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Curriculum Vitae
Christopher Kark
Department of Iberian and Latin American Cultures
Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages
450 Serra Mall, Building 260
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-2014
Phone: 520.668.5650
Email: [email protected]
Education
Ph.D. (2014), Stanford University – Iberian and Latin American Cultures (i.e., Spanish and Portuguese
Language and Literature)
M.A. (2009), Arizona State University – Spanish Literature and Culture
B.A. (2006), Arizona State University – Barrett Honors College, Summa Cum Laude with concurrent
degrees in Spanish and Political Science
Dissertation
Title: “Providence and Acceleration: Prophetic Modalities in Early Modern Iberian Literature”
Committee: Vincent Barletta (chair), Roland Greene, and Marília Librandi-Rocha.
My dissertation offers a new perspective on early modern Iberian literature by analyzing the
nexus between prophecy and empire. I trace the works of writers who viewed prophecy as a
teleological mode of reading destiny out of the past so as to fashion providentialist historical
accounts. This lectoral practice also works to slow time down in order to defend the status quo
with triumphalist “postdictions” or quicken its pace to rush a redemptive future into the present.
First reconstructing how letrados from the late fifteenth through the seventeenth century
appropriated varieties of prophecy from the Old Testament through the Late Middle Ages, I
examine prophetic discourses that inscribe empire in a prophetic narrative culminating in the
apocalypse: the paradox of imperial overreach in epic poems by Ercilla, Camões, Pereira de
Castro, and Sousa de Macedo; the Eucharistic structure of Habsburg Spain’s history in Calderón’s
autos de circunstancias; and the knitting together of Jewish messianism and Christian
eschatology in Vieira’s vision of an apocalyptic “Fifth Empire.”
Research and Teaching Agenda
Late sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spanish and Portuguese literature; transatlantic literature of
empire (specifically, in Mexico and Brazil); political eschatology and prophecy; the relation between
human and divine history, such as myths surrounding the translatio imperii; rhetoric and premodern
language ideologies; the intellectual rivalry between the Jesuits and the Dominicans.
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Teaching Experience
(Fall 2013). ILAC 157: “Survey of Medieval and Early Modern Iberian Literatures.” Department of
Iberian and Latin American Cultures, Stanford University.
I co-taught an undergraduate-level survey of early modern Iberian literature focusing on empire
and premodern globalization. The course explored conceptions of empire as represented in
dramatic and lyrical verse (i.e., Camões, Santa Teresa de Ávila, Calderón, Góngora, Quevedo,
Sor Juana, Sóror Violante do Céu) and in prose (e.g., Nebrija, Las Casas, Vieira).
(Spring 2012). SPANLANG 11C: Second-year Spanish (culture track). Language Center, Stanford
University.
I taught an advanced-level composition and conversation course that highlighted aspects of
academic writing, surveyed rhetorical strategies, and fostered discussion of current events and
cultural debates relevant to the Spanish-speaking world.
(Summer-Fall 2011). DLCL 189: “Undergraduate Honors Thesis Seminar.” Division of Languages,
Cultures, and Literatures, Stanford University.
I co-taught a course on advanced research methods by lecturing on the essentials of topic
identification, planning strategies, and rhetorical devices in writing, aiding students as their ideas
evolved from inklings into polished drafts of their honors theses.
(Fall 2010-Spring 2011). Spanish language first-year course sequence (i.e., SPANLANG 1, 2, and 3).
Language Center, Stanford University.
I taught the entirety of the first-year course sequence in Spanish over three quarters, which
required preparation of daily lesson plans and writing quizzes and exams.
(Fall 2008-Spring 2009). SPA 202: Second-year, second-semester Spanish. Department of Spanish
Language and Culture, Arizona State University.
I taught an intermediate-level Spanish-language course that called for writing lesson plans twice a
week and frequent use of digital media.
(Fall 2007-Spring 2008). SPA 102: First-year, second-semester Spanish. Department of Spanish
Language and Culture, Arizona State University.
I taught a novice-level Spanish-language course that incorporated communicative languagelearning methods targeting native English speakers mostly unfamiliar with Spanish.
(Spring 2005). POS 191 – freshman-year special seminar. Department of Political Science, Arizona State
University.
As a junior at ASU, I designed and independently taught a course on nationalism and terrorism in
Spain from the late eighteenth century to the present. Rooted in the divergent cases of the Basque
Country and Catalonia, I produced a syllabus to incite discussions about identity politics and the
origins and variations of terrorism. Through a series of newspaper articles, editorials, and
excerpts from academic volumes, students developed a nuanced vocabulary whereby they
reconceived of terrorism as a global phenomenon that long precedes 9/11.
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Publications
Articles in Peer-Reviewed Journals
(Accepted for publication in 2014). “Destiny as the Harbinger and Destroyer of the Golden Age in La
Araucana.” Revista canadiense de estudios hispánicos. Print.
(Forthcoming in 2014). “Portugal as Nostos Interrupted.” ellipsis 12. Print.
(2012). “Latent Selfhood and the Problem of Genre in Catalina de Erauso’s Historia de la Monja
Alférez.” Revista de estudios hispánicos 46.3: 527-46. Print.
(2012). “Espectáculos laborales: primacía de imágenes y cosificación en Mano de obra de Diamela Eltit.”
