The Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies welcomes John Flanagan, who has been hired as Administrative Coordinator for Lower Division Spanish.
Dr. Flanagan (Lecturer, Spanish Language and Culture) holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Communication from the University of Buffalo (2006), a master’s degree in Latin American Language, Culture & Translation from New York University in Madrid (2007), a master’s degree in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language from Lehman College (2010), and a PhD in Hispanic Linguistics from The CUNY Graduate Center (2020).
Dr. Flanagan’s doctoral dissertation research revolves around intersections of race and language, more specifically, how African Americans in predominantly Spanish-speaking communities take on linguistic features of their Hispanic counterparts to create new and “transracialized” identities. These identities blur the lines between ethnic groups thought to be separate, and John’s research follows individuals who are native to this societal change. Dr. Flanagan’s other interests involve spirituality and language use as it relates to the language learning classroom, and how our spiritual lives serve as useful points of entry into language acquisition.
Dr. Flanagan fills his time beyond the department with music, yoga, weightlifting, and meditation.