Maria DiFrancesco

Professor, World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
School: School of Humanities and Sciences
Phone: 607-274-3547
Office: Muller Faculty Center 411, Ithaca, NY 14850
Specialty: Contemporary Spanish Literature; Exile; Migration in Spanish Literature and Culture

About Maria DiFrancesco (She/Her/Hers)

I am a seasoned professional in higher education and hold a Ph.D. from the Romance Languages & Literatures Department of SUNY-Buffalo. Having specialized in contemporary Spanish literature and film, I approach narrative and visual texts through the prism of women's, gender, and sexuality studies. I have secondary expertise in disciplinary theory associated with space and place as well as human migration and exile.

I regularly engage with a broad range of students. I have deep and extensive experience teaching all levels of Spanish language, literature, film, and culture. I possess substantial knowledge of best practices and teaching strategies associated with transition from secondary school to college, first-year student faculty advising, peer mentorship, and community building.

I believe that a student's academic success and continued cognitive development are linked to physical, social, and mental wellbeing. As such, I am dedicated to regularly engaging students in discussions that help them reflect on how their physical well-being (e.g., play, rest, nutrition, etc.), mindfulness and mindset are connected to their scholarly/intellectual development.

I identify as a first-generation college student, and I served as a faculty associate for FIRST Place (IC's residential learning community) for a number of years. I continue to seek opportunities to talk with students about the first-generation experience.