Elizabeth Coonrod Martinez, Ph.D.

Ph.D., Latin American Literature, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

Professor, Latin American & U.S. Latino Literature

Department Chair, Chicano and Latino Studies, Sonoma State University, 2004-present

Department Chair, Modern Languages & Literatures, Sonoma State University, 2000-03

MAJOR FIELDS OF STUDY:

Latin American narrative, 20th century; Cultural Studies; Women writers.

Specializations: Mexican Literature; U.S. Latino and Chicano literature

Other specializations: Caribbean and Central American literature; Latin American film; Translation; Journalism

Professional Presentations

• "Transculturalism, and Ethnic Literary Works not Taught in grad school." Latin American Studies Association (LASA), Montreal, Canada, September 2007
• "A Miracle for Mexico and Josefina Niggli: the earliest story on the Virgen de Guadalupe." National Association of Chicana/Chicano Studies (NACCS),
• "A Novel on Monterrey, Mexico in the 1930s." Latina Letters Conference at St. Mary's, San Antonio, Texas, July 2005
• "Josephina Niggli's Novel Step Down, Elder Brother, the Immediate Post-Revolution and the Inception of Mestizo Consciousness." Annual Conference of Mexicanists, UC-Irvine, April 2005
• "50 Años Después: Lilus Kikus y la obra inicial de Elena Poniatowska," Latin American Studies Association (LASA), Las Vegas, NV, October 2004
• “Las Fronteras: Multiple Perspectives on the Border in Chicano Literature,” National Assoc. of Chicana/Chicano Studies (NACCS), Albuquerque, April 2004
• “Elena Poniatowska’s Short Stories as Agents of Social Change,” Elena Poniatowska: 50 Años de Creación, Texas A&M University, College Station, February 2004
• “Indigenous Harmony of Life Being Lost: Manlio Argueta’s Writings.” Pacific Coast Council on Latin American Studies, Whittier College, CA, Nov 2003
• "El exilio y el papel heroico/subversivo de la mujer: Teresa Urrea y Brianda Domecq." Asociación de Letras Femeninas Hispánicas, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, October 2003
• "Armas de palabras: Voz feminista y subversiva en la obra inicial de Elena Poniatowska." Special International Colloquium honoring Elena Poniatowska and celebrating 20 yers of interdisciplinary women's studies at El Colegio de Mexico, Mexico City, Sept 2003
• The Power of the Word: the Deconolonizing Voice in Latina Caribbean Narrative," National Association of Chicana/o Studies (NACCS), Los Angeles, April 2003
• Trans-Caribbean Identity in the Writings of Mayra Montero," Puerto Rican Discussion Group, Modern Language Association, New York City, December 2002
• Una realidad trans-Caribeña el ejemplo de Mayra Montero," Asociación de Letras Femeninas Hispánicas, Republica Dominicana, October 2002
• "El uso de arquetipos mexicanos en la literatura chicana para cambiar la representación de la mujer." IX Jornadas Metropolitanas de Estudios Culturales: Arte, Literatura y Crítica en México y Latinoamérica, Mexico City, July 2002
• "La transformación del folclor mexicano en política feminista chicana," Tercer Encuentro Internacional sobre la Literatura Chicana, Málaga, Spain, May 2002
• "Teaching Spanish Caribbean History through In the Time of the Butterflies: The Novel and the Showtime Film," National Association of Hispanic and Latino Studies (NAHLS), Houston, Feb 2002
• "Maya Themes in U.S. Latino Lierature," Community Colleges Humanities Association (CCHA) annual conference, Portland, OR, October 2001
• "New Salvadoran Voices in Latina/Chicana Writing." National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS), Tucson, April 2001
• "Crossing Mayan Borders: Recent Latino Literature Recovers a Lost Culture." Modern Language Association, Washington, D.C., December 2000
• "Walking the Fine Line between "doing too much" and "not enough", roundtable presentation for MLA session Crónicas/Tales from the Academy, by Feministas Unidas, Modern Language Association, Washington D.C., December 2000
• "Critical Thinking and Research as a Marketable Skill." Modern Language Association, Chicago, December 1999
• "Memoir of a Jewish-Mexican Woman: Rosa Nissán." Modern Language Association, Chicago, December 1999
• "Un discurso sobre `criada' latinoamericana en dos novelas recientes por Esmeralda Santiago y Sandra Benitez." VI Jornadas Metropolitanas de Estudios Culturales: Arte, Literatura y Crítica en México y Latinoamérica, Mexico City, July 1999
• "The Future of Chicano Studies," roundtable panelist, NACCS, San Antonio, April 1999
• "Augurios de fin de siglo: El pronóstico de Laura Esquivel para la ciudad de México." V Jornadas Metropolitanas de Estudios Culturales: Arte, Literatura y Crítica en México y Latinoamérica, Casa Lamm, Mexico City, July 1998
• "The Mexican/Hispanic Woman Arrives in English: Mexican Novels in Translation and Female Heroes in U.S. Popular Film." Hispanics: Cultural Locations, University of San Francisco, October 1997
• "Re-Telling the Story of the Macho in Mexico," Hispanics: Cultural Locations, University of San Francisco, October 1997
• "Cómo conocer la historia de los que cruzan la frontera: la vida antes del viaje en una novela Chicana." IV Jornadas Metropolitanas de Estudios Culturales: Arte, Literatura y Crítica en México y América Latina, Mexico City, July 1997
• "Recuperating Cultural History and Re-Creating Men in Culture: Erlinda Gonzáles-Berry's Paletitas de guayaba, National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS),Sacramento, California, April 1997
• "Resistance to Hegemony in the Novel: Tri-cultural and Tri-societal Representation in Ana Castillo's So Far from God." The Rocky Mountain Council on Latin American Studies (RMCLAS), San Diego, California, February 1997
• "The Political Act of Cultural Documentation in Language: Northern New Mexico Speak and Ana Castillo's So Far from God," Modern Language Association, Washington D.C., December 1996
• "Border Talk between Genders: Sexual Relations and the Chicana Identity," Association of Borderlands Scholars, Reno, Nevada, April 1996
• "The Sexual Experience in the Search for a Chicana Identity in Recent Fiction by Chicanas, or, Men who are Good at Sex but Nothing Else," National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS), Chicago, March 1996
• "Can the character tell the narrator to leave him alone? Pablo Palacio's fragmented novel Débora," Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association, Spokane, October 1995
• "La voz feminista del bildungsroman chicano: Trini de Estela Portillo Trambley," Latin American Women Writers: Canons, Traditions, Revisions, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, January 1995
• "Translating Contemporary Mexican Short Fiction: Carmen Boullosa," Multiculturalism and Translation Conference, American Literary Translators Association, Albuquerque, November 1994
• "Piquing Spanish-Language Students' Interest in Journalism," The Role of the Mass Media in Intercultural Settings, University of New Mexico, April 1994
• "Mexico's First Rebellious Novel: Futurism and Arqueles Vela's El café de nadie," Image of Technology in Literature, the Media and Society, University of Southern Colorado, Colorado Springs, March 1994
• "Discourses of Violence: Similarities in Los de abajo and "American Me", International Conference on Hispanic Literatures and Cinematographies, Portland State University, Oregon, February 1994
• "El tema de la enajenación en Antes de Carmen Boullosa," Simposium Internacional de Campos Semióticos, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Ver., MEXICO, July 1993
• "Mexico's Elena Poniatowska: Marginalized Writing/Marginalized Writer," Gender Studies Symposium, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR, April 1993
• "Images of Brazilian Women as Depicted in Brazilian Music," Women's Studies Conference, University of New Mexico, March 1993

