On this page you can read about my teaching experiences at five different colleges and universities. I have included links to PDFs of all my syllabuses from Kansas State (only the most recent iteration), and of my mid-level seminar at Grinnell College (2014).
On the blog:
I occasionally I write about how I integrate my research into my teaching, or how my assignments in the classroom have led me to reevaluate or expand my own research agenda. These posts appear below — I typically include links to free materials that I created for these topics (PDFs of discussion questions, reading guides, assignments). Comments, suggestions, tips, and feedback welcome!
(Jan 2014) The Perfect Wife in the 21st Century: La perfecta casada en el siglo XX
(Feb 2014) Exploring Female Identities in Carmen de Burgos’ “La rampa”
(Apr 2014) The Red Virgin: Motherhood and Power Dynamics
(May 2014) La Llorona: Incorporating Latino Studies into Hispanic Literature
(Nov 2015) Francisco de Goya: The Enigma of the Black Paintings
(Dec 2015) Picasso’s Guernica and Aleixandre’s “Oda”: The Spanish Civil War in Art and Poetry
(Feb 2016) Teaching Spanish America: From the Conquest to Contemporary Film
(Sept 2020) Mapping Madrid through Art, Literature, and Creative Cartography
(Oct 2020) Don Quijote, the Graphic Novel, and Snapchat: Alternative Assessments in the L2 Literature Classroom
Teaching experience:
KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY (2015-present)
STUDY ABROAD: “Spain Today: Madrid, Pamplona, Barcelona”
I created this annual program by working with the Instituto de Lengua y Cultura Españolas (ILCE) at the Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, starting in 2018. Summer of 2019 was its first (very!) successful year. It is unique in offering our Spanish Majors a 700-level course in which they conduct research in Spain on a topic related to their professional goals; they present at K-State the following Fall semester. In 2019 we held “photo gallery” event, which was a really fun format: Spanish Majors and Minors Present Research from the Summer in Spain Program.

In Madrid for the first year of the “Spain Today: Madrid-Pamplona-Barcelona” program. See #KSUSummerSpain2019 on Instagram and Twitter for a daily re-cap.
SPANISH LANGUAGE:
Spanish 301: Spanish IV
Spanish 408: Intermediate Spanish Grammar
Spanish 410: Intermediate Grammar & Composition
Spanish 420: Intermediate Spanish Conversation
Fall 2015; Fall 2018: spn 420_syllabus_f18_conversation_3rd edition
SPANISH AND SPANISH AMERICAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE:
Spanish 550: Introduction to Literature in Spanish
Summer 2016 – 4-week intensive: SPN 550 syllabus and SPAN 550_Calendar
Fall 2016, Spring 2018, Fall-Spring 2018-19
Spanish 550: Hispanic Readings & Media
Fall-Spring 2019-20: spn 550_intro to hispanic literature_syllabus
Spanish 565: Civilization and Culture of Spain (#Span565KSU)
Fall 2015; Spring 2017: 1_SPN 565_Span Culture Civ_Sp 2017
Spring 2020: **Syllabus changed due to Covid-19**
Spanish 567: Introduction to the Literature of Spain (survey)
Fall 2015: SPN 567_Literature of Spain_Syllabus_F15_update
Spanish 567: Heroes and Housewives: Introduction to the Literature of Spain (themed survey)
Fall 2017: 1_SPN 567_Heroes and Housewives_Syllabus_Fall 2017
Spanish 568: Literature of Spanish America (survey)
Spring 2016, Spring 2018: spn 568_literature of spanish america
GRADUATE-UNDERGRADUATE SEMINARS
Spanish 735: Mapping Madrid in the Edad de Plata (#MappingMadridKSU)
Senior seminar: Fall 2020: Syllabus_Mapping Madrid blog
Spanish 735: Gender & the City in 20th Century Spain (#GeneroCiudadKSU)
Senior and Graduate seminar: Fall 2019: Syllabus_Gender-City_20thC
Spanish 732: Pop Culture and Cervantes’ Don Quijote de la Mancha
Senior seminar: Spring 2018: 0_SPN 732_Don Quijote_Syllabus
Senior seminar: Spring 2021: TBA, updated schedule/films for hyflex instruction
- Visit my Spring 2018 students’ final creative, collaborative Snapchat project: www.quijotesnaps.wordpress.com
- Read about my non-traditional approach to this, and other literature courses, in my peer-reviewed article published in HISPANIA (Sept. 2020): “Snapping the Quijote: Examining L2 Literature, Social Media, and Digital Storytelling through a Cervantine Lens“
Spanish 779: Spanish American AP Literature Readings: Analysis in Context
Graduate & Undergraduate seminar
Fall 2016, Fall 2019: 0_SPN 779_AP Latin America_Fa19
Spanish 779: AP Spanish Literature: Transatlantic Perspectives
Graduate seminar
Fall 2017: 1-spn 779_ap spanish lit-transatlantic
Spanish 779: AP Spanish Peninsular Literature: Analysis in Context
Graduate seminar
Fall 2018: 1-spn 779_ap spanish lit_syllabus
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GRINNELL COLLEGE (2013-2015)
- Spanish 105: Introduction to the Spanish Language I (Intensive)
- Spanish 106: Introduction to the Spanish Language II (Intensive)
- Spanish 217: Intermediate Spanish
- Spanish 285: Introduction to Textual Analysis
- Spanish 295: Refashioning the Self: Hispanic Women’s Literature in the 20th Century (Transatlantic Seminar): SPN 295_Syllabus_SP14_ReFashioning the Self
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THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY (2008-2013)
- Spanish 1, Spanish 2, Spanish 3 (as 15-week hybrid-online & 3-week summer intensives)
- Intermediate Spanish Conversation
- Intermediate Spanish Grammar and Conversation
- Introduction to Hispanic Literature
- Mexican Culture and Civilization: Abroad – Puebla, Mexico (Graduate Assistant)
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BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA (2007-2008)
- Spanish 1
- Spanish 3
- Introduction to Spanish (on and off-campus)
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THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO (2005-2007)
- Spanish 1 (Supervisor: Spring 2007)
- Spanish 2
Pingback: The Perfect Wife in the 21st century: “La perfecta casada” en el siglo XXI | Rebecca M. Bender, PhD
Pingback: Exploring Female Identities in Carmen de Burgos’ “La rampa” | Rebecca M. Bender, PhD
Pingback: Picasso on Maternity and Motherhood | Rebecca M. Bender, PhD
Pingback: The Red Virgin: Motherhood and Power Dynamics | Rebecca M. Bender, PhD
Pingback: Murderous Mothers and the Discourse of Infanticide | Rebecca M. Bender, PhD
Pingback: La Llorona: Incorporating Latino Studies into Hispanic Literature | Rebecca M. Bender, PhD
Pingback: Francisco de Goya: The Enigma of the Black Paintings | Rebecca M. Bender, PhD
Pingback: Picasso’s “Guernica” and Aleixandre’s “Oda”: The Spanish Civil War in Art and Poetry | Rebecca M. Bender, PhD
Pingback: Teaching Spanish America: From the Conquest to Contemporary Film | Rebecca M. Bender, PhD
Pingback: Walking Around Scarecrows and Scarefishes: Surrealist Angst in Maruja Mallo and Pablo Neruda | Rebecca M. Bender, PhD