Myrna Garcia Calderon

Myrna Garcia Calderon is an Associate Professor of Spanish in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics at Syracuse University's College of Arts & Sciences. She holds additional affiliations with the Women's and Gender Studies program, Latino-Latin American Studies, and Modern Foreign Languages. Her academic career spans decades of scholarship focused on Hispanic Caribbean and Latin American literary traditions.

Dr. Garcia Calderon's educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Contemporary Hispanic Literatures with emphasis on Latin America from University of California, Berkeley (1989)
• M.A. in Hispanic Literatures from University of California, Berkeley (1981)
• B.A. in Spanish Studies from University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras (1979)

Her research centers on Modern and Contemporary Hispanic Caribbean and Spanish American literatures and cultures, with particular attention to memory studies, spatial theory, and diasporic formations. Dr. Garcia Calderon's scholarship examines how Caribbean texts incorporate themes of memory, space, and place into their cultural representations, with special focus on Puerto Rican literature. Her work frequently engages with theoretical frameworks from memory studies, postcolonial theory, and gender studies to analyze literary representations of identity, nationhood, and diaspora.

Her publications reveal a consistent scholarly trajectory examining Caribbean literary production through the lenses of memory, space, and identity. Her research shows particular strength in analyzing Puerto Rican literature within broader hemispheric contexts, while also exploring intersections with gender studies, embodiment, and cultural memory across the Hispanic Caribbean and its diasporas.

Her notable professional recognition includes:

• Writing Across the Curriculum Fellow, Syracuse University (2020)

Dr. Garcia Calderon has demonstrated significant commitment to academic service and mentoring. She has served as Undergraduate Adviser at Syracuse University since 2006 and was Freshman Adviser from 2008-2021. She currently chairs the MLA Discussion Group on Puerto Rican Literature and Culture and previously served as Secretary of the MLA Puerto Rican Studies Section (2021-2022). Her professional activities extend to conference presentations and editorial review work for academic presses.