Alejandra
Balestra
abalestr@unm.edu
Ph.D.
Spanish Linguistics, University of Houston, 2002
Dissertation: “Del
futuro morfológico al perifrástico: morfosintáctico
en el español de California, 1800-1930”; Director: Dr. Manuel J. Gutiérrez.
M.A.,
Spanish, University of Houston 1999
B.A.
Spanish, Major in Modern and Classical Languages, Facultad
de Filosofía y Letras,
Universidad de Buenos Aires, 1991
Assistant
Professor, University of New Mexico, Spanish and Portuguese Department, Fall 2003-present.
Visiting
Assistant Professor, University of Houston, Department of Modern and Classical
Languages, Fall 2002-Summer 2003.
Teacher Assistant, University of Houston,
Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Fall 2001.
Assistant Professor, University of Buenos Aires, Colegio Nacional de
Buenos Aires, 1991-1995.
Teaching Assistant, University of Buenos Aires, Facultad de
Filosofía y Letras, Cátedra de Historia de la Lengua, 1989-1995.
Professor of Spanish Language and Literature. Escuela Nacional
de Educación Media 8, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. 1987-1989.
Professor of Spanish Language and Literature. Escuela Nacional
de Educación Media 12, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. 1988-1989.
Historical
Sociolinguistics, Spring 2006.
Rio
de la Plata Spanish: History and Evolution, Summer
2005, 2006 (At Universidad de Palermo, Argentina)
Spanish
Phonology, Spring 2005.
Sociolinguistics
and Gender, Spring 2004.
Recent
Research on the Teaching of Spanish, Fall 2003, Fall
2004, Fall 2005, Fall 2006.
Introduction
to Spanish Linguistics, Summer Program in Salamanca, Summer
2003.
Intermediate
Spanish, Spring 2003.
Introduction
to Spanish Linguistics, Spring 2003.
Spanish
Composition for Hispanic Heritage Learners, Fall 2002.
Written
Communication in Spanish, Fall 2002.
Teaching
Spanish for Acquisition, Fall 2002.
Spanish
Phonetics and Phonology, Spring 2002.
Elementary
Spanish, Fall 2001.
Spanish Language and Literature, Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires,
Universidad de Buenos Aires, April 1992 - December 1995.
Spanish Language History, Universidad de
Buenos Aires, Facultad de Filosofía
y Letras, December 1991 - June 1993.
Introduction to Linguistics, Universidad
de Buenos Aires, Departamento de Letras, 1991.
Informática para
Humanidades, with Prof. Guillermo Ogilvie,
2 de Setiembre - 4 de Noviembre, 1991.
“La lengua y la
literatura como fuentes para el estudio de la historia regional y de frontera”.
Researchers: Celia
López-Chávez and Alejandra Balestra,.
Programa Raí@ces. Universidad de San Juan, Argentina,
July 2004-present.
En otra voz: antología de literatura
hispana de los Estados Unidos. General Editor Nicolás Kanellos,
Co-editores Kenya Dworkin y
Méndez, Agnes Lugo-Ortiz, Erlinda
González-Berry and Charles Tatum. Coordinator:
Alejandra Balestra. Houston: Arte Público Press,
2002.
Herencia: The Anthology of Hispanic Literature of
the United States. General
Editor Nicolás Kanellos, Co-editores
Kenya Dworkin y Méndez, Agnes
Lugo-Ortiz, Erlinda González-Berry
and Charles Tatum. Coordinator Alejandra Balestra. New York: Oxford University Press,
2001.
Libro de la Anothomia
del Hombre del Doctor Bernardino M. de Monserrate. Eds. Alejandra Balestra
and Patricia Gubitosi. Madison: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval
Studies. 16th. Century Spanish Medical Texts Series No.
2, 1995.
Balestra, M. Alejandra, M. Teresa Corbella, Marcela Groppo y Mabel Morano. Guías de estudio de castellano. Buenos
Aires: Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires, Universidad de Buenos Aires, 1995.
