Curriculum Vitae

Kirsten M. Drickey

 

Department of Modern and Classical Languages

Western Washington University

Bellingham, WA 98225

EDUCATION

University of Kansas

Ph.D., Spanish, Defended with Honors, April 2008

Dissertation: En carne propia: Embodied Identities in Cuban and Mexican Cultural Production

Dissertation Advisor: Professor Vicky Unruh

 

M.A., Spanish, 2003

 

B.A., Spanish and Latin American Studies, 2001

Departmental Honors (Spanish), Highest Distinction (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Senior Instructor, Spanish, Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Western Washington University, September 2009-present

Courses taught:

  • Building Cross-Cultural Connections (in Guatemala, taught through the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department)
  • Honors seminar: Language and Power in Latin America (Honors)*
  • Viking Launch: Spanish*
  • FIG: Intro to the Spanish major and minor*
  • The Cuban Experience (Fairhaven)*
  • Special Topics: Contemporary Cuban and Mexican Literature*
  • Advanced Composition
  • Spanish for Healthcare*
  • Introduction to Literary Analysis
  • Culture of Latin America
  • Spanish Conversation
  • Grammar Review and Composition I
  • Grammar Review and Composition II
  • Intermediate Spanish I, II, and III
  • Intensive Beginning Spanish
  • Elementary Spanish
  • Service-Learning Courses*
  • Independent Study Courses

 

*Indicates new courses developed by me.

 

Teaching Assistant, Web Design Certificate Program, Western Washington University, Fall 2012-Fall 2013

  • Assist participants in learning course concepts and developing relevant web design skills.
  • Provide feedback on course design, curriculum, and learning activities.

 

Lecturer, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, University of Kansas, Summer 2008-Spring 2009

Courses taught:

  • Twentieth-Century Spanish-American Studies: Migration and Mobility in Mexico and Cuba
  • National Traditions in Spanish-American Studies: Mexico
  • Advanced Spanish Conversation
  • Intermediate Spanish Conversation
  • Grammar and Composition
  • Intermediate Spanish II

 

Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, University of Kansas, Fall 2002-Summer 2005, Summer 2006-Spring 2008

Courses taught:

  • Twentieth-Century Spanish-American Studies: Family Feuds, Family Ties; co-taught with Professor Vicky Unruh
  • Advanced Spanish Conversation
  • Introduction to Literary Analysis
  • Intermediate Spanish Conversation (in Barcelona, Spain, on campus, and in Puebla, Mexico)
  • Grammar and Composition (in Barcelona, Spain, and on campus)
  • Origins and Development of Mexican Culture
  • Intermediate Spanish II
  • Intermediate Spanish I
  • Intensive Elementary Spanish
  • Elementary Spanish II
  • Intensive Beginning Spanish

 

English as a Second Language Teacher, Academia La Trinitaria, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Fall 1996-Spring 1997

ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

 

Faculty Director, Summer Study Abroad, Building Cross-Cultural Connections, Service-Learning Program in Antigua, Guatemala, Summer 2018

  • Teach on-campus course on the history and culture of Guatemala
  • Manage day-to-day programming in Guatemala, including student health, safety, and wellbeing; program budget and accounting; and relationships with community partner

Curriculum Coordinator, Employee Language Program, Western Washington University, Fall 2012-present

  • Collaborate with student facilitators to design curriculum for Spanish conversation classes for Western faculty and staff.
  • Supervise student instructors and facilitate their development as language instructors through class observations, weekly group meetings, and discussions with individual facilitators or facilitator teams.
  • Schedule courses and assign student leads for each class.
  • Collaborate with student facilitators and colleagues in Extended Education to develop new program offerings and improve existing programming.
  • Assist with extracurricular activities, such as conversation practice, movie nights, Scholars Week poster presentations, and professional development events.

 

Co-organizer, Employee Language Program Scholars Week Showcase, Western Washington University, Spring 2013 and Spring 2014

  • Collaborated with fellow Employee Language Program faculty, staff, and students to organize an annual event to highlight the year’s achievements.

 

Co-organizer, Modern and Classical Languages Career Panel, Western Washington University, Spring 2014

  • Coordinated with colleagues to identify and contact alumni to participate in a career panel as part of MCL’s Open House for the Back-to-Bellingham celebration.
  • Worked with four MCL graduates in various career stages to create an engaging, informative panel for current language students at Western interested in ways to put their skills to use in the professional world.

 

Co-organizer, Vicky Unruh Research and Travel Award, Winter 2013-Spring 2014

  • Collaborated with graduate school colleagues to establish a travel fund in honor of Professor Emerita Vicky Unruh that helps outstanding graduate students fund field research in Latin America and Spain.
  • Worked with graduate school colleagues to craft a fund-raising letter that helped to raise the initial $10,000 in funds needed to open an account with the University of Kansas Endowment Association.

 

Invited Participant, Center for Service-Learning Faculty Workshop, Western Washington University, Fall 2011

 

Faculty Fellow, Center for Service-Learning Faculty Fellows Program, Western Washington University, Fall 2009-Spring 2010

  • Met monthly with other Fellows to discuss service-learning pedagogy, methodology, and scholarship.
  • Developed a model and sample syllabi for a service-learning course centered on language and culture.

