Directory

Professor Manning attended Idaho State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and Political Science. During his Junior year he studied abroad in Strasbourg, France at the Université de Strasbourg. After graduation in December of 1983 he moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he worked as an Electrician for three years. In 1986 he enrolled at Louisiana State University in a Ph.D. program in Foreign Language Education. He taught French as a Teaching Assistant during his graduate studies and in 1987 he received a fellowship to study in Aix-en Provence, France.

In 1991 he moved to Kirksville, Missouri and started work as an Assistant Professor of French and Director of the Foreign Language Learning Center, the technology based lab at Truman State University. During the past 10 years he has lived here expanding the facilities, training faculty on the use of technology in foreign language learning and teaching French courses.
His interests outside of academia include playing the guitar and skydiving.

Teaching and research interests: philology; language learning and teaching, post-classical Latin; Greek NT and early (Latin and Greek) Christian texts, study of ancient manuscripts.  Appointed to TSU faculty in 1987

Areas of specialization: Greek literature, Greek religion and mythology.  Appointed to TSU faculty in 1988.

Areas of specialization: Roman poetry (especially satire), mythology, Latin pedagogy.  Appointed to the TSU faculty in 1999.

Areas of specialization: Greek literature, Roman poetry, gender studies.  Appointed to the TSU faculty in 1998.

Professor Minn received her B.A. from Tamking University and a M.A. from Northeast Missouri State University.

Professor Beane’s special interests include Slavic sociolinguistics, the history of the Slavic languages, and Old Church Slavic. She has lived and studied for 16 years in Europe: seven in Bulgaria, five in Poland, one in Russia, and three in France. She has worked as an occasional contract interpreter of Bulgarian for the U.S. Department of State since 1986. At Truman she teaches French language classes, as well as Russian language and linguistics.

Sana Camara began his teaching career as French Instructor at Truman State University in 1989. He received his Master's degree in comparative literature from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He's now Assistant Professor of French and has recently completed his Ph. D. degree at Ohio State University. Sana has taught almost all levels of French courses Truman offers, ranging from Elementary French to Topics in French and Francophone literature.

Teaching interests: French and German grammar, conversation, culture.
Andrea Davis is a native of Austria and has resided in Kirksville since 1991 with her husband (also teaching at Truman) and her four children. She teaches both French and German. She has traveled in France, Switzerland, Germany, England and Italy. Frequent visits to Europe allow her to update the students' perspective on the ever-changing, globalizing European community--reminding them of their duty, as educated citizens, to be aware of and open to these changes. She loves and enjoys her students and the classroom. Her greatest goal is to instill in them a love for foreign language--be it French or German--as well as developing in them a sense that above all, they are citizens of a global community. To obtain this goal she tries to create a lively and stimulating classroom atmosphere, using methods to support different learning styles.

Timothy Farley, Professor of French, holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University and has been at Truman since l990. He teaches courses in 1st and 2nd year French language, French 320 Conversation and Composition, and French 432 Stylistics and Translation. His specialty is foreign language pedagogy.  As a member of the Department of Education, Dr. Farley serves as Specialty Director for Foreign Languages for Truman's Master of Arts in Education program. For the MAE, Dr. Farley teaches the graduate-level methods course, and supervises intern teachers.  Since 2005, Dr. Farley has been an Advanced Placement Consultant for French.  In July 2011, he taught a week-long summer AP Institute in Montreal for high school teachers who offer French AP in their schools.  Dr. Farley also directs an EFL (English as a foreign language) program in Guangdong Province, China.  Truman students who participate in this program teach conversational English in the Wu Hua County Public Schools, located approximately 200 miles from Hong Kong. tfarley@truman.edu

.

Dr. Patrick Lecaque, a native of France, earned his doctorate in art history at the Sorbonne in Paris; he also holds degrees in Slavic languages (Russian, Bulgarian, and Serbo-Croatian) and Religious Studies from the Institute National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, and the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes. He lived in Russia, Poland and Bulgaria before coming to the U.S. in 1986. At Truman State University, he is a Professor of French, teaching French Civilization and the Director of the Center for International Education Abroad, developing and administering study abroad and exchange programs.