Balestra,
Alejandra. Women writers: Linguistic and discourse features of letters written
by women in New Mexico and California, XIX Century. Hispanic
Issues Series. Special Issue “Language and
Empire. Spanish in a Multilingual and
Multicultural Contexts.” (Forthcoming)
Balestra, Alejandra. “El tiempo futuro en
el español de California (1800-1930): incidencia del género y del estilo en un
cambio lingüístico en marcha” Spanish in Context. (Forthcoming).
Balestra,
Alejandra. Jesús Colón, Encyclopedia
of Latinos and Latinas in the United States, Edited by Suzanne Oboler, Associate Professor of Latino Studies, University
of Illinois, Chicago and Deena J. González,
Loyola Marymount University, Oxford University Press, Vol. 1, 369-371, 2005.
Balestra,
Alejandra. Luis Valdéz, Encyclopedia of Latinos
and Latinas in the United States, Edited by Suzanne Oboler,
Associate Professor of Latino Studies, University of Illinois, Chicago and Deena J. González, Loyola Marymount University,
Oxford University Press, Vol. 4, 286-288, 2005.
Balestra,
Alejandra. New Mexico Acequia Association, Encyclopedia
of Latinos and Latinas in the United States, Edited by Suzanne Oboler, Associate Professor of Latino Studies, University
of Illinois, Chicago and Deena J. González,
Loyola Marymount University, Oxford University Press, Vol. 3 264-265,
2005.
“Alberto O´Farrill
y Jesús Colón: Dos cronistas en Nueva York.” Recovering the U.S.
Hispanic Literary Heritage.
Volume IV. Houston:
Arte Público Press, 2002, 133-144.
“Header of Luisa
Valenzuela.” En otra voz: antología de literatura hispana de los Estados
Unidos. General Editor Nicolás Kanellos, Co-editores Kenya Dworkin y
Méndez, Agnes Lugo-Ortiz, Erlinda
González-Berry, Charles Tatum.
Coordinator Alejandra Balestra. Houston: Arte Público
Press, 2002.
“Headers of
Alberto O’Farrill, Luisa Valenzuela y Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo.” En otra
voz: antología de literatura hispana de los Estados Unidos. General Editor
Nicolás Kanellos, Co-editores
Kenya Dworkin y Méndez, Agnes
Lugo-Ortiz, Erlinda González-Berry,
Charles Tatum. Coordinator Alejandra Balestra. Houston: Arte Público
Press, 2002.
“Header of Alberto O’Farrill.” Herencia:
The Anthology of Hispanic Literature of the United States. General Editor Nicolás Kanellos,
Co-editores Kenya Dworkin y
Méndez, Agnes Lugo-Ortiz, Erlinda
González-Berry, Charles Tatum.
Coord. Alejandra Balestra. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
“’Cambio de armas’ de Luisa Valenzuela:
una guerra desde el punto de vista femenino.” The Politics of Written Word in the
Americas. Conference proceedings. Waco: Baylor University, 1999, 1-8.
“Vocabulario basado en Textos Médicos
del los Siglos XIII al XVI. (Enfermedades)”. Medicina y Sociedad: curar y
sanar en la España de los siglos XIII al XVI. Buenos Aires: Instituto de
Historia de España “Claudio Sánchez Albornoz”, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras,
Universidad de Buenos Aires, 1996, 265-271.
“Las glosas en Historia de las Indias”.
Actas del III Congreso Argentino de Hispanistas. Buenos Aires:
Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Instituto de
Filología y Literaturas Hispánicas “Dr. Amado Alonso”, 1992, 284-92.
Balestra, Alejandra. (Trans.) The Last Doll/La última muñeca.
Houston: Arte Público Press, 2001.
Balestra, Alejandra (Trans.) Pepita takes
time/Pepita siempre tarde. Houston:
Arte Público Press, 2000.
Educational Video
Vistas culturales: Argentina. Video, Script and Activities for first year Spanish
as a Second Language Courses. Prentice Hall.
(Forthcoming)
Textbook Reviews
McGraw
Hill, Conozcámonos, October 2004.
