Faculty & Staff Directory
Dr. D. Jasun Carr
Associate Professor and Department Chair
Dr. Jasun Carr, Chair of the Global Studies and Languages Department, earned his Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His ongoing research interests focus on persuasion, consumer culture, and civic engagement; the interaction of source and generational cohort in new media; and the changing journalistic and persuasive practices within social media platforms.
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Lisa Coffield
Adjunct Instructor, German
Lisa Coffield, Adjunct Instructor, German. M.S. in Linguistic Anthropology (Idaho State University 2016), B.S. in Secondary Education, Emphases in German and French (Idaho State University 2009). She has been teaching at ISU since the Fall of 2010, and teaches first-year German. Lisa is certified to teach both German and French.
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Dr. Carmen Febles
Associate Professor, Spanish
Carmen Febles is an Associate Professor of Spanish Language and Latin American Cultures in the Department of Global Studies and Languages with a specialization in 18th and 19th century Mexico and Cuba at Idaho State University. Broadly speaking, Dr. Febles is interested in distance and difference – in points of articulation across Spanish-speaking geographies, social hierarchies, genres and time periods. Her literature and culture publications include “Exploring the limits of transculturation: Pérez Firmat’s a Cuban in Mayberry:, “Erinia: Matas entre lo policial y lo fantástico”, “El pasado presente: La canonización del pasado americano como acto patriótico en la obra de Fray Servando Teresa de Mier”.
A secondary area of focus is language, culture and healthcare. To that end, Dr. Febles has presented and published research related to the care of refugees living in the United States, and has also produced work on the experiences of Latinx patients and care providers in Idaho. Recent work explores the delivery of pre-hospital emergency care to Limited English Proficiency Latinx individuals in Idaho. Dr. Febles is currently examining the articulation of health and medical practices and policies vis-à-vis national identities and the ways in which they intersect with cultural, racial and gendered experiences and knowledges of place and body.
David Heath
Senior Lecturer, Spanish, Lab Director
David Heath, Senior Lecturer, Spanish. David Heath, Senior Lecturer MA Latin American Studies (University of Kansas), BA Spanish (Idaho State University). Mr. Heath teaches first and second year Spanish, and has taught Spanish for Health Care. He is also an Early College Program liaison for several area high schools and is the coordinator for Spanish 101-102. Mr. Heath lived in Puerto Rico for two years and has an interest in the Spanish-speaking cultures of the Caribbean.
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Dr. Zackery M. Heern
Associate Professor, Arabic, Chair of History Department
Middle East, Islam, Iran, Iraq, Modern Islamic movements, Shi'i Islam, Islamic law, Intellectual History, Modernities, World History, Religion.
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Dr. Marin Laufenberg
Visiting Assistant Professor
Marin Laufenberg received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2017). She has taught classes focusing on Spanish language, composition and conversation, Hispanic literature, and Spanish for the health and social services. She believes that by learning a language, you acquire a new window to understanding cultures and people. In her teaching, she likes using theatrical techniques, like role playing and dialogue creation. Dr. Laufenberg studies contemporary Latin American literature with a focus on Southern Cone performance and theatre. Her dissertation investigated the role of humor and laughter in dealing with trauma and violence in Argentine theatre. In addition to researching theatre, she also has extensive experience in the praxis of theatre as a member and co-founder of the UW-Madison Spanish language theatre group Teatro Décimo Piso. She has lived and studied abroad in Spain, Panama, and Argentina. In her free time, Dr. Laufenberg enjoys hiking with her family, cycling, whale watching, and exploring the tide pools along the coast of the Pacific Northwest.
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Sarah McCurry
Senior Lecturer, Spanish
Sarah McCurry, Assistant Lecturer, Spanish. Sarah did her undergraduate work at University of Massachusetts at Boston and her graduate work at University of California at Los Angeles. She studied in Mexico and lived in Santiago, Chile for six and a half months.
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Dr. Liz Moreno-Chuquen
Assistant Professor, Spanish
Liz Moreno-Chuquen is Assistant Professor at Idaho State University where she teaches Spanish language and Latin American culture and literature. Moreno-Chuquen received her Ph.D. in Latin American Literatures and Cultures at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2019. She also holds a Master in Hispanic Literature from UIUC and a B.A. in Literary Studies from the National University of Colombia (Universidad Nacional de Colombia). She was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, then she moved to the United States to pursue her master's and Ph.D.
