The College of Humanities is pleased to welcome new faculty for the upcoming academic year.
“These are outstanding scholars who represent the breadth and diversity of Humanities scholarship and teaching,” said Dorrance Dean Alain-Philippe Durand. “Their expertise in languages and cultures around the world will further our mission of graduating students equipped with the skills they need to succeed on the global job market.”
DeAnna Daniels, Assistant Professor
Department of Africana Studies/Department of Religious Studies and Classics
DeAnna Monique Daniels is a doctoral candidate in the African American Religion concentration at Rice University. DeAnna earned her B.A. in Religious Studies from Alma College in Alma, Michigan. In 2013, she earned a Master of Divinity and, in 2014, a Master of Theology from Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. In 2015, she earned a Master of Arts in American Studies with a graduate certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. While studying at Lehigh University, she received a Strohl Grant and Award for Research Excellence in Humanities and Social Sciences. In 2020, she earned a Master of Arts in Religion from Rice University. DeAnna is the 2022-23 Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE) Doctoral Fellow. She also received the 2022 Honorary Dissertation Fellowship from the Louisville Institute. DeAnna’s current research interests include Black religion, the intersections of gender, sexuality, Black speculative fiction and horror, popular and visual culture, and art. She is also interested in critical theory, disability theory, Black studies, and cultural studies.
Dulce Estevez, Associate Professor of Practice
Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Dr. Dulce Estévez's holds a Ph.D. in Spanish from Arizona State University. Her areas of specialization are Latin American culture and transcultural communication with a sub-specialization in Latin American theater. Her dissertation was an interdisciplinary study of the Mexican Revolution that focused on the dehumanizing effects of war depicted in the novels of Nellie Campobello. She completed a graduate certificate in translation in 2000 and has been a freelance court interpreter and translator. She also holds a second graduate certificate in Institutional Research and Policy Analysis.
Since receiving her Ph.D., she taught at the School of International Letters and Cultures at Arizona State University. She served as a Teaching Professor, Spanish Coordinator, Course Designer, and Honors Faculty Advisor. She has directed study abroad programs in Guatemala, Cuba, and Spain. Her recent research and teaching centers on Medical Humanities and the intersection of science, justice, and culture in Latino communities in the Americas. In her free time, she serves on the board of the non-profit Central American organization Vida and as a volunteer for The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights.
Thomas Fuhr, Lecturer
Department of German Studies
Thomas Fuhr is the interim Director of the Language Program and Lecturer in the Department of German Studies. He completed his PhD in Transcultural German Studies at the University of Arizona in the Summer of 2023. Thomas’s dissertation critically examined ways in which contemporary German “village novels” negotiate notions of home and local belonging by expressing a yearning for community, continuity, and identity amid the global challenges of migration and climate change. His research interests include German literature and culture, environmental humanities, translation, and the role of literature in political discourses. Before coming to Arizona, he obtained a Masters in ethnology, Spanish philology, and pedagogy in Mainz, Germany. During his time as a doctoral student at the University of Arizona, Thomas instructed German language and culture courses and served as Assistant Language Program Director. He is part of the 2017-2018 University Fellows Program cohort and has received a Russell J. and Dorothy S. Bilinski Fellowship for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Charles Geyer, Assistant Professor
Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Charlie Geyer received his Ph.D. in Spanish and Portuguese from Vanderbilt University. He specializes in the comparative study of Latin American and Latinx literatures and cultures, with a focus on the intersections of politics and aesthetics in a hemispheric context, including the US/ Mexico Borderlands and diasporic Latinx communities in the US. In his current book project, tentatively titled Disturbing Beauty: Border Crossing in Latin American and Latinx Imaginaries, he uses methodology from geography, sociology, psychoanalysis, and gender/queer theory to study the manner in which dominant groups in Latin America and the Latinx United States seek to secure their borders, physically and metaphorically, against incursion by marginalized groups. Subsequently, he examines the work of authors and artists from across the Americas that find beauty in stigmatized bodies and spaces, locating in these works a subversive aesthetics that disturbs both social and aesthetic borders, and imagines political alternatives to oppressive bordering practices. His publications can be found in Chasqui: Revista de Literatura Latinoamericana, The Comparatist, and CENTRO: Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, and he has a forthcoming article in the Revista de Estudios Hispánicos.
Prior to joining the University of Arizona, Charlie taught at Ball State University and Vanderbilt University, offering language courses in both Spanish and Portuguese, as well as a variety of courses in Latin American and Latinx literature and cultural studies.
Jasmine Linabary, Assistant Professor
Department of Public and Applied Humanities
Jasmine R. Linabary is a researcher, educator, and consultant whose work explores how we design more equitable and inclusive spaces for participation. She holds a PhD in Communication from Purdue University. Her research interests fall at the intersections of organizational communication, new media studies, and feminist theory. As an engaged scholar and teacher, Dr. Linabary is committed to working with communities and organizations. Prior to joining the University of Arizona, Dr. Linabary was an assistant professor of communication at Emporia State University (ESU) in Kansas and the co-founder and director of the EAT Initiative, a collaborative and interdisciplinary effort to combat food insecurity on ESU’s campus and in the Emporia community. She is the former associate director of research and operations for the Purdue Peace Project (PPP), a locally led peacebuilding initiative with projects in West Africa and Central America. She also serves as a research and evaluation consultant for nonprofit and other social change organizations.
