New Cabell Hall 464

Office Hours: Mon 11:00am-12:00pm & Wed 2:00-3:00pm

Rachel graduated from the University of South Florida with a Master's degree in Spanish. During her time at USF, she had the opportunity to study abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Seville, Spain. After graduating, she spent a year living in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, where she worked as an English teacher. After spending time in both Argentina and Spain, she grew to appreciate both countries' cultures and ways of life, which has greatly influenced her research interests. Her research currently focuses on Jorge Luis Borges and his use of religion and metaphysics, although she is hoping to expand her research on metaphysics to authors from Spain and other countries. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her dogs, Bella and Zanna, and her cat, Luci, as well as traveling as much as she can, especially to Spanish-speaking countries.

Education

Ph.D., Spanish, University of Virginia, 2024

        Dissertation Project: "Global Borges: Patrimony, Identity, and the World in Contemporary Hispanic Literature"

M.A., Spanish, University of South Florida, 2017

         Master's Thesis: "'Ocurrió la unión con la divinidad, con el universo': La representación de la religión en los cuentos de Jorge Luis Borges."

B.A., Spanish, University of South Florida, 2015, summa cum laude

B.A., Psychology, with Honors, University of South Florida, 2015

         Minor: Religious Studies

Research Interests

• Globalization, Identity, and Patrimony in 21st century Hispanic literatures
• The interesection between metaphysics and religion in Jorge Luis Borges' short stories
• Philosophical and metaphysical considerations in Latin American and Spanish fiction
• Politics, Aesthetics, and Literature
• Historical Memory

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Articles

West, Rachel. "As terras enfeitizadas: Silence, Landscape, and the Recuperation of Galician Historical Memory in Eloy Enciso's Longa noite". Hispanófila, 196, Fall 2022, pp. 185 - 203. 

Book Reviews

Review of Una entrevista a Borges / An Interview with Borges, by Fabian Spagnoli. Translated by Jillian Tomm. Chasqui, forthcoming.

Teaching Experience

SPAN 3440, Survey of Latin American Literature (1900 - Present) (Fall 2023)

SPAN 3300, Texts and Interpretation (Spring 2022)

SPAN 3040, Business Spanish (Spring 2024)

SPAN 3010, Grammar and Composition I (Fall 2021)

SPAN 2010 & 2020, UVA in Valencia (Summer 2022)

SPAN 2020, Advanced Intermediate Spanish, University of Virginia (Spring 2019 - Spring 2020, Fall 2020 - Summer 2021)

SPAN 2010, Intermediate Spanish, University of Virginia (Fall 2018, Summer 2020)

SPAN 1060, Advanced Beginning Spanish (Summer 2023)

SPN 1120 and 1121, Spanish I and Spanish II, University of South Florida (Fall 2015 - Spring 2017)

Presentations

“An Infinite Return: The Borgesian Archive in Contemporary Hispanic Literature.” Modern Language Association Annual Convention. Philadelphia, PA, January 2024.

“Global Borges: The Borgesian Archive and Global Identity in Carlos Fonseca’s Coronel Lágrimas.” American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Conference. Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain, June 2023. 

“Group Work and Learning Outcomes: Are Familiar Partners or Different Partners More Effective?”. Institute of World Languages Roundtable. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, December 2018. 

 “‘Ocurrió la unión con la divinidad, con el universo’: La representación de la religión en los cuentos de Jorge Luis Borges”. WLE Research Colloquium. University of South Florida. Tampa, Florida, April 2017.

“Opresión, desaparición y asesinato: El gobierno totalitario en el cuento latinoamericano”. WLE Research Colloquium. University of South Florida. Tampa, Florida, April 2016.

“El concepto de la (des)humanización en Los pazos de Ulloa y ‘Mecanópolis’”. XVI Coloquio anual de literatura, lingüística y cultura hispanoamericanas y peninsulares. University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, March 2016.

Panels Organized

Chair and Organizer, “¿Es nuestro patrimonio el mundo? Borges in Contemporary Hispanic, Global Literature.” Modern Language Association Annual Convention, Philadelphia, PA, January 2024. 

Awards

Honorable Mention, Graduate Student Day Competition, American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Conference. Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain, June 2023. 

All-University Graduate Teaching Award, University of Virginia, April 2020.

Service 

Del Greco Librarian, 2021 - present

Graduate Student Representative, 2020 - 2021