Faculty & Staff

See all WLC Faculty below.

Leadership & Administration

Naima Hachad Associate Professor and Department Chair, World Languages & Cultures

Dr. Hachad’s research focuses on issues of gender and sexuality, autobiography and testimony, and the representation and memorialization of violence in cultural productions of the Maghreb and the Cari

  hachad@american.edu

  (202) 885-1458

Associate Chair

Esther Holtermann Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer

Professor Holtermann is interested in immigration, day labor and the Latino community. She teaches language and topic courses in Spanish at American University, and is currently the associate director

  eholter@american.edu

  (202) 885-2390

Language Program Directors

  • Arabic: Erez Naaman, Director
    George Berg, Associate Director
  • Chinese: Xiaoquan Raphael Zhang, Director
  • French: Naima Hachad, Director
    Claudia Gotea, Associate Director
    Elizabeth Lang, Director of French Translation Certificate
  • German: William Quirk, Director
  • Italian: Ranieri Moore Cavaceppi, Director
  • Japanese: Ken Knight, Director
  • Korean: Hye Young Shin, Director
  • Russian: Alina Israeli, Director
  • Spanish: Luis Cerezo-Ceballos, Director
    Esther Ibáñez-Holtermann, Associate Director
    Patricia Montilla-Keeling, Associate Director
    Lilian Baeza, Director of Hertiage Spanish Study
    Brenda Werth, Director of Latin American & Spanish Studies, Interim Director of Translation Certificates
     

 

All World Languages & Cultures Faculty

Last name starts with A

Last name starts with B

Lilian Baeza-Mendoza Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Professor Lilian Baeza-Mendoza teaches Spanish language, Latin American Studies, and translation at the Department of World Languages and Cultures. For many years, she served as the Associate Director

  baezamen@american.edu

  (202) 885-2383

Naomi Baron Prof Emerita

Naomi Baron’s research interests include language and technology, reading, first language acquisition, the relationship between speech and writing, the history and structure of English, and higher edu

  (202) 885-2455

Robin Barr Linguist-in-Residence CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Prof. Barr holds a PhD in Linguistics from Harvard with concentrations in both Indo-European and psycholinguistics. Her research on morphology involves the relationship between language learning and l

  rbarr@american.edu

  (202) 885-2582

George Berg Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Professor Berg has served as a faculty advisor for the Arabic Club and faculty supervisor for visiting Fulbright student teaching assistants for the past two years. His teaching and research interests

  berg@american.edu

  (202) 885-2382

Last name starts with C

Jie Cai Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Professor Cai received his BA in Chinese from Shanghai Normal University in China and his MA and MLS from the University of Iowa. Prior to joining AU, he had taught all levels of Chinese for over 16 y

  jcai@american.edu

  (202) 885-6922

Ranieri Moore Cavaceppi Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Professor Cavaceppi teaches various levels of Italian at American University, including beginner, intermediate, conversation & composition, and topics courses. As Director of the Italian Program, he s

  ranieri@american.edu

  (202) 885-1468

Luis Cerezo Ceballos Associate Professor CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Dr. Cerezo is Associate professor of applied linguistics and Director of the Spanish language program at American University. He has been a consultant for institutions like the Fulbright Commission an

  cerezoce@american.edu

  (202) 885-6277

Last name starts with E

Last name starts with G

Solange Garnier-Fox Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

I was born and raised in Southern France, and I completed my education in the beautiful town of Montpellier. At a very early age, I developed a passion for travels, a natural curiosity for immersion i

  garnierf@american.edu

  (202) 885-6925

Courtney Glover Associate Director AU Centers Abroad OGIS | AU Abroad

A life-long Francophile, Courtney began her international adventure on a summer study abroad program while she was in high school in Annecy, France. After that experience, she decided to pursue her lo

  pollack@american.edu

  (202) 885-1328

Claudia Gotea Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Dr. Gotea was born and raised in Brasov, Romania where she earned her BA degree specializing in Eugene Ionesco's theater of the absurd. Right after earning her degree, she went to Penn State to pursue

  gotea@american.edu

  (202) 885-6348

Ludy Grandas Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Ludy Grandas’ research interests include issues of national identity in Latin America and in the Hispanic communities in the U.S. Her teaching interests include the Studies of Culture in Latin America

