Chair, Anthropology and World Languages; Professor, Spanish; Faculty Liaison, Community Engagement
Dr. Edwards is a Professor of Spanish in the Department of Anthropology and World Languages. She also serves as chair of that department and as faculty liaison to Community Engagement, helping to facilitate the Beyond the Gates course. She leads the department鈥檚 Language in Motion group where students take language and culture activities to area K-12 schools. Dr. Edwards is active in the Erie community, working with area refugee resettlement and anti-racism initiatives. She loves to travel and frequently leads student groups to Spain and Mexico.
- Ph.D. Hispanic Literatures, University of Pittsburgh, 1998
- M.A. Middlebury College, Spanish Literature, 1988
- B.A. Gannon University, Foreign Languages and Literatures, 1985
- Universitat de Barcelona, semester abroad, 1984
- Introductory and intermediate Spanish
- Conversation/Composition
- Introduction to Literature
- Spanish Civilization
- Latin American Literature
- Latin American Cultures
- Spanish for Business
- Spanish for Health and Social Services
- Composition/Translation
- Women and Gender in Hispanic Civilization
- Latin American Theater
- Member, Asociaci贸n de Estudios de G茅nero y Sexualidades
- Member, Pennsylvania State Language Association
- 鈥淧hilotes, Spaude, Idioma: Thoughts on the Passing of a Friend鈥. The Forum: A publication of Phi Sigma Iota. 38. Spring 2020. 5-6.聽
- 鈥淗er Name was In茅s鈥, excerpt of Visiones de infancia by Maria Flora Y谩帽ez. Nashville Review. No. 27. Fall 2018.
- Translation. 鈥淭he First Fear鈥, excerpts of Visiones de infancia by Mar铆a Flora Y谩帽ez. Asymptote. October 2018.
- Selected Participant, Bread Loaf Conference on Translation, Middlebury College, Middlebury. VT. June 2018.
- Book review. Mexico鈥檚 Nobodies: The Cultural Legacy of Soldadera and African-American Women. B. Christina Arce. Revista de Estudios de G茅nero y Sexualidades (formerly Letras Femeninas). 45.2. 2020.聽
- 鈥淢entoring the Next Generation: In Praise of the Student Teacher.鈥 聽PSMLA 聽Forum, 84: 1. Fall 2014, 8.
- 鈥淎t the Intersection of Catholic and Mercy: There鈥檚 an Elephant in the Room鈥. With Richard McCarty and Mary Hembrow Snyder. Journal of Catholic Higher Education. 33:1. 2014, 63-74.
- Book review. Mexican Women and the Other Side of Immigration by Luz Maria Gordillo. Letras Femeninas. 38: 02. 2012.聽
- 鈥淟a c贸mplice oficial: Catalina in Arr谩ncame la vida by Angeles Mastretta.鈥 In The Woman in Latin America and Spanish Literature: Essays on Iconic Characters. Eds. Eva Paulina Bueno and Maria Claudia Andre. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co. 2012.
- 聽鈥淎qu铆: Activating Memory in the Performance Art of Mar铆a Alejandrina Lorenzini鈥. The Behrend Conference on Gender, March 2021.
- 鈥淕hosts of Post-Memory in La Resta, by Alia Trabucco Zer谩n.鈥 Congreso Internacional de Literaturas Hisp谩nicas. March 2021.
- 鈥淔rida no est谩 sola: Diez mujeres inolvidables鈥. Pennsylvania State Modern Languages Conference. Pittsburgh, PA. October 2018.
- 鈥淒eviance and Defiance: Impossible Motherhood: Testimony of an Abortion Addict by Irene Vilar鈥. Northeastern Modern Languages Association. Pittsburgh, PA. April 2018.
- 鈥淭owards an Ethical Teaching of Culture鈥. Presentation with Cole Lowe. Pennsylvania State Modern Languages Association Conference, Hershey, PA. October 2017.
- 鈥淒eviance and Defiance: Impossible Motherhood: Testimony of an Abortion Addict by Irene Vilar鈥, Circles of Community Gender Conference, Penn State Behrend, April 16, 2017.聽
- 鈥淧laying for America: Inclusion and Exclusion in The Gods of Tango, by Carolina de Robertis鈥. Northeastern Modern Languages Association. Hartford, CT. April, 2016.
- Post-Secondary Educator of the Year, Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association, 2016.
- David A. Portlock Outstanding International Educator Award, Pennsylvania Council for International Education (PaCIE). 2006
- Teaching Excellence Award, 管家婆心水论坛 College, 2002.
- Fulbright Teacher Exchange, Mexico, D.F., 1992
Dr. Edwards鈥 research focuses on women鈥檚 life-writing in Latin America, particularly in Mexico and Chile, testimonio, and the post-dictatorship literature of the Southern Cone. She also engages in literary translation and has published translations of the work of Mar铆a Flora Y谩帽ez, a 20th-century Chilean author.聽
Our students have completed research projects on topics of sociolinguistics, language pedagogy, Golden Age Spanish literature, 20th-century literature by women, and gender and culture. We strongly encourage study abroad and our students have studied in Spain and Latin America through semester, summer, and faculty-led programs. They have gone on to earn Fulbright scholarships and Gilman Scholarships for study abroad; they have been selected for the Peace Corps. Others have worked with the North American Teaching Assistant program, sponsored by the Spanish government, teaching for a year in Spain. Many of our alumni enter graduate programs studying linguistics or literature in the U.S. and abroad.聽