McGraw
Hill, Higher Education, Rumbos, July 2004
McGraw
Hill, Entrevistas, April 2004.
Houghton
Mifflin, ¿Cómo se dice?, May 2004.
Journal Assessor Member
Revista
Digital Discurso, www.discurso.org
“Presencia de la lengua inglesa en la
correspondencia de María Amparo Ruiz de Burton y en
la correspondencia de la familia Amador, de Nuevo México: ¿confrontación de la
lengua del imperio o fenómeno
característico del contacto lingüístico? Recovering the
U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Conference, October 11-14, 2006,
St. Louis, MO.
“¿Tú o usted?
Evolución de las fórmulas de tratamiento de segunda persona en el español de
California y Nuevo México: 1800-1910.” Spanish
in Society Conference.,
April 7-9, 2006, Glasgow, Scotland.
“Revisión histórica del español de California y del Nuevo México
(1800-1930)” ALFAL, October 19-21, 2005, Monterrey,
México.
“Evolución de
las fórmulas de tratamiento en el español de California y Nuevo México:
1800-1910.” 20th Conference on Spanish in the United States and 5th International
Conference on Spanish in Contact.
March 24-26, 2005, Chicago.
“The Lost Voices of Our Hispanic Heritage: Recovering the United States
Hispanic Literary Heritage.” Session Moderator. Modern Language Association Conference, New Orleans, December 27-30, 2001.
“La expresión del tiempo futuro entre
los californios del siglo XIX: Estudio de sociolingüística histórica.” 51st Mountain Interstate Foreign Language
Conference, University
of North Carolina at Wilmington, October 11-13, 2001.
“Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary
Heritage: An Overview.”
Annual Meeting of American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese
(AATSP), San Francisco, July 5-9, 2001.
“La expresión del tiempo futuro entre
los californios”. Sixth
Conference of Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage, University of Houston, December 1-2,
2000.
“La
mujer héroe en Shadow of a
Man de Cherríe Moraga.”Latin American Theatre
Today. IV Congreso de
Teatro Latinoamericano, University of Kansas, 29 March – April 1, 2000.
“La heroína en dos obras escritas por
mujeres hispanas en Estados Unidos.” Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio
Social (MALCS), Summer Institute
1999, University of Minnesota, August 12-14, 1999.
“’Cambio de armas’ de Luisa Valenzuela:
una guerra desde el punto de vista femenino.” The Politics of Written Word in the
Americas. Waco: Baylor University, April 8-9,
1999.
“Alberto O’Farrill y Jesús Colón: dos
cronistas en Nueva York.” Fifth Conference of Recovering the U.S.
Hispanic Literary Heritage,
University of Houston, December 4-5, 1998.
“El léxico en la Historia de las
Indias: americanismos, glosas y terminología técnica”. III Jornadas Interescuelas/Departamentos de Historia. Facultad de
Filosofía y Letras, U.B.A. Buenos Aires. Argentina,
1991.
“Tipología y función de las glosas en
Historia de las Indias”. Conferencia Internacional Medio Milenio del Español
en América. Universidad de La Habana, Facultad de Artes y Letras,
Departamento de Lingüística y Letras Clásicas, La Habana, Cuba, 1991.
“Observaciones sobre el uso del
Imperfecto y Pluscuamperfecto del Subjuntivo”. Primeras Jornadas de Lingüística
Regional, Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero, Argentina, 1990.
Organization and
moderation
Moderator, “8th
Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Conference “The Critical
Importance of Region” and “The 13th Annual Conference
on Ibero-American Culture & Society”,
November 5-6, 2005, University of New Mexico, Department of Spanish and
Portuguese, Albuquerque, NM.
Organizer Committee
Member, “8th Recovering the
US Hispanic Literary Heritage Conference “The Critical Importance of Region”
and “The 13th Annual Conference
on Ibero-American Culture & Society”,
November 5-6, 2005, University of New Mexico, Department of Spanish and
Portuguese, Albuquerque, NM.
Chair
of the session: “Spanish Language Newspapers, Cuba and the Spanish American War
of 1898.” Fifth Conference of Recovering the U.S. Hispanic
Literary Heritage. December 4-5, 1998.