Dr. Lobert holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and has been at Truman since 1992. He currently teaches courses in Intermediate French Language, French Conversation and Composition, and French Phonology and Advanced Grammar. Over the last ten years, he has staged numerous French plays involving Truman students and faculty (see www2.truman.edu/~plobert). His academic interests lie in the areas of History and Theory of French Literature and Theater, Textuality and Performance Theory, and French Language Studies. He has published articles and presented papers on theater and literature, specifically on Jarry, Claudel, Balzac, Beaumont and Tocqueville. He recently completed a study of Molière's theater.

Professor Manning attended Idaho State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and Political Science. During his Junior year he studied abroad in Strasbourg, France at the Université de Strasbourg. After graduation in December of 1983 he moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he worked as an Electrician for three years. In 1986 he enrolled at Louisiana State University in a Ph.D. program in Foreign Language Education. He taught French as a Teaching Assistant during his graduate studies and in 1987 he received a fellowship to study in Aix-en Provence, France.

In 1991 he moved to Kirksville, Missouri and started work as an Assistant Professor of French and Director of the Foreign Language Learning Center, the technology based lab at Truman State University. During the past 10 years he has lived here expanding the facilities, training faculty on the use of technology in foreign language learning and teaching French courses.
His interests outside of academia include playing the guitar and skydiving.

On the undergraduate level, Dr. McLane-Iles teaches intermediate and advanced French language courses and French literature survey. In addition she also teaches undergraduate and graduate studies in French Existentialism, Québec and French-Canadian Literature, and, on occasion, Francophone Cinema. Playwright, author of fiction and published works on French-speaking women philosophers, historical leaders and writers, including Simone Weil, Gisèle Halimi, Anne of Brittany, Ying Chen, as well as papers presented on writers of Québec and film directors of France, Québec, Algeria and Africa. Hobbies are swimming, reading, traveling, and painting.

Dr. Siewert is a Midwesterner (born in South Dakota) who has studied French since 1968. He did undergraduate training in French and education at Doane College in Nebraska, including a student teaching internship in a suburban Omaha high school. His M.A. and Ph. D. are from the University of Iowa, where he also studied Spanish, Italian, and film. His dissertation examined proverbs and epigrammatic language in Rabelais.

He has held three AATF summer scholarships in France and two NEH summer study grants at the University of Iowa and at Harvard University. He has attended classes in France at universities in Nantes, Poitiers, Clermont-Ferrand, and Montpellier, and has traveled throughout France. At Truman since 1991, Dr. Siewert has taught all levels of language and specialized courses in film, contemporary civilization, translation, French business, and medieval and Renaissance literature.His advisees have gone on to graduate studies in fields such as French, education, law, translation, and art history. In 2000, his work on new cultural spaces in France was published by Summa, and he continues work on an edition of a 1564 dictionary of French proverbs. JINS courses on Paris as a cultural crossroads and a centenary commemoration of World War I are in the works.

Teaching interests: French and German grammar, conversation, culture.
Andrea Davis is a native of Austria and has resided in Kirksville since 1991 with her husband (also teaching at Truman) and her four children. She teaches both French and German. She has traveled in France, Switzerland, Germany, England and Italy. Frequent visits to Europe allow her to update the students' perspective on the ever-changing, globalizing European community--reminding them of their duty, as educated citizens, to be aware of and open to these changes. She loves and enjoys her students and the classroom. Her greatest goal is to instill in them a love for foreign language--be it French or German--as well as developing in them a sense that above all, they are citizens of a global community. To obtain this goal she tries to create a lively and stimulating classroom atmosphere, using methods to support different learning styles.

Teaching interests include: Medieval Literature with an emphasis on religious literature from the 9th to the 12th century, Rhetorical Tradition, Gender Studies, and Film.

