Professor

Spanish & Portuguese

Dr. Ruiz's academic formation has been shaped by interdisciplinary contact between literature, history and art. This contact with other disciplines continues to play an important role in her research and is also reflected in the courses she teaches. Her current line of investigation explores the implementation of narrative techniques that align with the plastic arts of the Baroque. More specifically, her research pairs short Spanish narrative texts form the 17th century with the anamorphic perspective of art. She analyzes vision, deception, and wonder in the Spanish Baroque texts in relation to theories regarding perspective, gaze, and optical illusions in the 17th century.

Although her primary field is Early-Modern Spanish literature, she is also interested in Cultural and Film Studies. Particularly, she focuses on how Spanish society constructs the image of the Other in relation to questions of national identity formation. Her studies examine the representation of marginal figures, such as the immigrant and the gypsy, in contemporary film. Additionally, she engages in work that reflects upon the differences and similarities of these representations of marginality today and in Early-Modern cultural products. Dr. Ruiz has published in both her primary and secondary fields of interest.

Research and Teaching Interests

Early Modern Peninsular Spanish Literature
Baroque Literature, Culture, and Art
Cultural Studies
Film Studies
Franco-Iberian Studies