Branding Colombia
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Dr. Catalina Esguerra discusses literature and culture with her Spanish III students at MSA.
Catalina Esguerra successfully defended her dissertation to earn her Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures at the University of Michigan—where her dissertation focused on contemporary Colombian film, art, and literature.
Over the last ten years, Dr. Esguerra has presented her research in dozens of conferences–domestically and internationally–including the Latin American Studies Association, American Studies Association, Modern Languages Association, and American Comparative Literatures Association.
We sat down with her to learn more about her scholarship and approach to teaching.
What did your dissertation cover?
In my dissertation, I argue that a decades-old lingering reputation of being one of the most violent places in the world has made Colombia irresistibly intriguing to global cultural consumers. It contends that the Colombian cultural imaginary is a brand-under-construction. My study analyzes contemporary Colombian and U.S. Colombian texts through an exploration of four different kinds of cultural approaches: the narco, the child, the land, and the immigrant. My project investigates how cultural producers facilitate branding Colombia or work to challenge an overly simplistic yet export-ready vision of Colombia. Branding Colombia: Violent Myths and New Visions in Contemporary Cultural Production essentially explores the notion of colombianness as a social, cultural, economic, and national identity. It argues that that identity is in flux—shifting through the ways in which Colombians and U.S. Colombians are contending with the vestiges of war (through dispossession, delinquency, and the diaspora). In the project, I use novels, short-story collections, films and documentaries that all helped me articulate this argument.
Are you able to weave your work on contemporary Colombian film, art, and literature into your classes here at MSA?
Well, I’ve been lucky enough to already get to teach my Advanced Spanish class about some of the history of war in Colombia. We started the year with a unit on the civil conflict in Colombia, and over the course of the first quarter, we read one of the novels I write about in my work. While challenging, the students were up to the task! By the end, I felt they really experienced a sense of accomplishment about reading a whole novel in a foreign language. While teaching about these more complex topics is a bit more challenging at the Spanish 1 and 3 levels, I have been able to incorporate my pedagogical philosophy into all my classes. First, I desire for students to experience academic transparency, where the choices I make in the classroom are clear, meaningful, and are fully integrated into all evaluations. I don’t like busy work, and I don’t like homework for homework’s sake. Second, I like for students to feel like their lives and interests are reflected in their work. When possible, I like for them to do activities where they showcase things that matter to them. After all, students are more likely to care about the material if it means something to them!
In addition to teaching Spanish at the University of Michigan, you were known for fostering students' learning beyond the classroom. Tell us more about your efforts at U-M and here at MSA to do this.
Through both the service and club components of the Miller education, I work with students to consider the ways these are key aspects of their education, even though they’re not in a classroom. In my service group, students are working at the African-American Heritage Center on a day-long event that will celebrate 100 years of women’s suffrage. In addition to creating educational modules about the history and impact of suffrage, students are also incorporating the critical perspective of black women’s suffrage to the event. From conceptualizing of the title, to researching the different areas, and to what I anticipate will be a social media and fundraising campaign that considers local stakeholders and allies, students are learning important skills around collaboration, teamwork, leadership, and social justice education. As well, while small, our Spanish Honor Society is mighty, and together, we came up with a list of events in the area that would further our knowledge of Spanish-speaking communities—both here and abroad. One event I’m particularly excited about is our winter field trip to the 2020 Virginia Immigrant Advocacy Day at the Virginia General Assembly. Along with my colleague in the Spanish section (Mrs. Jenette Reyes), we will be learning about the issues that impact Latino/a residents of Virginia! Students will have the opportunity to see an event that’s at the crossroads of the questions they ask in their history, political science, and geography classes. I love that Miller supports learning beyond the classroom and engages in a range of immersive educational opportunities for its students!
Any publications in the works?
Yes! I have two articles under review in different journals, as well as a proposal for editing a special issue about the role of art in conflict in Latin America with a new journal in the field of Latin American/Latinx art. Additionally, I am in discussions to publish an interview with a Colombian artist who recently came to UVA for a symposium around resistance to violence through art and whose work I research. Being here in Charlottesville has already been a boon to me, not only in terms of my teaching but also in terms of its vibrant intellectual community!