As President of The Society for Medieval German Studies, Prof. Hintz edits the SMGS News & Reviews. He has written extensively on the works of the early 12th century author, Ava, and has published articles on the psychology of paradox in late medieval romance and the rhetoric of ambiguity in the Nibelungenlied. Among his hobbies are reading New Testament Greek and exploring late antique and early medieval traditions of religious thought. He is currently researching and writing on the theme of gender and salvation in early medieval literature. He is also an active Member of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He enjoys sharing life with his wife, Jeri, and doting on his two daughters Kira and Katya. For more information about SMGS please visit his webpage.

Dr. Partenheimer has been on the English faculty at Truman since 1986. He regularly teaches courses on Shakespeare, genre, and literary theory. Dr. Partenheimer is currently writing an article about how formalistic, ethical, and aesthetical literary criticism can be consolidated by ascertaining the overriding principle of the good, the true, and the beautiful.

Dr. Richter teaches a wide variety of courses in German and in Linguistics. In German, these include  _Translation_ and _German Dialectology and Grimms' Ma"rchen_.  Offerings in the linguistics program regularly include _Linguistics of the Romance Languages_, a central course in the Romance Language major.  Dr. Richter's current linguistic interests center on metaphor theory and his research activities have focused on translation. Among other works, he has translated Pierrot Lunaire (1884, by Albert Giraud) from French (Truman State University Press), The Gate of All Marvelous Things: A Guide to Reading the Tao Te Ching from Chinese, and numerous works by Otto Rank and Sigmund Freud from German. For more information on his translations, please visit his webpage.

Dr. Taylor received BA degrees in Art History and German at the University of Utah. He went on to earn the Master's and Ph.D. at this institution. During his graduate work he obtained scholarships enabling him to pursue advanced studies at the universities of Tübingen and Toronto. He teaches all levels of German language and literature, from beginning to advanced, striving in each course to illuminate the interrelationship between language and cultural ideas and values. In both his teaching and scholarly work, he is particularly interested in the manner in which philosophical concepts inform the structure and meaning of literary works of art. His publications encompass eighteenth through twentieth century German literature, and he is presently working on a book dealing with the influence of Leibniz on eighteenth and nineteenth century German writers.

 Her research areas include contemporary Italy and Italian cultural studies, autobiography, Holocaust literature, and immigration literature.

He has published various books and articles on the Italian playwright and Nobel Laureate, Dario Fo, and on topics relating to the history of Italian theater.

Dr. Harker began teaching at Truman in 1998. She specializes in and teaches Medieval Lit, Scottish Lit, and Women's Studies. Her current research interests are Gender Theory and Fat/Disability Studies.

As a Canadian, Christine Harker is acutely aware of constructions of national identity within literary texts and in public arenas.

Her favorite quotation?

      "L'enfer, c'est les autres "
                                      -some existential Frenchman

Teaching Interests: Medieval and Golden Age Spanish language and literature, Brazilian Portuguese

Professor Tom Capuano teaches elementary Portuguese and elementary and intermediate courses in Spanish, along with upper-level courses in Spanish grammar, composition, history of the Spanish language, phonetics, and literature of the medieval and Golden Age periods. His research interests include the 13th-century Riojan poet Gonzalo de Berceo, medieval Spanish lexicography and manuscript studies. He has lived in Brazil and Puerto Rico and has traveled in Spain and Mexico, and heads up a branch of the international "Dictionary of the Old Spanish Language Project" at Truman.

Professor Beane’s special interests include Slavic sociolinguistics, the history of the Slavic languages, and Old Church Slavic. She has lived and studied for 16 years in Europe: seven in Bulgaria, five in Poland, one in Russia, and three in France. She has worked as an occasional contract interpreter of Bulgarian for the U.S. Department of State since 1986. At Truman she teaches French language classes, as well as Russian language and linguistics.

She teaches upper-level Russian language courses, as well as Russian culture and literature courses.

Dr. Mohler began to teach at Truman in the fall of 2000. She usually teaches ENG 190: Writing as Critical Thinking; ENG 209: Applying Literary Theory; ENG 225: World Literature: Chronology, 18th-20th Century; ENG 226: Topics in World Literature: The Western Tradition; ENG 226: Topics in World Literature: Modern Eastern European Literature; ENG 322: Topics in World Cinema: Eastern European Film; and JINS 345: From Page to Stage and Screen. Her current research interests are Reader Visualization (what we visualize while we read, how our visualizations affect our understanding of the text, and what techniques authors use to promote visualization in their readers), Literary Adaptation Theory and Practice, 19th Century Russian Literature (Leo Tolstoy in particular), and 20th Century Eastern European Literature and Film.