  grandas@american.edu

  (202) 885-2434

Last name starts with H

Naima Hachad Associate Professor and Department Chair, World Languages & Cultures CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Dr. Hachad’s research focuses on issues of gender and sexuality, autobiography and testimony, and the representation and memorialization of violence in cultural productions of the Maghreb and the Cari

  hachad@american.edu

  (202) 885-1458

Esther Holtermann Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Professor Holtermann is interested in immigration, day labor and the Latino community. She teaches language and topic courses in Spanish at American University, and is currently the associate director

  eholter@american.edu

  (202) 885-2390

Last name starts with I

Alina Israeli Professor CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Professor Israeli received her PhD in Slavic Linguistics from Yale University. Prior to coming to the United States she received a BA equivalent in Russian Language and Literature from Leningrad State

  aisrael@american.edu

  (202) 885-2387

Last name starts with J

Karina Jeronimides Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Professor Karina Jeronimides Krilla was born in South America but was raised in Italy and France. She speaks five languages fluently and has lived and studied in Europe, South America and the United S

  karina@american.edu

  (202) 885-6374

Last name starts with K

Rana Kateeb Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Professor Kateeb, Arabic Language Instructor, has a BA in English for Specific Purposes and an MA in Applied Linguistic from Jordan University of Science and Technology. She has previously taught vari

  kateeb@american.edu

  (202) 885-6339

Tabitha Kidwell Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Tabitha Kidwell is a language teacher and teacher educator interested in innovative approaches to language teaching, language teacher education, and the development of intercultural competence. She ha

  tkidwell@american.edu

Ken Knight Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Interests: L2 Japanese phonology; minority languages of Japan; diaspora and language attrition; minority languages and national language policy

  knight@american.edu

  (202) 885-6337

Sarah Knowles Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Sarah Young Knowles specializes in second language acquisition, language teaching methods and teacher education, and instructional design. She earned her doctorate in applied linguistics at Georgetown

  syoung@american.edu

  (202) 885-2130

Last name starts with L

Elizabeth Lang Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Elizabeth Lang has taught French language courses at AU since 1991 and will retire at the end of AY 2023-2024. Her primary interests are political, economic, social and cultural issues in Francophone

  elang@american.edu

  (202) 885-2342

Last name starts with M

Kyung-Hwa Martin Adjunct Instructor CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Professor Martin received her M.Ed. Curriculum & Instruction degree from George Mason University, concentration in Korean as a foreign language and ESOL education. In the past, she worked as a Korean

  kmartin@american.edu

Juliana Martinez Associate Professor CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Professor Martínez focuses on the intersection of violence and body politics in Latin America. Her two main areas of research are: representation of historical violence recent cultural production; and

  jmartinez@american.edu

  (202) 885-2586

Patricia Montilla Keeling Instructor CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Professor Patricia Montilla Keeling has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration-Marketing from University of Maryland. She also obtained a Master of Arts, Spanish: Latin American Studies an

  pmk@american.edu

Last name starts with N

Erez Naaman Assoc Professor CAS - World Languages and Cultures

Erez Naaman specializes in classical Arabic literature and culture. In addition, his research interests include the intellectual history of the premodern Islamic world. His scholarly work has focused

  naaman@american.edu

  (202) 885-2468

Jacques Nalabandian Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Research Interests: Factors influencing the 19th Century Arab Literary Revivalism in the Levant; Ottoman influence on Arab culture and language (15th-19th centuries); Arabic morphology, syntax and pho

  jnalaban@american.edu

  (202) 885-3771

Last name starts with O

Amy Oliver Assoc Professor CAS - Philosophy and Religion

Professor Oliver's teaching and research on Latin America explore philosophical topics such as marginality, feminism, nepantlismo, and transfronterismo. She works on the Hispanic ess

  aoliver@american.edu

  (202) 885-2140

Last name starts with P

Last name starts with Q

William Quirk Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Dr. Quirk is Director of the German Program at AU. He has scholarly interests in German, English and French from the late eighteenth century to the present. Within German he focuses on the Age of Goet

  quirk@american.edu

  (202) 885-6769

Last name starts with R

Isabel Rivero-Vila Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Isabel Rivero-Vilá is a Senior Professorial Lecturer of French and Spanish at American University (Washington, D.C) and an independent filmmaker. She has been recently named Chevalier de l’ordre des P

  isabelrv@american.edu

Eunhae Ro Ro Adjunct Instructor CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Professor Ro received a master’s degree in Foreign/World Language Education from George Mason. As a native Korean, she has taught both heritage and non-heritage students in various settings. She is cu

  ero@american.edu

Olga Rojer Associate Prof Emerita

Olga Elaine Rojer is Associate Professor of World Languages and Cultures. Her teaching and research interests include modern German history, literature, and film, Dutch Caribbean studies, and literary

