David Divita

David Divita is a Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and Coordinator of the Spanish Section at Pomona College, where he has been teaching since 2010. His work bridges sociocultural linguistics and linguistic anthropology with a focus on Spanish- and French-speaking communities. He specializes in examining how historical experiences shape language practices across the lifespan, particularly among aging populations with connections to Spain and France.

David Divita earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and his B.A. from Columbia University. He is fluent in French, Spanish, and English, which supports his transnational research focus.

Professor Divita's research centers on the linguistic dimensions of aging, migration, and memory. His work explores how historical trauma and political transitions shape language practices across generations. He investigates how aging migrants navigate identity through language, how political discourse evolves in response to historical memory, and how communities negotiate belonging through linguistic practices. His scholarship reveals the intricate connections between personal biography and collective history, showing how language both reflects and constructs our relationship to the past.

His publications demonstrate consistent thematic focus on aging, migration, and historical memory, particularly concerning Spanish communities. Divita's work reveals how language practices serve as vessels for historical consciousness, with particular attention to how aging populations negotiate their relationship to traumatic pasts. His research spans multiple contexts including France, Spain, and the United States, examining how linguistic practices adapt across transnational spaces and temporal frameworks.

• Hirsch Research Initiation Grant (2022-2023) for "Manufacturing memory: Legacies of an authoritarian past in contemporary Spain."
• Fulbright Senior Scholar Fellowship at Universidad de Murcia (Spain), Fall 2018

Professor Divita has mentored numerous students through his teaching at Pomona College, where he offers courses including Multilingual Spain: Power, Identity, Politics; Language & Gender; and Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics. His research has been supported by prestigious grants including the Fulbright program and the Hirsch Research Initiation Grant. His current projects continue to explore the intersections of aging, language, and historical memory, with a recent focus on gay men in midlife whose sexual identities were shaped by the shadow of AIDS.

While the text doesn't specify particular labs or research teams, Divita's work involves extensive fieldwork with aging migrant communities in France and Spain. His research methodology combines linguistic anthropology with sociocultural analysis, often working closely with community members to document their language practices and life stories. His recent work on gay men in midlife suggests expanding collaborative research networks addressing aging and identity across different cultural contexts.