Dr. Heidi Backes will join modern and classical language’s Spanish faculty in the fall. Most recently, she was an assistant professor of Spanish at Drury University.

Degree in modern peninsular literature

Backes received her Ph.D. in modern peninsular literature from the University of Wisconsin in 2011, where she wrote her doctoral dissertation on the neo-Gothic movement in contemporary Spanish fiction.

Classes she’s taught

Specializing in 19th-century romanticism and naturalism, Backes has previously taught courses on 19th- and 20th-century Spanish fiction, an introduction to literary analysis, a graduate seminar in literary theory and the evolution of Spanish visual and print culture during the Franco dictatorship.

Interests include Spanish literature, international travel

She has authored several articles and book chapters on modern Spanish literature, and she is currently working on a book-length project that explores the Gothic literary tradition in Spain.

Backes encourages students to study abroad, and she loves to share her own international travel experiences with them.