Jose Manuel Garcia, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Spanish
"The most important component of my teaching philosophy rests on a successful relationship with my students and the positive impact of such interaction with a clear understanding that different students have different styles of learning and assimilating information. As a language instructor it is my sole reponsibility to always convey my enthusiasm for my discipline and spark the student's interest in other languages and cultures as they strive to achieve their personal and professional goals."
Dr. José Manuel Garcia was born in Cuba, and immigrated to the U.S, during the Mariel Boatlift in 1980. He earned a B.S. in Political Science from Montclair State University and a Master and a doctorate in Latin American Literature from the University of Arizona. He is currently an associate professor of Hispanic Literature and Latin American Studies at Florida Southern College, where he is also coordinator of the Modern Languages Department. At Florida Southern College, he has directed the Study Abroad program in Spain and created the first Latin American Studies minor. He also implemented the first Critical Languages Program which offers Chinese, Arabic and Portuguese. Dr. Garcia’s academic research has focused mostly in the areas of U.S. Latino and Cuban American immigrant experience, film and culture. He has presented his academic research in many national and international conferences and has published various articles on these topics. In 2004, he published the book La literatura cubanoamericana y su imagen and most recently he wrote the script and co-produced the international award winning documentary Voices From Mariel. The documentary is based on a book by the same title that will be published in the fall of 2012. Both the book and the documentary are some of the most comprehensive oral history accounts of the 1980 Cuban exodus also known as the Mariel Boatlift. His documentary is expected to be released by Fox NatGeo Mundo in the fall of 2012.
Courses Taught
Latin American Oral Histories, "A Human Rights Perspective"; US Latino Culture and Civilization in the United States; Latin American Culture; Immigration and Dictatorship in Latin America; The Arts and Politics of Latin America; Latin America on Film I and II - Hybrid; Spanish for the Health Professions; Spanish for Business; Senior Capstone Project; Composition and Conversation I and II; Topics in Hispanic Culture and Civilization; Introduction to Literature in Spanish; Survey of Spanish Literature; Internship/International; Survey of Spanish-American Literature; Basic Spanish Language through Advance Conversation, Composition, Literature and Culture
Education
Ph.D., Latin American Literature, University of Arizona
M.A., Latin American and Peninsular Literature, University of Arizona
B.A., Political Science, Montclair State University
Honors and Awards
Chinese Bridge "American Schools-Winter Program" USF Confusius Institute, December, 2010
LDAC Summer Institute in Fort Louis, WA, 2010
Sigma Delta Faculty Advisor 2009
Granted Sabbatical Leave, Spring 2008
Recent publications
La literatura cubanoamericana y su imagen, Miami, FL: Ediciones Universal, 2004
Munoz-Hjelm Ruth and Hall Ken; Studies in Honor of Lanin A. Gyurko Homenaje a Lanin Gyurko "Cine latinoamericano y cine latino en Estados Unidos". Newark, Delaware: Jaan de la Cuesta, 2009, pp. 113-136.