 1311
y.azuma@utah.edu

Karin Baumgartner
Professor, German
801-585-3001 | LNCO 1323
karin.baumgartner@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 1999, Washington University in St. Louis
Interests: Travel literature, the historical novel, Swiss Studies, feminist theories 1789-present, transnational literature

Vanessa Brutsche
Assistant Professor, French
LNCO 1324
vanessa.brutsche@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., UC Berkeley
Interests: 20th-21st century French and Francophone studies; film and media; memory studies; Holocaust studies; critical geography and the spatial humanities

Tim Cannon
Instructor (Lecturer), Spanish
LNCO 1966
tim.cannon@utah.edu

Education: M.A., University of Utah
Interests: Learning abroad, travel, second language acquisition and pedagogy, literature, culture, and Don Quixote.

KuanYi J. Chao
Assistant Professor, Chinese
801-585-3004 | LNCO 1224
kuanyi.chao@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2022, Indiana University Bloomington
Interests: Chinese linguistics, Bilingual phonetic acquisition, L2 production and perception, Dual language immersion

Alexis Christensen
Associate Professor (Lecturer), Classics
801-581-6057 | LNCO 1419
alexis.christensen@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2006, Florida State University
Interests: Roman archaeology, Latin literature & epigraphy, mythology, classical reception, Roman history

Talía Dajes
Assistant Professor, Spanish
801-585-3003 | LNCO 1421
t.dajes@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2013, University of Michigan
Interests: Latin American Literature, Film and Visual Culture

Thérèse De Raedt
Professor, French
801-587-7766 | LNCO 1958
therese.de-raedt@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2000, University of California, Davis
Interests: Modern French literature & culture, film & visual culture, Francophone literatures & cultures

Nathan P. Devir
Professor, Religious Studies
801-585-3000 | LNCO 1325
nathan.devir@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2010, Pennsylvania State University
Interests: Religious Studies; Jewish Civilization; African Studies; Cultural Studies

Derek Driggs
Assistant Professor (Lecturer), Korean
LNCO 1328
derek.driggs@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D, 2023, University of Oxford
Interests: Pragmatics, honorifics and relational dynamics in East Asian languages, Korean literature and media, first and additional language acquisition.

Isabel Dulfano
Professor, Spanish
LNCO 1956
id2@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 1993, Yale University
Interests: Indigenous Feminist Studies; Business and Culture 

Christine Everaert
Associate Professor, Hindi
LNCO 1215
christine.everaert@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2006, Ghent University, Belgium
Interests: Hindi & Urdu 20th-century short stories; Comparative (socio-) linguistics between Hindi and Urdu; Subversive Indo-Pakistani literature; Sufism and Shi’ism in South Asia

Elizabeth Ewaskio
Instructor (Lecturer), Russian
LNCO 1319
elizabeth.ewaskio@utah.edu

Education: M.A., Middlebury College
Interests: Foreign Language Pedagogy, L2 Russian, Translation, Central Asia

Tanya Flores
Associate Professor, Spanish
801-581-5439 | LNCO 1209
tanya.flores@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2014, Indiana University Bloomington
Interests: Sociolinguistics, Phonetics

Katharina Gerstenberger
Professor, German
LNCO 1960
katharina.gerstenberger@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 1993, Cornell University
Interests: Contemporary German literature; Environmental Humanities; women’s literature; feminist theory; autobiography studies; city literature

Keri González
Assistant Professor (Lect.), Spanish
LNCO 1216
keri.gonzalez@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2019, University of Utah
Interests: Mexican literature and Cinema, U.S.-Mexican Border Studies, Mexican Transnational Literature and Cinema, Transborder Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, ChicanX and LatinX Studies.