Moreno-Chuquen’s research engages Argentina and the Southern Cone culture through the lens of critical race studies and visual culture. It explores how Afrodescendant culture, legacy, and memory is portrayed through representational modes that range from literary works and archival documents to photography and museum exhibitions. Dr. Moreno-Chuquen has presented her research at prestigious conferences such as the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), Afrolatinidad at the University of Pittsburgh, and the Afro-Latin American Research Institute at the Hutchins Center in Harvard University. Her areas of expertise include Latin American cinema, visual culture, critical theory, and 19th-20th Latin American literature.
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Dr. Malliga Och
Associate Professor
Malliga Och, is an Associate Professor in the Global Studies and Languages Department at Idaho State University. She has a PhD from the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies. Her dissertation explained why conservative governments adopt feminist policies remedying economic inequalities for women. In her previous life, Malliga was the Research Director of Political Parity – a program of Hunt Alternatives in Cambridge, MA.
Malliga has extensive research experience in women and politics, particularly women’s access to political office in Europe and Asia, international women’s rights, as well as in comparative feminist policy research with a focus on parental leave and corporate board diversity. She is the author of “Unpacking the descriptive representation of women in Asian parliaments” (with Devin Joshi) and has taught comparative and international politics courses at the University of Colorado in Denver, Colorado State University, and Community College Denver. Outside of school, she serves as the CEDAW Co-Chair for the United Nations Association’s initiative Denver for CEDAW Campaign for its Denver Metro chapter.
In her past life, Malliga was a member of the Public Advisory Committee of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, Committee Chair for Educational Outreach at the United Nations Association Denver Chapter, and part of the Colorado Leadership Council of the White House Project. She was also a member of the Diversity Council of Big Sister Association Boston and a core member of Women in NAAP Boston.
Malliga holds a Magister Artium in Political Science, Communications, and Law from Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany and an MA in Political Science from the University of Colorado in Denver.
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Dr. H. Cathleen Tarp
Professor, Spanish
Cathleen Tarp, Associate Professor, Spanish. Ph.D Romance Languages (University of New Mexico 1999); M.A. Hispanic Literature, (University of New Mexico 1996); B.A. English Literature (University of Idaho 1992). Dr. Tarp’s areas of specialization are the Spanish Middle Ages and Baroque. Current research interests include the grotesque, the Spanish prose romance, and narratology in the context of the development of prose fiction. Dr.Tarp is a certified medical interpreter and a qualified legal interpreter. She is also faculty advisor for Sigma Delta Pi, the National Spanish Honor Society, and the ISU student organization, Entrepeneurs of America.
Dr. José Eduardo Villalobos Graillet
Assistant Professor, Spanish
José Eduardo Villalobos Graillet received his Ph.D. in Spanish Literature and Culture with a specialization in Film Studies and Spanish Medieval Literature from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Toronto (2022). Dr. Villalobos Graillet received a professional MA designation (Máster propio) in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language from Universidad de Jaén (Spain) in 2016, his MA in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from the University of Guelph in 2015, and his BA in Communication Sciences from Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla (Mexico) in 2008. The Ontario Graduate Scholarship program has supported Dr. Villalobos Graillet's research.
Dr. Villalobos Graillet's research focuses on the processes of adaptation, production, and censorship of the film and TV adaptations of La Celestina during three crucial epochs in 20th century Spain: The Second Phase of Franco's Dictatorship (1959-1975), The Transition to Democracy (1976-1983), and The Democratic Era (1983- onwards).
Dr. Villalobos Graillet's current project centers on the International film and TV adaptations of La Celestina.
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Nancy Wells
Associate Lecturer
Nancy Wells, Associate Lecturer. M.A. Spanish Linguistics (BYU), B.A. Spanish Translation and Interpretation with a minor in International Relations (BYU).
While working on her M.A. at BYU, Mrs. Wells taught first and second year Spanish at BYU. Mrs. Wells came to ISU as a lecturer in 1993 and taught first and second year Spanish at ISU for seven years before taking a break to spend time with her family. She has recently returned to ISU to teach as an Adjunct Instructor. During her years of absence she has spent numerous hours working and serving in the public school system with English Language Learners and their families. She enjoys translating and interpreting for the families and school staff members. She has lived in Uruguay, Spain, and Mexico, and she loves to travel.
Dr. King Yik
Assistant Professor
King Yik, King Yik received his M.B.A. and Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago, specializing in international business. Despite his business education training, he has chosen to focus on liberal arts teaching. He has taught international economics and international management to both undergraduate and graduate students at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Michigan, and Idaho State University. He is a recipient of multiple teaching awards. His current research interest is on the role of international organizations in economic development.