Maria DiFrancesco's Statement

Maria DiFrancesco is Associate Professor of Spanish in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Ithaca College (Ithaca, NY). DiFrancesco holds a Ph.D. from the University at Buffalo, where she studied in what is now the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. While attending the University at Buffalo, DiFrancesco specialized in 20^th and 21^st century Spanish literature. Her teaching interests range from elementary Spanish grammar and composition to contemporary Spanish culture, literature and film. In her present position at Ithaca College, DiFrancesco has taught diverse courses, from one-credit modules affiliated with the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival (FLEFF) and classes in the Women’s and Gender Studies program, to Ithaca College Seminars, which are courses geared to first-year students who are transitioning from high school to college life. Most recently, DiFrancesco has shown a burgeoning interest in the digital humanities, and as such, she has been working with various student groups on projects where students learn how to tell stories and write poetry in the target language using a combination of tablet and phone apps as well as video cameras.

DiFrancesco’s research interests are as diverse as her teaching interests. She is particularly fascinated by the rich cultural production of writers in post-Franco Spain, and she has written a number of articles, chapters and a book (Feminine Agency and Transgression in Post-Franco Spain) focusing specifically on women, sexuality and gender roles within this period. DiFrancesco has more recently dedicated much time to examining women’s experience of migration as popularly portrayed in Spanish literature and film. DiFrancesco is also a creative writer and hopes to publish her first book of original poetry in the near future.

Statement of Purpose

When a member of NeMLA’s Executive Board contacted me to say that a colleague at another institution had nominated me for the position of Second Vice President of NeMLA, I was thrilled, honored, excited and extremely humbled by the opportunity to serve my fellows in this way. I gratefully accepted the invitation to run for this position and I believe I am well prepared to perform all the duties required of the Second Vice President as stipulated in NeMLA’s bylaws.

I have been an active member of NeMLA since early on in my professional career. As an individual, I have presented papers as well as chaired, organized and prepared panels at NeMLA. Additionally, I have worked with the NeMLA Women and Gender Studies Caucus and Feministas Unidas (an independent non-profit coalition of feminist scholars in Spanish, Spanish-American, Luso-Brazilian, Afro-Latin American, and U.S. Hispanic Studies) to promote the creation of more interdisciplinary panels at NeMLA. My intention in this collaborative endeavor was to bridge gaps in scholarship, research and teaching among peers while engendering dialog among professionals in higher education who might not otherwise have reason to speak to one another.

As a result of my longtime commitment to NeMLA, I have become quite familiar with the organization’s history, mission, goals as well as related policies and procedures necessary for the successful function of the organization. I believe my active research agenda combined with my work as a member of the editorial board of Cubanabooks strengthen my profile as a Second Vice President candidate as these activities make me keenly aware of many issues associated with academic publishing today (from the “publish or perish” mentality, to the status and worth of digital publications, to publishing’s gender gap). Finally, as the Secretary of the Asociación Internacional de Literatura y Cultrura Femenina Hispánica (AILCFH), I have gained a great deal of applicable experience that I will bring to the 2^nd Vice Presidency. Among my strengths, I am able to communicate with a diverse number of individuals from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds with relative ease; I am able to synthesize, organize and disseminate information to a great number of people with dexterity; and perhaps most important, I am keenly aware that a good leader is most effective when she respectfully and actively listens to her constituents and collaborators, with the understanding that a leader must always strive to serve for the benefit of all. I relish the thought of representing the interests of all humanities professors teaching at both private and public liberal arts institutions today, and I look forward to working with all those affiliated with NeMLA.