Michael Gruenbaum
Assistant Professor (Lect.), German
LNCO 1312
m.gruenbaum@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2012, University of Kansas
Interests: Germanic Language History, Philology & Dialectology; Mythology; Medievalism; Arthurian Romance; German Film; Old Norse and Danish

Gema Guevara
Associate Professor, Spanish
LNCO 1317
g.guevara@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 1999, University of California, San Diego
Interests: Latin American Literature and Caribbean Studies

Blake Gutt
Assistant Professor, French
LNCO 1324
blake.gutt@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., King's College, University of Cambridge, 2018
Interests: Medieval French, Occitan, and Catalan literature; Queer & Transgender Theory; Medieval Trans Studies; Hagiography; Medieval  Visual Culture

Jane F. Hacking
Professor, Russian
LNCO 1954
j.hacking@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 1993, University of Toronto
Interests: L2 Russian; L2 Phonology; Dual Language Immersion; Language Proficiency

Anna Murta Hodgson
Assistant Professor (Lect.), Portuguese
LNCO 1211
anna.hodgson@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2018, University of Arkansas
Interests: Portuguese Language and Literature, Business Portuguese, Brazilian Cinema.

Devin Jenkins
Associate Professor, Spanish
devin.jenkins@utah.edu 
LNCO 1930C

Education: Ph.D., 1999, University of New Mexico
Interests: Sociolinguistics, Spanish in the United States, Bilingualism, Language contact

Jordan Johansen
Assistant Professor, Classics
jordan.johansen@utah.edu 

Education: Ph.D., 2022, University of Chicago
Interests: Ancient Mediterranean Culture and Literature; Greco-Roman Egypt and Nubia; Papyrology; Classical Reception; Gender & Sexuality; Cross-Cultural Interactions

Motomi Kajitani
Instructor (Lect.), Japanese
m.kajitani@utah.edu
LNCO 1960

Education: ABD, University of New Mexico
Interests: Cognitive pragmatics, Japanese linguistics, Content-Based Learning, Reflective practices

Sae Kawase
Instructor (Lect.), Japanese
801-581-7754 | LNCO 1425
sae.kawase@utah.edu

Education: M.A., 2002, Durham University (UK)
Interests: Japanese Language Pedagogy, Language Teaching and ICT, Curriculum Design

M. A. Mujeeb Khan
Assistant Professor of Japanese and Islamic Studies
LNCO 1313
mujeeb.khan@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., University of Cambridge
Interests: Japan; Arab-Islamic World; East Asian (Sinitic) Cultural Sphere; Islamicate Cultural Sphere; Comparative Intellectual History; History of Science and Medicine; Religion, Science, and Law; Law and Society; Cross-cultural Representation; East-West Communication

Hyesun Kim
Assistant Professor (Lect.), Korean
LNCO 1223
hyesun.kim@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2018, University of Utah
Interests: Heritage language Education among Korean-American family, language ideologies and identities, Bilingual Education

Natalya Kuznetsova
Assistant Professor (Lect.), Russian
LNCO 1207
natalya.kuznetsova@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2018, West Virginia University
Interests: Russian language pedagogy, bi/multilingualism, and identity, language ideology

Anne Lair
Professor (Lecturer), French
LNCO 1212
anne.lair@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2003, The Ohio State University
Interests: The teaching of culture; pedagogy; cultural aspects of the French business world; the symbolism of culinary art in French culture, literature, and art

Ashton Lazarus
Assistant Professor, Japanese
LNCO 1325
ashton.lazarus@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., Yale University
Interests: Classical and medieval Japanese literature; Sino-Japanese literature; folk performance; performance history; sound studies; sensory studies; translation

Christopher Lewis
Chair; Associate Professor, Portuguese
801-581-4604 | LNCO 1417
christopher.t.lewis@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2011, Harvard University
Interests: 21st-century Brazilian Literature, Machado de Assis, time studies, intersections of music, politics, literature, and cinema throughout the Lusophone world

Giuliana Marple
Instructor (Lecturer), Italian
LNCO 1303
g.c.marple@utah.edu

Education: M.A.T., University of Utah
BA, French Literature & International Relations, Brigham Young University

Joseph Metz
Associate Professor, German
LNCO 1964
joseph.metz@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 1999, Harvard University
Interests: Aesthetics and affect; the sublime; Austrian & German Realism & Modernism; Literary Theory; Lyric poetry; Contemplative pedagogy & empathy

Nick Ott
Postdoctoral Scholar, German
nick.ott@utah.edu
CTIHB 241

Education: Ph.D., 2024, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Interests: Second Language Acquisition, Accommodation, Study Abroad, Teacher Training, Sociolinguistics, Language Contact, Computer-Aided Language Learning