I was born in Wisconsin, went to college at Northwestern University, and received my doctorate in Slavic Languages and Literature from Princeton University, where I met my husband, Chad. We married and came to Kirksville in 1999 when Chad accepted a position in philosophy. I was hired by Truman the following year as Director of Writing Assessment and Assistant Professor of English.

I love foreign and independent films, Asian food, and world music, and I enjoy going for walks with our Yorkshire terrier, Barkley. My husband and I recently adopted a daughter from China, Grace Helen LingXia Mohler.

Her favorite quotation?

      "Love is Life. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love."
                                                             -Leo Tolstoy

Research Interests: Ecological Criticism; Ecocriticism of Spanish-American literature; the New World Tropics.

Biography: Professor Doman enjoys teaching Spanish literature, culture, and language, and his current research involves exploring the connections between literature and the environment.  He has spent time abroad in Spain, Costa Rica, and Mexico, and likes to daydream about future hiking and bird watching trips to Latin America and Spain.

Rebecca Green has taught Spanish from K-12 in the public schools in Wisconsin and Washington. Before moving to Kirksville, she taught English as a Second Language in Riverside, California where most of her students were Hispanics. She has traveled in Spain, Mexico and, most recently, Costa Rica. In Mexico she enjoyed the archeological sites of Monte Alban and Teotihuacán. In Costa Rica she spent time at Tortuguero National Park and the Monteverde Biological Reserve where she saw one of her dream birds â? the quetzal. Her particular interests are nature, especially bird-watching, and Spanish film. She also enjoys art, music and ethnic food.

Mister James Hammerstrand teaches elementary and intermediate Spanish and Spanish composition. His fields of interest include the theater of post-Franco Spain and contemporary Spanish society. Mr. Hammerstrand has lived in Barcelona, Spain, and has traveled extensively throughout the country. He is also fluent in Swedish.

Teaching interests: Methodology, Linguistics, and Culture and Civilization of Latin America

Professor Jewell enjoys teaching the beginning and intermediate Spanish courses. His research interests currently branch in two directions, second language acquisition and computers in instruction. Having just completed a dissertation in which he studied the acquisition of the Spanish preterit and imperfect by adult learners in a classroom setting, he is currently preparing some of that material for publication. Dr. Jewell is also turning his attention toward the question of how to best use computers in second language instruction and testing. He has lived several years in Mexico and has traveled the country extensively; most recently, he participated in a short tour of Spain. His personal interests include family, church, sports, and outdoor activities.

Teaching interests: 19th- and 20th-century peninsular literature; culture and civilization of Spain; peninsular film

Professor Lee teaches all levels of Spanish language and composition, as well as peninsular literature, culture, and film. Her research interests include contemporary Spanish narrative, film and women writers of the post-Civil War period; she has made conference presentations and published a series of scholarly articles on these topics. Other areas of interest include learning disabilities in foreign languages and Italian language and culture. Dr. Lee is faculty advisor of Truman's award-winning chapter of Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society. She also serves as the organization's Vice-President for the Southwest region and member-at-large of the National Executive Committee. In her "free" time, she enjoys opportunities for study and travel in Latin America and Europe, citing as her passion the exploration of ruins of all periods and adventure-seeking with her two children. She also enjoys dance, both classical and modern.

Teaching interests: Latin American Literature

Professor Maldonado has taught Spanish in Puerto Rico at middle school, high school and university levels. He is a collaborator for Editorial Norma, which publishes Spanish textbooks for secondary education. He is also editor of revista escolar Senderos. In addition, Professor Maldonado fervently advocates the integration of technology with foreign language instruction.