Bhakti Mamtora, Assistant Professor
Department of Religious Studies and Classics
Bhakti Mamtora is a scholar of Hinduism and South Asian Religions. She is joining the Department of Religious Studies and Classics at the University of Arizona in Fall 2023. Before coming to the University of Arizona, Mamtora taught at The College of Wooster. She holds a Ph.D. in Religion from the University of Florida, and a Masters in South Asian Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
Her research interests include book history, community formation, digital religion, and migration. Her current book project employs archival, textual, and ethnographic methods to examine the genesis and reception of the Swāmīnī Vāto in the Swaminarayan Sampraday during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. She has published journal articles in Fieldwork in Religion, Postscripts: The Journal of Sacred Texts, Cultural Histories, and Contemporary Contexts, and The Journal of Vaishnava Studies, and entries in Hinduism in Five Minutes and Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Her research and teaching have been supported by the Asian Pacific American Religion Research Initiative (APARRI) and the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning.
Sandra Park, Assistant Professor
Department of East Asian Studies
Sandra H. Park is a historian of modern Korea, religion and the global Cold War, and the US empire. Her current book project explores the making of good Christian citizens in South Korea at the height of American power. Drawing on extensive archival research across government, military, and missionary archives, her project examines what it means to be a good citizen and how religion shapes the conditions for inclusion and exclusion, especially during the formation of nation-states and empires. Park’s research looks beyond conventionally sacred sites to locate religious experiences in wartime migrant passages during the Korean War. Her previous research on religion in revolutionary North Korea appeared in the Journal of Korean Studies, and she has also contributed essays to the online supplement to American Religion and the digital publications of the Association for Asian Studies and Immigration and Ethnic History Society.
Park received a PhD in History from the University of Chicago, and her dissertation research was supported by the Korea Foundation Fellowship for Graduate Studies. She also holds an MA and BA with honors from the University of Chicago’s Department of History. The first in her family to hold a high school diploma, Park received the 2008 QuestBridge National Match Scholarship and is committed to mentoring first-gen students. Before joining the University of Arizona, Park was a Postdoctoral Fellow at George Washington University’s Institute for Korean Studies.
Maurizio Scontrino, Lecturer
Department of French and Italian
Dr. Maurizio Scontrino received his Ph.D. at the University of Toronto in 2020, with a specialization in Italian cinema. His dissertation, titled, “Identificare il disagio: crisi esistenziale, affettività e binarismo di genere nel cinema italiano LGBTQ+ del XXI secolo” focused on gender theory and the perception and portrayal of masculinity as it relates to Italian film.
Prior to completing his Ph.D., Dr. Scontrino received a Master’s degree in Italian Literature and Cultures from the University of Connecticut. Over the years, he has taught Italian language at several institutions, including The College of Saint Rose, Fairfield University, the University of Hartford, and most recently, The University of Mississippi, where he taught as Visiting Assistant Professor.
A native of Sicily, Dr. Scontrino enjoys travel and cooking, often incorporating elements of cucina italiana into the classroom.
Colin Shelton, Assistant Professor of Practice
Department of Religious Studies and Classics
Colin Shelton teaches Classics with a special focus on intellectual history, and the reception of ancient ideas in early modern contexts. He takes a special interest in teaching these topics in Study Abroad contexts. He has also engaged extensively with the scholarship of language pedagogy and mentored new teachers in their first teaching assignments. He earned his PhD in 2011 from the University of Washington, and taught at several universities before coming to Arizona, including UCLA, and the University of Chicago.
Daiki Suematsu, Instructor
Department of East Asian Studies
Daiki Suematsu holds a master's degree in Applied Linguistics from Texas Tech University. Additionally, he pursued a minor degree in business to further his understanding of international business practices. With a diverse background, including experience in the Japanese business scene, working at the international office of a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), and organizing cultural events such as the Mississippi Japan Festival 2021, Daiki has gained valuable insights that shape his teaching philosophy. He has also taught and introduced Japanese language and culture at various institutions, including public schools, colleges, and a city office. This diverse educational and professional background has equipped him with a unique skill set that combines linguistic expertise, cultural proficiency, and business acumen. His current research interests include multiliteracies pedagogies, L2 reading, and sociocultural methods. Apart from his academic and professional pursuits, Daiki finds great joy in dancing and music, and he also incorporates his dance skills into his teaching methods. Driven by his lifelong goal of fostering relationships between Japan and other countries, Daiki is passionate about contributing to the development of students' communicative competence within the University of Arizona.
Nadia Whiteman-Charles, Assistant Professor
Department of Africana Studies
Dr. Whiteman-Charles taught Caribbean and Media Studies in the department of Literary, Cultural and Communication Studies at The University of the West Indies (UWI) for nine years. She has worked as a Research and Brand Insights Specialist in Jamaica for three years employing interdisciplinary research techniques to collate consumer preferences and guide innovative brand campaigns. Dr. Whiteman-Charles completed a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies with a focus in Black Nationalism and Jamaican music scenes at UWI. She also earned an M.Sc. in Cyberpsychology with an emphasis on online research methods at Nottingham Trent University. Her research interests include Caribbean consumerism, music scenes, Black Nationalism and the politics of difference.