Eunkyung Park
Instructor (Lecturer), Korean
Songdo Korea Campus eunkyung.park@utah.edu

Education: M.A., Ewha Womans University
Interests: Korean Culture, Contents-Based Instruction (CBI), Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT)

Brandon Peterson
Assistant Professor, Religious Studies
801-585-7292 | LNCO 1301
brandon.peterson@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2015, University of Notre Dame
Interests: Christian systematic theology, Christology and soteriology, interreligious dialogue and ecumenism

Alejandro Quin
Associate Professor, Spanish
801-587-8524 | LNCO 1219
a.quin@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2011, University of Michigan
Interests: Latin American Literature and Culture

Shereen Salah
Instructor (Lecturer), Arabic
801-585-0639 | LNCO 1226
shereen.salah@utah.edu

Education: M.A., 2008, Brigham Young University
Interests: Second Language Acquisition, Business Arabic, Mastering Arabic through Debate, Arabic Culture, Middle Eastern  History, Translation.

Jacqueline Sheean
Assistant Professor, Spanish
LNCO 1423
j.sheean@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., USC
Interests: 20th and 21st Spanish Peninsular Literature, Film, and Visual Culture; Media Studies; Memory Studies; Critical Theory; Architecture and Urbanism; Surrealism; Experimental and Documentary Cinema.

Meijie Shen
Visiting Assistant Professor, Chinese
LNCO 1402
meijie.shen@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2022, Washington University in St. Louis
Interests: Chinese Buddhism, Women's Culture and Literature

Alejo Stark
Assistant Professor, Spanish
alejo.stark@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2024, University of Michigan 
Interests: Latin American cultural studies; Indigenous studies; Science and technology studies; History and philosophy of science; Latin American philosophy; Critical theory; Marxism; Zapatistas; Mariátegui

Cindi Textor
Associate Professor, Japanese
801-581-4608 | LNCO 1205
cindi.textor@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2016, University of Washington
Interests: modern Japanese literature, modern Korean literature, Zainichi literature, empire and post- colonialism, critical race studies, translation

Deberniere "Bunny" Torrey
Associate Professor, Korean
801-581-7990 | LNCO 1221
d.torrey@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2010, Pennsylvania State University
Interests: Korean culture, religion, & literature; religion & identity; intellectual history & identity; East-West exchange & influence

Margaret Toscano
 Associate Professor, Classics
801-581-4768 | LNCO 1968
margaret.toscano@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2002, University of Utah
Interests: gender & sexuality, myth & religion, reception of ancient Classical world in film, Mormon feminism

Margaret Wan
Professor, Chinese
801-581-6059 | LNCO 1952
margaret.wan@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2000, Harvard University
Interests: Popular culture in Late Imperial China; Chinese vernacular fiction of the Ming & Qing; martial arts novels; Digital Humanities

Elizabeth Warren
Assistant Professor (Lecturer), Spanish
LNCO 1316
elizabeth.warren@utah.edu

Education: PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
Interests: Contemporary Peninsular literature and film; post-Franco Spanish politics; historical memory; Iberian national identities

Rawad Wehbe
Postdoctoral Scholar, Arabic
CTIHB 241

Education: Ph.D., 2024, University of Pennsylvania
Interests: Arabic poetry and poetics, affect and emotion, translation, and Arabic language pedagogy 

Fusheng Wu
Professor, Chinese
LNCO 1315
fusheng.wu@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 1995, Brown University
Interests: Classical Chinese poetry, East-West comparative literature and poetics, translation studies

John Wynne
Associate Professor, Classics
LNCO 1321
john.wynne@utah.edu

Education: Ph.D., 2008, Cornell University
Interests: Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, especially of the Hellenistic and later periods; Cicero; philosophy of religion and philosophical skepticism

Yichun Xu
Instructor (Lecturer), Chinese
LNCO 1401
u6053033@utah.edu

Education:  Ph.D. candidate, East Asian Languages and Literatures, The Ohio State University
Interests: Modern Chinese literature and culture, topolect literature and culture, translation and translation studies.