 

Participant, Teaching-Learning Academy, Western Washington University, Fall 2009

  • Participated in bi-weekly discussions with students, faculty, and staff about topics related to academic life at Western Washington University.
  • Worked with fellow participants to identify shared concerns and make recommendations to enhance the academic experience for faculty and students, and to promote scholarship based on teaching and learning.

Co-director, Summer Language Institute in Puebla, Mexico, University of Kansas, Spring and Summer 2008

  • Coordinated with Office of Study Abroad, co-director, and host institution (Universidad de las Américas) to select and advise students, set up excursions in Mexico, and organize pre-departure orientations.
  • Developed and taught one half of a Mexican literature course; oversaw conversation classes.
  • Managed daily operation of the program, including the accurate reporting and distribution of program finances.  

 

Research Assistant, Professor Danny Anderson, Fall 2007 to Spring 2008

 

Volunteer Interpreter, Douglas County Health Department, Spring 2007 to Fall 2007

 

Graduate Assistant, Summer Language Institute in Puebla, Mexico, University of Kansas, Spring and Summer 2007

  • Assisted Office of Study Abroad with student recruitment.  
  • Developed and taught course on Mexican culture and literature; aided with development and administration of conversation course.
  • Assisted with coordination of student community service project.
  • Attended and assisted with group excursions in Mexico.

 

Graduate Representative, Faculty Search Committee, Portuguese, University of Kansas, Spring 2007

 

Graduate Representative, Portuguese Undergraduate Minor Committee, University of Kansas, Fall 2006

 

Graduate Assistant, Summer Language Institute in Barcelona, Spain, University of Kansas, Spring and Summer 2004

  • Assisted with recruiting students and organizing pre-travel orientations.
  • Prepared course materials for grammar and composition course and for conversation course.  
  • Assisted with two-week travel period at the beginning of the program.
  • Worked with Office of Study Abroad, graduate colleagues, and faculty director to ensure program standards and meet student needs in Spain.  

 

Student Placement Advisor for Summer Orientation Sessions, University of Kansas, Summer 2003

  • Interviewed incoming students and advised them on course selections for basic-language Spanish classes.

 

Graduate Student Association of Spanish and Portuguese, University of Kansas, Fall 2002-Spring 2003

  • Acted as a liaison between graduate students and faculty members and represented graduate students at faculty meetings.
  • Represented the Spanish Department at University graduate student association meetings.  
  • Organized departmental awards ceremony and social events.  
  • Managed Association financial records.

 

PANELS AND PUBLICATIONS

“Perspectives on Western Washington University’s Employee Language Program.” Co-presenter at the Washington Association for Language Teaching (WAFLT) Annual Conference, Vancouver, WA, October 2014.

 

Invited Participant, Faculty Food for Thought Forum, University of Kansas, September 2008

 

“Raza, revolución y nación en Trilogía sucia de la Habana de Pedro Juan Gutiérrez.”  XXXVII Congreso Internacional del Instituto Internacional de Literatura Iberamericana (ILLI), Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico, June 2008

 

Invited Panelist, Graduate Teaching Assistant Orientation, University of Kansas, August 2006

 

“‘I’m a Little Virgin and Much More’: Neocolonial Bodies and Astrid Hadad’s Performance of Displacement.” Performance Seminar Presentation, Hall Center for the Humanities, University of Kansas, May 2006

 

“The Shape of the Past: Corporeality, Cultural Identity and Historical Memory in Albertina Carri’s Los rubios.” Fifth Bi-Annual Conference of Spanish and Latin American Cultural Studies, Florida International University, February 2006  

 

“Public Bodies and Private Scars: Projections of Corporeality in Antonio José Ponte’s Contrabando de sombras.” Midwestern Association of Latin American Studies Conference, November 2005

 

HONORS AND AWARDS

Tinker Foundation Grant for Fieldwork in Latin America, Havana, Cuba, December-January 2003. Project title: The Economics of Literary and Artistic Production in Cuba

 

Tinker Foundation Grant for Fieldwork in Latin America, Brazil, June-August 2002

 

Foreign Language Area Study Grant, Brazil, June-August 2002

 

Honors Fellowship, Graduate School, University of Kansas, 2001-02, 2005-06

 

First Year Graduate Fellowship, Graduate School, University of Kansas, 2001-02

 

Allen S. Wilber Scholarship, University of Kansas, Fall 2001

 

Graduation with Highest Distinction, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Kansas, 2001

 

Graduation with Departmental Honors, Spanish, University of Kansas, 2001

 

Harley S. Nelson Family Scholarship, University of Kansas, Fall 2000-Spring 2001

 

TEACHING AND RESEARCH INTERESTS

Adult learners in the second-language classroom

Practical applications of the liberal arts curriculum

Service-learning in the language classroom

Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century Spanish American Literature

Latin American Film

 

LANGUAGES

English: native fluency

Spanish: near-native fluency

Portuguese: competent

Kaqchikel Maya: basic level

 

LANGUAGE STUDY AND RESEARCH IN LATIN AMERICA

Tinker Grant-funded independent research project, Havana, Cuba, January 2004

 

Summer Language Institute in Vitória, Brazil, University of Kansas, Summer 2002

 

Oxlajuj Aj’ Summer Kaqchikel Program, Guatemala, Tulane University, Summer 2000

 

American Field Service Year Program, Dominican Republic, Fall 1996-Summer 1997

 

MEMBERSHIPS

Washington Association for Language Teaching (WAFLT)

Honor Society of Phi Beta Kappa