Therese Tardio

	Rank:		Associate Teaching Professor of Hispanic Studies
	Ph.D.		University of Pittsburgh, 2004
	Department Member Since: 2001

Personal Statement
It is my goal to provide my students with a learning environment that is both challenging, and comfortable. One of my primary commitments as a teacher is to challenge students to think critically and analytically not only about the subject matter, but also about themselves and their relationships to the world.  When a student begins to question him/herself, the pretext of a movie or text and to go beyond his/her comfort zone and rethink a worldview or long-held notion, I feel I have been successful as an educator. 

My research incorporates different geographic areas in the Spanish-speaking world, namely Central America – with a focus on El Salvador and Nicaragua, and the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, particularly Chicana literature. While diverse areas, my focus in both cases is shaped by theoretical works from feminist and gender studies, Latin American subaltern studies and postcolonial studies. At present, I am working on a project that examines the relationship between cultural production and politics in the context of post-revolutionary Nicaragua, from the early 1990s through a return to Sandinista governance in 2006. 

I also work on the writing, editing and development of Spanish Online, a web-based course that provides a hybrid-learning environment for CMU students, which will soon be expanded to an open-access course via the Open Learning Initiative.  In the summer of 2010, in collaboration with other CMU colleagues and faculty at ITESM-Guadalajara, I worked on a video project to strengthen and to enhance the current course content, providing students with greater access to cultural materials and authentic examples of conversational language.

Some of my other responsibilities include directing our study abroad program in Madrid, Spain, and serving as an advisor for the minor in Hispanic Studies.  I also have become increasingly involved and interested in service-learning initiatives, working closely with two projects: the >Granada Arts Education project and >Project Nicaragua.

Courses Taught
Central America Today: Out of Revolution
América Latina en sus imágenes: culturas visuales
Pueblos y protestas: movimientos sociales en América Latina
Madres, machos y más: género y sexualidad en América Latina
Beyond the Border: Inventing the Americas in Culture, History, & Literature Literature and Revolution in 20th Century Central America Latin American Literature and Culture U.S. Latinos Literature and Culture
Elementary & Intermediate Spanish I & II (traditional and online)

Selected Work

For More Information
Therese Tardio
Department of Modern Languages
Carnegie Mellon University
Baker Hall 160
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Office: BH364
Phone: (412) 268-5947
Fax: (412) 268-1328