Nuevo texto crítico 47-48 (2011-2012): 225-39. Print.
(2009). “Recuerdos en el espejo: memoria, ideología y agencialidad en Los cuentos del final y Alfonso y
Clotilde de Carlos Manuel Varela.” Latin American Theatre Review 43.1: 61-80. Print.
(2007). “From Parlor to Politics: Catalan Romantic Nationalism as a Bourgeois Political
Instrument.” LL 2.2. Web.
Book Reviews
(2010). “Rev. of Escape from the Prison of Love.” Modern Language Notes 125.5: 1167-70. Print.
(2009). “Rev. of La escena bajo vigilancia: Teatro, dictadura y resistencia.” Chasqui 38.1: 195-7. Print.
Conferences and Presentations
(2014). “António Vieira and the Prophetic História of the Incomplete Fifth Empire.” Center for Medieval
and Early Modern Studies Workshop. May 1. Stanford, California.
(2014). “Daedalus, Bacchus, and the Baseless Foundation of Portuguese India.” Stanford Poetics
Workshop. March 4. Stanford, California.
(2013). “Destiny as the Harbinger and Destroyer of the Golden Age in Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga’s La
Araucana.” 111th Annual Conference of the Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association.
November 1. San Diego, California.
(2013). “Dicotomías del lenguaje en Los pasos perdidos de Alejo Carpentier.” Primer Coloquio Anual
Iberoamericano de Literatura, Política y Arte. March 23. San Francisco State University, San Francisco,
California.
(2011). “A Thwarted Ascent: Stimmung and Worldmaking in the Poetry of Luís Vaz de Camões.” 1º
Encontro Internacional de Jovens Pesquisadores da Cátedra de Cultura Portuguesa. October 21. The
University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
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(2011). “Latent Selfhood and the Problem of Identity in Catalina de Erauso’s Historia de la Monja
Alférez.” January 6. The Republic of Letters (Stanford Humanities Center Workshop), Stanford,
California.
(2010). “Espectáculos laborales: primacía de imágenes y cosificación en Mano de obra de Diamela Eltit.”
April 9-10. Performing Selves: Strategies and Limits. Fifth Graduate Student Colloquium, UC Berkeley
Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Berkeley, California.
(2008). “Recuerdos en el espejo: memoria, ideología y agencialidad en Los cuentos del final y Alfonso y
Clotilde de Carlos Manuel Varela.” August 5-9. XVII Congreso Internacional de Teatro Iberoamericano y
Argentino, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Fellowships, Grants, and Awards
(2012). Stanford University’s Graduate Research Opportunities (GRO) Fund. A grant of $3,780.00 to
conduct dissertation research at the Spanish National Library in Madrid in September and October 2012.
(2009-2014). Stanford University Fellowship. A five-year tuition waiver, stipend, and partial summer
funding used to complete a doctorate in Iberian and Latin American Cultures.
(2006). Moeur Award. Awarded to undergraduates from Arizona State University who graduate within
eight semesters with a 4.0+ GPA.
Leadership and Community Service
(2012-13). English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor at the Opportunity Center in Palo Alto.
(2011-12). Catholicism 101 leader and coordinator: a forum for discussion of topics relevant to the faith
for Catholic graduate students, alumni, and young adults associated with Stanford University.
(2010-11). Coordinator for the Stanford Humanities Center’s Medieval and Early Modern Studies
Workshop.
Editorial and Professional Experience
(2012-13). Shmoop. Content Manager and Consultant.
I designed, wrote, and managed content in English and Spanish for high school and college
students written in a humorous yet comprehensive fashion; particular focus on the AP Spanish
Language and AP Spanish Literature Examinations. Shmoop is a Silicon Valley education startup devoted to developing test preparation and course materials for high school and college
students written in a humorous yet comprehensive fashion.
(2007-09). Letras Femeninas. Arizona State University. Assistant to the Editor.
I edited and proofread articles submitted in Spanish, handled subscription data, collaborated with
the editor, authors, and subscribers, and copyedited volumes 34.1, 34.2, 35.1, and Margaret
Frohlich’s Framing the Margin: Nationality and Sexuality across Borders (2008).
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(2005). Arizona Mexico Commission, Office of the Governor. Staff intern.
I facilitated office operations, participated in and coordinated the Biannual Plenary Session in
Tucson, Arizona, researched policy issues, and translated materials from English into Spanish and
vice-versa.
(2003-04). Arizona State University State Press and WebDevil (campus news publications).
I wrote for the arts and culture beat, including feature stories and reviews.
Languages
English (native)
Spanish (superior-level proficiency)
Portuguese (advanced-high proficiency)
Catalan (intermediate-high proficiency)
Latin (intermediate reading level)
Professional Affiliations
American Portuguese Studies Association
Modern Language Association of America
References
Vincent Barletta
Associate Professor of Iberian and Latin American Cultures
Stanford University
650.497.0148
[email protected]
Roland Greene
Mark Pigott OBE Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences
Stanford University
650.725.1214
[email protected]
Lisa Surwillo
Associate Professor of Iberian and Latin American Cultures
Stanford University
650.723.2175
[email protected]
Marília Librandi-Rocha
Assistant Professor of Iberian and Latin American Cultures
Stanford University
650.725.9850
[email protected]