Maria Davis

Dr. Maria Davis is a scholar in Latin American and American literature, with focus on the Latin American boom writers and twentieth century American theater, respectively. She also has a Master's degree in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language.

Dr. Davis currently teaches at Oxford College of Emory University. The courses she teaches include beginner, intermediate and advanced Spanish Language courses, such as Early Hispanic Texts and Contexts, Modern Hispanic Texts and Contexts, and Special Topics in Language and Culture, Introduction to Hispanic Cultural History and Theater, Film and Performing Art. She also teaches a Discovery Seminar called Fantasy and the Supernatural in Literature, which is an interdisciplinary course that freshmen can select to take their first semester at Oxford. She also frequently oversees students in independent studies in individual topics, and she is a participating faculty member in the Oxford Research Scholars program. She has led a travel course to Spain, where her students learned the aesthetic, economic and linguistic influence of the Islamic, Jewish and Catholic cultures. She has also directed the Emory Summer Study Abroad Program called Iberian Studies in Spain. She was the director of the Salamanca Study Abroad program at Wake Forest University for two years.

Dr. Davis has organized many Hispanic cultural events on and off campus as well as film festivals and internationally known Hispanic poets' talks on campus at Oxford College.

A frequent presenter and panelist at academic conferences, Dr. Davis is a member of the "Modern Language Association", the "American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese" and "Feministas Unidas".

She received a BA degree in English from Salamanca University, Spain and a MA degree in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language from Salamanca University. After receiving a PhD in American literature from Salamanca University in 2002, she decided to pursue a second PhD. She completed her PhD in Latin American Literature at Las Palmas University, Spain in 2010. Dr. Davis taught at Cursos Internacionales at Salamanca University, Spain, UNO Nebraska and Wake Forest University, NC before she joined the faculty of Oxford College in 2004.

Education

BA, Salamanca University, Spain. MA, Salamanca University, Spain. PhD, Salamanca University, Spain and PhD, Las Palmas University, Spain.

Courses Taught:

Elementary Spanish I

Elementary Spanish II

Intermediate Spanish I

Intermediate Spanish II

Introduction to Hispanic Texts and Contexts

Early Hispanic Texts and Contexts

Modern Hispanic Texts and Contexts

Theater, Film and Performing Art

Introduction to Hispanic Cultural History

Special Topics in Language and Culture

Discovery Seminar: Fantasy and the Supernatural in Literature

Selected Honors:

Dr. Davis has been awarded many grants by the Faculty Development Committee at Oxford College of Emory University to attend several national and international conferences (Fall 2005, Fall 2006, Fall 2009, Fall 2011 and Spring 2017)

In May 2007, she was awarded a Grant by the Technology Department at Oxford College of Emory University to develop a project which implemented the use of WIMBA, a voice tool, in her Spanish classes.

In May 2015, Dr. Davis was honored to be the first and only woman to have her name put on the wall of the historical building "Residencia Fray Luis de León" at the University of Salamanca, Spain due to academic achievement.

In May 2017, she was awarded with a $3,300 Grant by the Academic Dean of Oxford College to do an exploratory trip to Spain. This grant allowed Dr. Davis to add a travel component to her Spanish 300Q course.

Selected Publications:

Books:

-Vámonos al cine: Short Movies for Spanish Conversation, Cognella Academic Publishing, San Diego, California, January 2019.

- Resistencia y sumisión en el teatro norteamericano del siglo XX. E-book. Edwin Mellen Press. Spring 2014.

- El humor en las novelas de Gabriel García Márquez. Edwin Mellen Press. 1 January 2013.

- “Olé: Juego de cultura hispana.” Instant Inmension. Advanced Spanish. Topics Entertainment 1 July 2002.

Articles:

- “La segunda temporada de True Detective: una crítica a la sociedad norteamericana por medio de la exploración interior de los personajes principales. ” La globalización del crimen: literatura, cine y nuevos medios, ed. Andavira, 2017, p. 641. Peer-reviewed.

- “El elemento lúdico en la obra de Gabriel García Márquez.” The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. 6 March, 2010. Peer-reviewed.

Selected Presentations:

- “El general en su laberinto: un discurso carnavalesco.” The National Association of Hispanic and Latino Studies: 2011 Western Regional Conference. San Diego, California, 30 September, 2011.

- “Actividades lúdicas para la clase de español.” SIC Lingua (Primer Congreso Virtual sobre la enseñanza de ELE). 20 May 2006.

- “Macondo, un mundo hiperbólico.” SECCLL (Southeast Coastal Conference on Languages and Literatures) Statesboro, GA, 29 March 2005.

- "Movies for Spanish Conversation." E-poster presentation at the International Conference of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese in Salamanca, Spain June 26th 2018.

- "En búsqueda de una literatura continental: la influencia de la obra de Faulkner en Garcia Marquez." XIX Congreso Internacional de Literatura Hispánica in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 16th March, 2017.

- "True Detective: una critica de la sociedad norteamericana." XX Congreso de novela y cine negro in Salamanca, Spain. 16 April, 2015.

- "La parodia historica en las novelas de Gabriel García Márquez." XVI Congreso Internacional de Literatura Hispanica in Tenerife, Spain. 16 July, 2015.

- "Crónica de una muerte anunciada: La novela negra como crónica de la sociedad colombiana del siglo XX". El XIX Congreso de novela y cine negro: la reinvención de un género in Salamanca, Spain. 16 April, 2013

Research Interests

My longest-standing research interest has been comparative literature and film noir.

My current research is on developing materials, such as textbooks, for my Spanish classes at the beginner and intermediate level.