Angelique Dwyer

"Soy del sur y del norte, crecí zurda y norteada". / "I'm from the south and the north, I grew up lefthanded and disoriented."                          (Comiendo lumbre / Eating Fire, Gina Valdés)

I joined the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures at Gustavus Adolphus College in 2010. I teach Spanish language, Latin American culture and film, Latin American and U.S. Latino literature in Spanish. I am a specialist in Mexico / U.S. Intercultural Studies. I am particularly interested in Latinx/Latin American pop culture through the lens of Perfomance Theory. I recently completed a creative non-fiction project written in Spanglish, entitled "Gringos mexicanos," which broadens the dialogue on Mexican American identity. In 2019 I received a grant to create a podcast featuring this project.  

I am a community engaged scholar, deeply committed to co-learning and co-creating in and outside of the classroom. In 2016 I was honored to receive the President's Civic Engagement Award through the Minnesota Campus Compact for advancing the culture and practice of engagement on campus. As a Faculty Engaged Fellow in 2011 I developed a community-based learning model with members of the Latinx community of St. Peter and the Gustavus Spanish program called Language Buddies, concerned with fostering transcultural competence in St. Peter. Language Buddies is housed in the Community Engagement Center and works regularly with several community partners: 

• St. Peter Public Schools
• EFCE Preschool
• Area Adult Learning Cooperative
• Cambria (ELL classes)
• St. Peter Free Clinic

I frequently teach a J-Term called:  "Building Communities," a course that values fostering inclusive communities. The course has partnered with  the St. Peter / Petatlán Sister City Committee , has hosted students from Petatlán, Mexico and collectively worked on project-based service learning. I also co-teach a course off-campus in the St. Peter community, entitled "Spanish for Community Conversation" which seeks to empower citizens to engage in dialogue with Hispanic community members. Many of the students in this course are preschool / K-12 teachers, counselors, principals and seniors.

The Day of the Dead is one of my favorite events of the year. The Spanish Section works with OLAS and the Chaplains Office to put together a wonderfully moving event, open to the community. Click here to see photos of the annual event. 

I enjoy working with students on their creative endeavors (literary, cinematic, performative). I created and advised the Spanish student online journal "El Tintero"/The Inkwell.

I have served the campus as an advocate for diversity being a former member of two important faculty committees: the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, (DEIC) and The President's Council of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (PCDEI).

Those who know me can attest to the fact that I LOVE to dance: salsa, bachata, bomba, Middle-Eastern, merengue, folklórico, you name it.

PUBLICATIONS

Creative Work:

• Dwyer, KA. Gringos Mexicanos Podcast. Fall 2019.
• Dwyer, KA. “Gringos Mexicanos.” PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies. Paul Allatson (Ed). UTS ePress. Volume 16. Nº 1/2 2019.
• Dwyer, KA. “Doce horas: A Family Border Tale.” PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies. Paul Allatson (Ed). UTS ePress. Volume 16. Nº 1/2 2019.
• Dwyer, KA. "La manda." PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies. Paul Allatson (Ed). UTS ePress. Volume 16. Nº 1/2 2019.
• Dwyer, K.A. "Simón." PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies. Paul Allatson (Ed). UTS ePress. Volume 16. Nº 1/2 2019.
• Dwyer, KA. “My Brother the Mexican.” PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies. Paul Allatson (Ed). UTS ePress. Volume 14. Nº 1 2017.

Book Chapters:

• Dwyer, KA. “De broma en broma la verdad se asoma: Lotería y dicotomía cultural en ‘Sístole, diastole’ de Carlos Cuarón. Literatura a través de las culturas. Williams, Raymond L. & Ponce de León, Gina (Eds.) Diente de león: Bogotá, Colombia. 2017.
• Dwyer, KA. “Performing Nation Diva Style: La Tequilera.” Race and Cultural Practice in Popular Culture. González, Rachel & Pérez, Domino (Eds.) Rutgers: New Jersey. 2018.
• Dwyer, KA. “Performing Chicanas in Cyberspace: www.almalopez.com” Expanding Latinidad: An Inter-American Perspective. Ed. Luz Angélica Kirschner. Bilingual Review Press, Arizona, 2011.

Interviews:

• Adams, A; Dwyer, KA; Sánchez-González, D. “Del exilio no se vuelve: Entrevista al cineasta, guionista y escritor mexicano-argentino Sergio Schmucler.”Confluencia. University of Northern Colorado. Volume 34 Nº 1 (Fall 2018). 
• Adams, A; Dwyer, KA. “Cine nacional comprometido con la juventud nicaragüense:  entrevista con la directora Florence Jaugey.” Confluencia. University of Northern Colorado. Volume 30 Nº 1 (Fall 2014). 

Articles:

• Sigler, TJ; Amen, KA; Dwyer, KA. “The Heterogeneous Isthmus: Unpacking Socioeconomic and Cultural Differentiation in Panama.” Bulletin of Latin American Research, Volume 34. Issue 2. April 2015.

Pedagogical Materials:

•  Dwyer, KA. Online Student Activities Manual, Identidades 3rd Edition. Intermediate Spanish Textbook. Pearson, 2011.
• Alessi, S., & Dwyer, A. “Vocabulary Assistance Before and During Reading.” Reading in a Foreign Language, 20.2 (2008): 246-263.

Courses Taught