Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies. University of Kentucky, KY. 2020.
Certificates: Historic Preservation; Social Theory; Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies; Gender and Women's Studies.

Bridging the Gap. Medical Interpreter Training. The Cross Cultural Health Care Program. 2021.
Master of Hispanic Studies. Auburn University, AL. 2014.
M.Ed. in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Universidad de Alcalá, Spain. 2010.
M.S. in Business Administration. Universidad de Alcalá, Spain. 2009.

De Alcalá de Henares a Ciudad de México: ciudades, universidades y preservación del patrimonio histórico

My dissertation explores the relationship between the city of Alcalá de Henares, Spain and Mexico City, Mexico, in terms of the colonization-decolonization processes of the latter. First, Alcalá de Henares and a few years later, Mexico City, suffered profound urban transformations that led to the construction of the so-called City of God (Civitas Dei). The City of God was a utopia: an urban, philosophical and educational model conceived during the first stages of the early modern period. By following Saint Agustine’s precepts, in his book, The City of God Against the Pagans, cardinal Francisco Ximénez de Cisneros created in Alcalá the first planned university city; this project can also be interpreted as the intersection of the Spanish humanist agenda along with the new ideas of the modern state introduced by the Catholic Monarchs in the 15^th century. During the conquest and colonization of the Americas, such an urban, educational, and religious model came to be a perfect tool for the indoctrination of indigenous people. Whereas the City of God in Alcalá de Henares and Mexico City will be studied in Chapters One and Two, Chapter Three explores the use of the University of Alcalá’s Renaissance architecture in the Americas, the decolonization process of Mexico’s Royal University when it became the National Autonomous University, and the creation of an outstanding university campus. The final chapter will be devoted to analyzing the use of Renaissance and colonial urbanism, as well as the architectural heritage in both Alcalá and Mexico City in relation with the UNESCO’s World Heritage program, and the role of public history in the creation of national narratives.
Ultimately, by studying the history of Alcalá de Henares and Mexico City, their universities, and their preserved heritage one can understand why both cities have a shared past and a mutual present within the 21^st century world-system.

“El Quijote en Alcalá de Henares: graffiti, arte urbano y autorrepresentación.” Vernacular: New Connections in Language, Literature, & Culture, no. 5, 2020, Article 4, pp. 1-31.

“El ascenso criollo y la construcción de la independencia mexicana, una aproximación genealógica.” Revista de Historia de América, no. 157, June 2019, pp. 87-105, doi:10.35424/rha.157.2019.70.

2020. Recent Defenders Panel. 2020 Summer Dissertation Writing Camp. Graduate School, University of Kentucky. May 22nd.

2020. “La ciudad ideal hispana, del medievo a la edad temprana moderna” at Spanish 224 (Introduction to Hispanic Literatures), University of Wisconsin-Madison. March 11th.

2019. “Ciudad de México, poniendo cruces en el mapa” at Nuestro Rumbo: Rutas de investigación en Hispanic Studies. University of Kentucky. March 4th.

2018. Panel of Experienced TAs, Graduate School. University of Kentucky.  August 9th.

2018. “Arquitectura, urbanismo y descolonización universitaria” at SPA 314 (Civilization of Spanish America), University of Kentucky. April 2nd.

2018. “Universities and Identity in Latin America” at LAS 201 (Introduction to Latin America), University of Kentucky. March 20th.

2016. “The Archive” at SPA 770 (Introduction to Hispanic Studies), University of Kentucky. October 11th.