  (202) 885-2139

Carmen helena Ruzza Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Professor Carmen Helena Ruzza received her undergraduate degree at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Conservatorio Lino Gallardo. She obtained a M.A in Latin A

  ruzza@american.edu

  (202) 885-2008

Last name starts with S

Abdelrahim Salih Adjunct Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Professorial Lecturer Anthropologist and Linguist

  (202) 885-6300

Kayoko Shibata Adjunct Instructor CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Current project interest includes:Similarities between Japanese and Korean languages, helping Japanese language learners. Prior to American University, Kayoko Shibata worked for the World Bank for 18

  kshibata@american.edu

Hye Young Shin Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Dr. Shin received her PhD in Multilingual and Multicultural Education from George Mason University and Master’s degree in TESOL from American University. As a native Korean, she has taught both herita

  hshin@american.edu

  (202) 885-1513

Akane Shirata Adjunct Instructor CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Research Interests:Japanese heritage language educationCurriculum DevelopmentProject-based approachMulticultural/socio-cultural identity

  ashirata@american.edu

Gemma Sune Minguella Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Prof. Suñé Minguella teaches Spanish language, literature and cinema. Her areas of interest focus on the relationship between poetry and philosophy, as well as literary and film criticism.

  suneming@american.edu

  (202) 885-6923

Last name starts with T

Amelia Tseng Assistant Professor CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Dr. Amelia Tseng is Assistant Professor in Spanish and Linguistics. Her research addresses how language shapes and is shaped by identity across immigrant generations in Latinx diasporic contexts, focu

  tseng@american.edu

Last name starts with V

Christine Van Berten Sr Professorial Lecturer CAS - World Languages and Cultures

Christine van Berten teaches French and Francophone cultures, Literature and French language at university level in Europe and the United States for over 15 years. After a ten-year career as a Profess

  cvberten@american.edu

  (202) 885-6008

Charly Verstraet Assistant Professor CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Charly Verstraet's research and teaching interests include Caribbean and Indian Ocean Studies, Environmental Studies, Graphic Novels, Soccer and Politics, and Translation. His co-translation of award-

  verstrae@american.edu

Nuria Vilanova Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Associate Professor CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Núria Vilanova teaches Latin American Culture, Literature and Cinema. Her research is devoted to the impact of social change and migration on cultural production. She works on textual and cinematic na

  vilanova@american.edu

  (202) 885-2393

Polina Vinogradova Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer & TESOL Program Director CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Dr. Vinogradova is interested in the use of digital technology, specifically digital stories, in language education and in postmethod pedagogy and advocacy in language teacher development. Her recent

  vinograd@american.edu

  (202) 885-1446

Last name starts with W

Brenda Werth Associate Professor and Director of Latin American and Spanish Studies CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Brenda Werth’s research interests include Latin American theater, performance, documentary film, memory studies, human rights, gender, social movements, and translation. She teaches courses on Latin A

  werth@american.edu

  (202) 885-1449

Rebecca Wilner CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Rebecca joins the AU Faculty and Staff after serving as a Senior English Language Fellow in Panama City, Panama, where she was the Academic Director of the Center for English Language Immersion (CELI)

  wilner@american.edu

  (202) 885-3705

Last name starts with X

Svetlana Xu Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Dr. Xu has an extensive background as a linguist in both Chinese and Russian, with an emphasis in the areas of philosophy, literature, culture and communication.Possessing an impressive academic backg

  sxu@american.edu

  (202) 885-2262

Last name starts with Z

Xiaoquan Zhang Senior Professorial Lecturer CAS | World Languages and Cultures

Xiaoquan Raphael Zhang received his PhD in Chinese and ComparativeLiterature from Washington University in St. Louis. His primary researchfield is literature, culture, and history of late imperial Chi

  xrzhang@american.edu

  (202) 885-2376