 INVITED PRESENTATIONS

• Facilitator, Voices and Visions: Books that Transform, a reading series of six sessions (6 Latino books), sponsored by Sonoma County Public Library, April-November 2007
• Presentation on Latino culture to Rotary Club of Sebastopol, December 2005
• Lecture on Elena Poniatowska for Fall lecture series of Lifelong Learning Institute, SSU, October 2005
• Facilitator for two sessions on new book published by California Humanities Commission, California Stories for the 21st Century, sponsored by Sonoma County Library, April 2005
• Facilitator, Sonoma County Reads, a series of five sessions sponsored by the Sonoma Country Library to promote bilingual reading of books, May-September 2004
• Presenter, Special Colloquium in honor of Elena Poniatowska's 70th year, El Colegio de México, Mexico City, September 2003
• Workshop Presentation on reading literature, annual Spanish Language Institute hosted by Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE), held at Dominican University, San Rafael, CA, August 2002
• Author Readings sponsored by SSU Bookstore, May 2002, April 2003, April 2004, April 2005
• Guest Lecturer on "Interpretations of Mexican History by Mexican Women Writers," for History of Mexico class, SSU, March 2002
• Reader in Spanish, "cuddle up and read" presentation for children and parents, Fitch Mountain elementary School, Healdsburg, CA, January 2002
• Faculty panelist, "Celebrate Diversity" Oreintation for students and parents, SSU, April 2001
• Presenter, "The avant-garde in Latin America," a reading from my book Before the Boom: Latin American Revolutionary Novels of the 1920s, Public Lecture Series, Schultz Information Center, March 2001
• Guest Speaker, "What Mexican woomen Writers bring to Literature," Latino Youth Empowerment Conference, SSU, May 2000
• Co-Keynote Speaker, Latino graduation ceremony, SSU, May 1999
• Guest Speaker, "Mexican Culture & Chicana Writers," Latin american Lecture Series, SSU, April 1999