Leader,
“Budget preparation to study abroad”. Workshop for UNM faculty. Sponsored by International Studies, LAII, and the Study Abroad
Advisory Committee, April 1, 2005. University of New
Mexico.
Coordinator
of Spanish as a Second Language, Spanish and Portuguese Department, University
of New Mexico, Fall 2003
Director of Basic Spanish. Department of Modern and Classical
Languages, University of Houston, Fall 2002 - Spring
2003
Coordinator of Spanish Teachers, Colegio
Nacional de Buenos Aires, Universidad de Buenos Aires. Argentina, March 1994 - December 1995
Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary
Heritage. University of Houston, October 1997 -2003.
Compilation of the Dictionary of Medical texts of 16th.
Century, Facultad de
Filosofía y Letras, Instituto de Historia de España, Universidad de Buenos
Aires. Argentina, May 1993 -
April 1996.
Thesis committee
Valico Romualdo Jr. Interferências do espanhol
e do inglês na
aprendizagem do português.
Thesis. Master of Arts. Portuguese. University of New Mexico, July 2005.
Special Training and Workshops
Oral Proficiency Interview training, ACTFL, Plano, TX, April 6-7, 2005.
Integrating Technology into your Intro Spanish Course,
Online course, November 15, 2004
AVE Aula Virtual de Español, Instituto Cervantes de Albuquerque,
Fall 2004.
WebCT – computer based classes planning,
University of Houston, 2002.
PowerPoint
– presentations in class, conferences, University of Houston, 2001
Publisher
– online syllabus presentation, University of Houston, 2001
“Using Technology in the Spanish
Classroom.” AATSP,
2001
“Using a Systems Manager for
Program Direction and Instruction.” AATSP, 2001
Web-Wise. A Conference on
Libraries and Museums in the Digital World. Washington D.C..March 15-17, 2000
“To Film or To Scan Workshop.” Northeast
Document Conservation Center. Austin, Texas. October 26 – 28, 1999
“School
for Scanning: Issues of Preservation and Access for Paper-Based Collection.” Northeast Document Conservation Center. New Orleans,
December 7-9, 1998
“Computer-Based Technology for
Compilation of Dictionaries and Reference Works.” Facultad de Filología, Universidad de
Salamanca, Spain. October-November, 1995
“Elaboración de un diccionario
histórico basado en textos científicos; base de datos, informática y
metodología lingüística”, Prof. Ma. Nieves Sánchez
González de Herrero (University of Salamanca), University of Buenos Aires,
Argentina, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Secretaría de Investigación y Posgrado, 1994
“Paleografía Hispanoamericana. (Siglos
XVI y XVII)”, Instituto de Investigaciones de Historia del Derecho, June 3 to August
19, 1991
Grants
University
of New Mexico, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Travel fund, August 2004.
University
of New Mexico, Latin American and Iberian Institute, Travel fund, August 2004.
University
of New Mexico, Latin American and Iberian Institute, Travel fund, April 2004.
University
of New Mexico, New Faculty Research Grant, 2003-2006.
Scholarships and honor society
Member
of Sigma Delta Pi – Spanish Honor Society, University of Houston chapter.
Member
of Phi Kappa Phi - Honor Society, University of Houston chapter.
University
of Houston Staff Scholarship, Summer 2001
Halpern-Kanellos Scholarship, Spring
2001
Halpern-Kanellos Scholarship, Spring
2000
Good
Neighbor Scholarship, Summer 1998 - Spring 1999
Producción Científica y Tecnológica de
la Universidad de Buenos Aires, 1994
Producción Científica y Tecnológica de
la Universidad de Buenos Aires, 1993
Languages
Spanish
(Native speaker)
English
Reading
French, Italian, Portuguese
MLA
(Modern Language Association)
AATSP
(American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese)
LASSO
(Linguistic Association of the Southwest)
ALFAL (Asociación de Lingüística y
Filología de América Latina)
ALA
(American Association of Linguistics)