Class Acts - Karen Muñoz-Christian
Karen Muñoz-Christian / World Languages and Cultures Department
Specialty Area: Spanish (Caribbean/Latinx) / Years at Cal Poly: 15
What is/has been your favorite class to teach?
In spite of the sometimes onerous grading load, I always enjoy teaching Advanced Spanish Composition. The class focuses on the Caribbean and involves not only reading and writing activities but also a great deal of lively small-group and whole-class discussion. Topics range from time travel to official history to the nature of reality!
If you were stranded on a desert island and could bring one book, what would it be?
Either one of my husband’s novels (so that I would have him with me through his words) or One Hundred Years of Solitude (it’s such a rich, provocative novel that I never get tired of re-reading it). Ideally both!
How/why did you choose to work at Cal Poly?
I sometimes joke that I first started teaching at Cal Poly to get access to the pool, but in fact what attracted me was the university’s Learn by Doing philosophy. I’m an avid supporter of involving students in service learning, and Cal Poly seemed like a place that would encourage this.
What are your research/scholarly pursuits?
Cuban/Cuban-American/Latinx literature; Diaspora and immigration studies; Trauma, memory, and epigenetics.
What is your favorite class/student moment?
I love having my introduction to literature class read Afro-Cuban poetry aloud, in call-and-response form. The students really get into it! In any class, it’s awesome when my students are so actively engaged in a discussion that they don’t notice they’re speaking Spanish.
What is one thing you wish your students knew about you?
How deeply I care about their academic experience in my courses, but also how genuinely interested I am in their lives, their hopes and dreams.
What are your hobbies/extracurricular activities?
I love to travel! I’m happy to go just about anywhere, but especially to places where I can speak Spanish. I’m also passionate about music: listening to old favorites, discovering new music, singing, playing the piano. Reading is a great source of pleasure, and so is exercise (my “magic pill”).
Do you have a favorite getaway location?
Northern New Mexico and the Russian River (California).
What is a fact about you that few know?
As an undergraduate in Wichita, Kansas, I was a member of my university rowing team (yes, there are rivers in Kansas). We even competed in the huge Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia and managed not to sink!
What is/are your guilty pleasure(s)?
Chocolate in virtually any form; Latin American and Spanish pop music; and thought-provoking sci-fi programs and movies.
Are there any scholars or individuals who have inspired you?
Two of my grad school professors have been my greatest source of inspiration as a teacher. They are my role models for offering students challenging yet relatable learning experiences. My research has been inspired by the work and support of Eliana Rivero, a prolific and distinguished scholar of Cuban-American cultural studies.
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