Dr. Jodie Parys is a professor of Spanish at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she teaches courses in Spanish Language, Translation and Interpretation, Professional Spanish, and Latin American Literature and Civilization. Along with these courses, Dr. Parys is currently planning a Costa Rica travel study titled "Health and Aging in Costa Rica" that is scheduled to run in January of 2023.
Drawing on her expertise as a nationally certified Spanish medical interpreter, Dr. Parys has developed several Professional Spanish course offerings, including a Spanish for Health Professionals course that incorporates a strong community-based learning component. She is also the co-creator of UW-Whitewater's Professional Spanish Minor, the first of its kind in the UW system. Dr. Parys also serves as the Director of Community-Based learning at UW-Whitewater and is a leader in the field of faculty development and community engagement. She is an experienced educational innovator, leading UW-Whitewater as an Academic Innovation Fellow and as co-director for the Re-Imagining the First Year Initiative, as well as ongoing academic innovation efforts across campus.
Dr. Parys' current research focuses on the following two areas:
The impact of Community-based learning on student engagement, particularly during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Representations of disease in Latin America, especially the COVID-19 Pandemic and how it echoes similar patterns seen with previous diseases and pandemics
"I teach Spanish because it truly is a bridge that connects students to the world and enhances any other courses of study. There are over 572 million Spanish speakers in the world, hailing from 22 different countries. When students take the time to engage in deep language and cultural study study, they have the opportunity to not only develop vitally important skills, but also obtain a deeper understanding of the rich cultural diversity of the Spanish-speaking world."
During her time at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Dr. Parys has received the following teaching awards:
College of Letters and Sciences Nominee for the W.P. Roseman Excellence in Teaching Award, 2020.
College of Letters and Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award Recipient, 2020.
College of Letters and Sciences David Saunders Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Humanities, 2019.
Whitewater Student Government Diversity Engagement Award, 2019.
Central Council of Latin Americanists Andrew Kirchmeier Teaching Award, 2015.
Dr. Parys is the author of Writing AIDS: (Re)Conceptualizing the Individual and Social Body in Spanish American Literature (Ohio State University Press, 2012), as well as numerous articles on the intersection of disease, narrative, and culture in Latin American literature and art, centered specifically on the AIDS epidemic.
3130 Laurentide
Whitewater, Wisconsin 53190, USA
(262) 472-5070
parysj@uww.edu
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