Professor Marshall has taught both English and Spanish to small children, teenagers, undergraduates, and graduate students. She has conducted bilingual poetry writing workshops for children and adults and has worked as a technical translator and editor. She has written activities for textbooks and has traveled through the Midwest giving in-service workshops for secondary education teachers. Her research interests include women writers, as well as contemporary Mexican American poets. Dr. Marshall has also traveled extensively to Mexico and has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities that allowed her to travel in Spain to create curricular materials. She has also taken students to Spain and France and enjoys cooking ethnic foods and experiencing music and art.

Teaching interests: Spanish grammar and language, Peninsular literature, Golden Age Spanish theater, 20th-century Spanish theater.

Professor Ogden enjoys teaching all levels of language courses besides courses in his areas of specialization: Spanish Literature, Spanish Theatre. He has authored various Spanish Language computer programs: Verbos, Tutor Español, Composition Writer, and the Testing Center. He has also authored a few general purpose computer programs: Conference Center, Course Information Center, Check-In (lab attendance program), Lab Applications (network menu system for offering programs). Professor Ogden also serves as the Coordinator for Computing Support in the Departments of CML and ENLG.

Teaching Interests: Spanish grammar, conversation, introduction to literature, and Latin American civilization and culture.

Professor Piper is a native of Costa Rica and, since 1984, the Director of the Costa Rica Summer Program for Truman State University. Professor Piper enjoys traveling and likes to share her traveling experiences with her students. Through international grants she has visited Spain, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras. In Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico she has visited the archaeological sites of the Mayas in Chichén Itzá, Tikal, and Conan. She has traveled extensively through Costa Rica, and has studied the Bri-Bri Indians on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.

Teaching interests: 20th-century Latin American literature and linguistics

Professor Pites, a native of Argentina, teaches all levels of grammar, composition, and conversation besides courses in her area of specialization. During the summer, she teaches culture and civilization of Spain for our Summer Study Abroad program in Salamanca, which she directs. Her research interests are centered in contemporary Latin American women writers and the historical novel of Argentina. She has written many articles and a culture manual for study abroad. An advocate for diversity, Dr. Pites is deeply committed to higher education as well as family, church, and community service. Her love for literature is equal to that of music and art, and her hobbies include photography, pottery, and a large collection of antique clocks. She also speaks other Romance languages and has traveled and resided extensively in many parts of the world.

Teaching interests: 19th-century Spanish American literature and civilization, Spanish grammar

Professor Tanner has written much on 19th-century Peruvian literature, the focus of his research interests. He enjoys continually expanding his knowledge of the Spanish and Italian languages. He has a family of eight children, who keep him and his wife busy. Five of his children have lived in Latin America. He enjoys swimming laps, playing softball, and serving in his church. Dr. Tanner resided in Peru and returns there frequently. He has also traveled in Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Central America, Mexico, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France.

Teaching interests: Linguistics and Spanish literature.

Professor Tornatore holds a doctorate in Romance Linguistics from The University of New York at Albany and has done his Master's work in Hispanic Linguistics in Madrid, Spain. He offers courses in linguistics, Spanish culture, literature, and all levels of language. His research interests include Renaissance and Medieval studies as well as the history of the Italian and Spanish languages. He has presented scholarly papers and published in his field. He has traveled extensively through Italy and Spain in addition to many other countries. Moreover, Dr. Tornatore also speaks fluent Italian and holds a B.A. and graduate studies in Russian. His pedagogical expertise in foreign languages derives in large part from his years of teaching in recognized language immersion programs in the Northeast. In addition, he brings to Truman a firm dedication to the humanist tradition from renowned liberal arts colleges in New York in which he taught.

Teaching interests: Colombian Literature and Creative Writing

A native of Colombia, Professor Valencia brings to Truman a wealth of experience as a Spanish translator and as an accomplished playwright. He teaches all levels of Spanish including specialty courses such as Spanish-English translation and Colombian Literature. He wrote Consumiendo Consumo and wrote and directed El Callejón. His play Samuel has since been made into a movie. Professor Valencia is also the co-founder of Revista Azulejos, an on-line magazine devoted to publishing creative works in Spanish. He also serves as advisor to the Spanish club and soccer club, and as co-advisor to the triathlon club. In addition to these pursuits, he also enjoys playing and coaching soccer, and marathon running.