Title
Director and Associate Professor of SpanishOffice Building
Wagner HallOffice
121AMailing Address
Wagner Hall 121ASchool of American & Global Studies-Box 2275
University Station
Brookings, SD 57007
Biography
Dr. Christi Garst-Santos is an Associate Professor of Spanish, Director of the School of American & Global Studies, and Director of the Public Humanities Initiative (PHI) at South Dakota State University. For roughly the past decade, she has worked with the state’s newcomer neighbors and Indigenous communities through a series of outreach projects including ESL classes, legal advocacy and support, translation projects, workforce development, Lakota language revitalization, and diversity and intercultural competence workshops. A Cervantes specialist by training, her teaching and research explore how literature negotiates questions of gender, race, ethnicity, and religion in relation to national identities. Convinced that the humanities can address the current “state of emergency” in which we live, her recent work has shifted to public-facing humanities projects and the development of the SDSU PHI, whose research and outreach connects the University and local communities. She is currently working on a book manuscript tentatively titled "The World Turned Upside Down": Don Quijote in the Era of Social Media.Education
Ph.D. in Spanish Literature, The University of Iowa (2013)M.A. in Spanish with a Certification in Chicano Studies, Colorado State University
B.A. in Spanish, Colorado State University
Academic Interests/Expertise
PRIMARY AREAS OF SPECIALIZATIONCervantes
Christian-Muslim Relations in the Early Modern Mediterranean
Gender and Performance Studies
Spanish Civil War
Immigration in Contemporary Spain and the US
Intercultural Competence & Diversity Training
SECONDARY AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION
Medieval Spanish Literature
Spanish American Narrative, Colonial to Present
Awards and Honors
2018-19 J.P. Hendrickson Liberal Arts Faculty Scholar Award, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. (2018).Faculty Award for Global Engagement: Internationalizing the Student Experience, SDSU Office of International Affairs and Outreach. (2017).
Edward Patrick Hogan Award for Teaching Excellence, South Dakota State University. (2013).
Students’ Association Teacher of the Year, College of Arts and Sciences, South Dakota State
University. (2009 and 2013).
Grants
Kirschner, L. A. (Co-Principal), Garst-Santos, C. (Co-Principal), Sponsored by South Dakota Humanities Council, State, $2,000.00. (November 28, 2017 - July 31, 2019).Caquot Baggett, M.-P. E. (Co-Principal), Garst-Santos, C. A. (Co-Principal), "Intra-Departmental Learning Communities," Sponsored by Faculty Excellence, South Dakota State University, $5,000.00. (2013 - 2016).
Garst-Santos, C. A. (Principal), "3rd Annual Spanish Undergraduate Research Conference Funding," Sponsored by University Program Council, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Community, South Dakota State University, $3,300.00. (2015).
Garst-Santos, C. A. (Principal), "Week to End Violence against Women Program," Sponsored by University Program Council, South Dakota State University, $3,500.00. (2013).
Garst-Santos, C. A. (Principal), "Women and Giving International Research Grant," Sponsored by Women's Giving Circle, South Dakota State University, $2,000.00. (2012).
Department(s)
Image for School of American and Global Studies
School of American and Global Studies
Image for College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences