Dr. Dianne Zandstra
Emerita
Biography
Prof. Zandstra grew up in the United States, the Netherlands, and Argentina, which allowed her to learn Dutch, French, and Spanish. She lived in Argentina for six years as an adult as well. She had the privilege of launching the semester studies program in Peru and directed that program during fall 2011, 2012, and 2015.
Education
- BA (Secondary Education, French and Spanish) Calvin College
- MA (Spanish) Michigan State University
- PhD (Spanish Language and Literature) Michigan State University
Research
Professor Zandstra's academic interests are Latin American literature; the writings of Griselda Gambaro; the grotesque; and alterity and identity in cross-cultural interactions. She is currently assisting in the editing of a new Spanish/English bilingual interdenominational hymnal and is translating a book on inclusive worship.
Representative presentations include the following:
- “Self and Other in Vargas Llosa’s The Storyteller.” North American Christian Foreign Language Association (NACFLA), Wheaton College, March 22, 2014.
- “Alterity and Identity in Deep Rivers and After the Feast Day.” NACFLA, Westmont College, March 23, 2012.
- “Promesas y desvaríos y la evolución del protagonista grotesco [Griselda Gambaro’s Promises and Ravings and the Evolution of the Grotesque Protagonist].” Michigan Academy, Western Michigan University, March 7, 2008.
- “Poetry and Prejudice in Buenos Aires: Gambaro’s Después del día de fiesta and Caetano’s Bolivia.” NACFLA, Asbury College, March 30, 2007.
- “Grace and the Grotesque in Flannery O’Connor and Griselda Gambaro.” Pruit Memorial Symposium and Lilly Fellows Program National Research Conference, Baylor University, November 11, 2006.
- “Mujer y memoria en Pedro Páramo [Women and Memory in Juan Rulfo’s Pedro Páramo]. Michigan Academy, Oakland University, March 3, 2006.
- “Strategies of Religious Identification in the Inca Garcilaso and in Guaman Poma de Ayala.” NACFLA, Trinity Christian College, April 2, 2005.
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