Master Lecturer in Spanish
Background
Alison Carberry Gottlieb is a Master Lecturer in Spanish and currently serves as the Coordinator of Second Semester Spanish. Originally from western Massachusetts, Alison began learning Spanish as a high school sophomore and quickly discovered a passion for exploring the diverse communities of the world through language study.
After receiving her B.A. from Wellesley College in Spanish in 2003, Alison started her graduate work and teaching career at Boston University in 2004, eventually earning an M.A. and Ph.D. in Hispanic Language and Literature. Since joining the faculty full time in 2011, she has served as the Coordinator of Fourth Semester Spanish (2011-2015), the Head of the Spanish Language Program (2015-2019), and the Coordinator of Second Semester Spanish (2019 to present). Alison also served as an LfA Faculty Coach for CAS during the pandemic, and along with her colleague, Sue Griffin, she was awarded the LfA Spirit and Creativity Award in 2021.
Alison’s goals as a language instructor center on building student proficiency across all skills, but always with an emphasis on real world communication and authentic cultural works and materials. A firm believer in accessibility, equity, and inclusion, Alison strives to create courses that promote and celebrate diversity, both local and global. As a “non-neutral educator,” she sees every class as a vehicle for collective progress towards a better, more just world.
In addition to her focus on language teaching, Alison remains active in the field of medieval and early modern Iberian studies. As a feminist scholar, her research focuses on the roles of women in both popular and learned texts, correlating relevant issues of race, class/station, and religion, as well.
When she’s not working, Alison enjoys spending time with her son, writing frivolous fiction, playing video games — and, whenever possible, trying to fit a decent siesta into her day.
Courses taught include: LS111 thru LS 212; LS307 Spanish through the Horror Genre (also taught as a film course, LS308); LS307 Women Characters in Hispanic Literature and the Arts; LS308 Women Characters in Spanish Film; and LL690: Language Teaching I – Introduction to Proficiency-Based Language Teaching