Current as of September 2021 Sterk 1

EMILY K. STERK
Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese
The Pennsylvania State University
048 Burrowes Building
University Park, 16802
eks28@psu.edu
EDUCATION
2023 Ph.D., Latin American Literature, Penn State University (expected)
Dissertation: (S)extractivism: Sex Tourism in the Caribbean: Sex Workers as
Reproductive Laborers of National Identites, Sex Tourism, and the Global Marketplace
Committee: Dr. Judith Sierra-Rivera (Chair, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese)
Dr. Krista Brune (Spanish, Italian and Portuguese)
Dr. Maria Truglio (Spanish, Italian and Portuguese)
Dr. Sam Tenorio (Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies)
2021 Doctoral Minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Penn State University
2020 M.A., Spanish & Latin American Literature, Penn State University
2017 B.A., English and Spanish, Washington & Jefferson College
Summa Cum Laude, Departmental Honors in Spanish
2016 Semester abroad, La Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador

RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS

Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Literatures and Cultures; Speculative Fictions; Feminist Studies;
Translation Studies; Anti-Colonialism; and Decolonial Thought

PUBLICATIONS
Peer-Reviewed Articles
“La mujer como edificación de la memoria en Lo amador de Roberto Burgos Cantor.” Cincinnati
Romance Review, vol. 49, 2020, pp. 78-94.

Under review: “The Limit of Political Possibilities in Translation: Achy Obejas’s Tentacle, A
Translation of Rita Indiana’s La mucama de Omicunlé.”

Under review: “‘I am no Longer the Child my Mother Shipped’: The Achievement of Erotic Sovereignty
in Angie Cruz’s Dominicana.”

Encyclopedia Entries
“Cuban Diaspora.” Latino Literature: An Encyclopedia for Students, ABC-Clio, forthcoming, 2021.

Book Reviews
“James, Conrad Michael. Filial Crisis and Erotic Politics in Black Cuban Literature. Tamesis, New
York, 2019 (189 pp.).” Voces del Caribe, vol. 12, no. 1, 2021, pp. 1329-1333.

“Marisella Veiga. We Carry Our Homes with Us: A Cuban American Memoir. Minnesota Historical
Society Press, St. Paul, 2016 (182 pp.).” Voces del Caribe, vol. 9, no. 1, 2017, pp. 473-477.

CONFERENCES AND PANELS

“La mujer como edificación de la memoria en Lo amador de Roberto Burgos Cantor.” Caribbean
Studies Association Annual Conference, May 2021.
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“#CovertheProgress: Performative Sovereignty in Tourism Campaigns Post-Hurricane María.”

Calibans and Caribbeanisms: Troubling the Image, Marquette University. *Postponed until
Spring 2022 due to COVID-19.

“El erotismo de la memoria en Reinaldo Arenas y Gustavo Pérez Firmat.” LSA Biennial Conference.
*Postponed until Summer 2022 due to COVID-19.

“The Enclave was never en clave: Gender Exile in the Cuban-American Exile Canon.” Reading
Cuba: An Interdisciplinary Conference on Cuban and Cuban-American Literature, Florida
International University, November 2016.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Penn State University, University Park
CMLIT 122: Global Science Fictions (Fall 2021)
SPAN 002: Intermediate Spanish (Fall 2019)
SPAN 003: Advanced Spanish (Spring 2019/Spring 2020/Fall 2020/Spring 2021)
SPAN 002 and 003: Substitute for the Spanish Basic Language Program (Fall 2020/Spring 2021)
SPAN 100: Intermediate Grammar and Composition (Summer 2021)

The Language Institute at Penn State University

SPAN 002: Intensive Intermediate Spanish (Summer 2019)

Penn State University, World Campus

SPAN 002: Elementary Spanish (Summer 2020)

Naugatuck Valley Community College

Basic Spanish (Summer 2018)

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Advanced Intensive English (Fall 2017)
Basic English (Spring 2018)
English Tutor (Fall 2017/Spring 2018)

Washington & Jefferson College

FYS-199: First-Year Seminar Teaching Assistant (2016-2017)
Spanish Tutor (2015-2017)
English Tutor (2014-2015)

COMMITTEES AND SERVICE

2020-2021 President, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese Graduate Student Organization, Penn State
2020-2021 Planning Committee, Global Languages Professional Enrichment Network (GLPEN)
2020-2021 Treasurer, Sigma Delta Pi, Penn State
2019-present Graduate Student Mentor, Dept. of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, Penn State
2019-2020 President and Founding Member, Sigma Delta Pi, Penn State
2019-2020 Practice Talk Coordinator, Dept. of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, Penn State
2019-2020 Treasurer, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese Graduate Student Organization, Penn State
2018-2020 Secretary, Phi Beta Kappa, Lambda Chapter, Penn State
2018-2019 First Year Representative, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese Graduate Student
Organization, Penn State
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CERTIFICATIONS
Online Teaching Certificate, Summer 2020
Awarded by Online Faculty Development of Penn State World Campus for the successful completion of a 5-week
intensive course on online teaching.

Teaching with Technology Certificate, Spring 2019

Awarded by the College of the Liberal Arts showing that an instructor has demonstrated the innovate use of
technology in teaching.

HONORS, GRANTS, AND AWARDS

2021 Jesús Díaz Award, Penn State University
2020 Latin American Studies Graduate Student Award, Penn State University
2019, -20 Graduate Scholar Award, Penn State University
2017-18 Fulbright U.S. Student Award (Colombia)
2017 Phi Beta Kappa (Kappa of Pennsylvania Chapter)
2017 The William Holmes McGuffey Prize in English, Washington & Jefferson College
2017 The James W. Gargano Memorial Award, Washington & Jefferson College
2015 Vira I. Heinz Program for Women in Global Leadership
2015 Sigma Tau Delta, English Honor Society
2015 Sigma Delta Pi, Spanish Honor Society

LANGUAGES
English (Native Speaker)
Spanish (Near Native Fluency)
Portuguese (Professional Working Proficiency)

PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES
Available upon request.