Alumni Profiles Series: Mina García

Mina García is a professor of Spanish in the Department of World Languages and Culture at Elon University. She holds two Ph.D. degrees, one in Spanish Language and Literature from the Universidad de Málaga, Spain and a second one in Romance Studies from Duke University. Her research focuses on the role of the “Other” in early modern Spanish transatlantic studies and is particularly concerned with themes related to social justice, injustice, and inequality. She is the author of numerous publications, including Magia, hechicería y brujería: Entre La Celestina y Cervantes (2010, Editorial Renacimiento), Idolatry and the Construction of the Spanish Empire (2018, University of Colorado Press), Social Justice in Spanish Golden Age Theater (2021, University of Toronto Press), and The Religious Body Imagined (2024, Equinox Publishing). Her forthcoming fifth book, co-authored with Melissa Figueroa, is tentatively titled A Fork in the Road: Reclaim Your Career Inside and Outside of Academia. Most recently, she has begun working on a new monograph project analyzing the character of the Morisco across 71 of Lope de Vega’s plays.

How did you make your way to Duke?

I am originally from Málaga, Spain and earned a bachelor’s degree in English Philology from the Universidad de Málaga. After graduating, I continued as a student at the Universidad de Málaga, where I pursued doctoral studies in Spanish Philology. One day I passed a flyer in the hallway advertising a nine-month Spanish teaching position in Duke’s Spanish Language Program, and I applied on a whim. A few months later, I was offered the position. I moved to Durham, became the resident advisor for a then-designated Spanish language hall, and eventually started auditing some classes in my free time.

During this year, I connected with Margaret Greer, a new professor in the Romance Studies department, and took a particular interest in her work and research interests. My original nine-month stay in Durham was extended when I was promoted to be a coordinator for the Spanish Language Program, and Dr. Greer encouraged me to pursue a Ph.D. at Duke with her as my advisor. I completed my first Ph.D. from the Universidad de Málaga at the same time I completed my preliminary exams at Duke.

Did you always hope to become a professor?

Once I decided to complete a Ph.D. at Duke, I knew I wanted to become a university professor!

Were there any experiences or opportunities at Duke that helped prepare you for your eventual role as a professor?

My experience teaching in the Spanish Language Program helped prepare me for my future career in the classroom. I learned how to teach effectively and manage a busy teaching schedule alongside other responsibilities, and I saw the advantage of teamwork and collaboration firsthand. Other instructors and I wrote exams and lesson plans together, observed each other’s classes, and learned from each other. Thanks to this, I was able to start my career at such an advantage. Once I became a professor, my confidence in teaching freed up a lot of space for engaging with other non-teaching aspects of university life like service committees and my own scholarship.

Beyond this, Duke also pushed me to find opportunities where there were none, especially in terms of funding. Still today I’m self-motivated to look for funding for research for publications, conferences, and other opportunities that might not have funding readily available. Duke also had great opportunities available for its students that I always tried to take advantage of. My very first semester of classes, for example, I was accepted into a weekly program at The Folger Institute at the Folger Shakespeare Library in D.C. The whole semester, I flew up to D.C. every Friday to take the seminar, and the professor giving the class eventually became part of my dissertation committee. Duke supported me in this unique experience, and its impact continues to resonate with me today.

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Tell me about your current role.

I came to Elon immediately after completing my degree at Duke. It was a great fit for me both personally and professionally and has allowed me to pursue many of my passions both inside and outside the classroom.

I usually teach two or three classes a semester, and preparing for and teaching those classes takes up a good chunk of the day. I’m very active on various university service committees and have been involved in work related to curriculum design, study abroad, and faculty research and development, among others. I will be the chair of Elon’s promotion and tenure committee for the 2024-2025 academic year. Beyond this, I also always find time to prioritize my own academic research. No matter how busy the semester gets, I never allow time for research and scholarship to be pushed to the side. Research fuels me as a scholar and pushes me to keep learning, which then motivates me to create new and innovative classes for students.

Ultimately, my goal is for my teaching, scholarship, and service to all work together as one. Creating that synergy between the three is what allows for all to work together.

What’s your favorite thing about what you do?

I love seeing the spark in someone else’s eyes when they learn or discover something new. Though this often happens inside the classroom, I've also had many wonderful experiences of it occurring outside the classroom, as well.

I also love trying to create community across the university, as I think this is one of the biggest areas of improvement for academia. Many professors at Elon are the only ones at the entire university in their specific research field, and this can be isolating, lonely, and frustrating. To try to address this, I helped create a Faculty Research Series that brings professors from across disciplines together once a month to share in the triumphs and struggles of academic life. This intentional community-building has been incredibly rewarding and valuable.

Reflecting on your own path, do you have any advice for current graduate students at Duke?

It’s no secret that the current academic job market isn’t pretty, and it’s easy to forget why you began this path in the first place. Try to remind yourself of what you love about what you do, and find ways to keep that passion alive. Ask yourself where you get most energized; is it from teaching? researching? Center on whatever recharges and replenishes you in your everyday life so that you can find the energy to keep giving back. Also, and most importantly, don’t forget to keep your community alive. Your community is not your competition, but rather your trusted partners in crime who will stand by you through the highs and lows of what’s to come.

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Author

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Anna-Paden Carson

Ph.D. candidate, Romance Studies

Anna-Paden Carson is a Ph.D. candidate in the Romance Studies Department at Duke University. Her research focuses on the cultural production of natural disasters in the early modern Spanish world. Before returning to graduate school, she taught English and Spanish in secondary education through the Fulbright Program and Teach for America, where she earned an M.A. in Teaching. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, and cooking, as well as spending time with her family and mini goldendoodle.