David Rozotto

Associate Professor
Photograph of David Rozotto

Co-ordinator of the Cuba Exchange Program

Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies
University of Waterloo
Waterloo ON N2L 3G1

519-888-4567 x 47906
drozotto@uwaterloo.ca

University Degrees

  • Ph.D.       University of Ottawa (2012)
  • M.A.        University of Ottawa (2008)
  • M.C.Ed.  University of Saskatchewan (2005)
  • C. Tran.  Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council, Ottawa (2000)
  • B.A.    University of Saskatchewan (1999)

Teaching and Research Interests

  • English/Spanish Translation and Interpretation
  • Latin American Cultural Studies, Literatures and Films
  • Spanish Language
  • Creative Writing

Awards and Scholarships

  • 2019   UW/SSHRC Explore Grant ($7000)
  • 2018   Faculty of Arts Supplemental Travel Funds, University of Waterloo ($725)
  • 2018   UW/SSHRC Travel Grant, University of Waterloo ($2000)
  • 2017   UW/SSHRC Travel Grant, University of Waterloo ($1400; declined)
  • 2016   Faculty of Arts Start-Up Grant, University of Waterloo ($4000)
  • 2013   Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Dean’s Scholarship (timely completion of the PhD)
  • 2012   University of Ottawa Distinguished Teaching Award Nomination
  • 2011   University of Ottawa Excellence Scholarship
  • 2010   Research Grant, Association of Part-Time Professors, University of Ottawa
  • 2008   Faculty of Arts Dean’s Scholarship (timely completion of a Master’s degree)
  • 2008   Modern Languages and Literatures Graduate Academic Excellence Award
  • 2006   Teaching Excellence Award, University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union

Publications

Books:

  • Modernización y territorialización en Guatemala : La novelística de Virgilio Rodríguez Macal. Buenos Aires: Editorial Biblos, 2018
  • Narrativas del miedo: Terror en obras literarias, cinemáticas y televisivas de Latinoamérica. Langer, Karem, Marco Ramírez and David Rozotto, eds. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2018
  • Virgilio Rodríguez Macal: El hombre, el escritor y el intelectual. Guatemala: Editorial Piedra Santa, 2016
  • Notas viajeras: Escritura de viajes y testimonio de nuevos autores latino-canadienses. Arteaga, Andrés and David Rozotto, eds. Fredericton, NB: Broken Jaw Press, 2013

Selected Publications:

  • “Improntas testimoniales en la ficción femenina indígena: Anatomía histórica de un terror infundido.” (Forthcoming)
  • “Política y literatura en Guatemala, 1924-1963.” Istmo: Revista de estudios literarios y culturales centroamericanos (Under Review).
  • "El criollismo en Hispanoamérica: Revisita y reflexiones sobre el patrimonio de una literatura centenaria." Literatura; Teoría, historia, crítica 21.1 (2019): 117-141. 
  • “Cuerpo y geografía en Carazamba de Virgilio Rodríguez Macal: Representaciones de la región.” Centroamericana 24.1 (2014): 65-90.
  • “El escritor de la selva guatemalteca.” Plus+ 05 (June 2014): 32-35.
  • “La segunda salida del Quijote en El general en su laberinto de García Márquez.” Revista de literatura hispanoamericana 62 (2011): 23-39.
  • “La selva guatemalteca y una propuesta literaria para la modernización del Petén.” Proceedings of the XIX International Congress on Central American Literature (2012).
  • Thompson, G. and D. Rozotto. “Separating the Wheat from the Chaff: Differentiating Stop-outs from Drop-outs in an Independent Study Certificate Program.” Proceedings of the 2004 Canadian Association for University Continuing Education. (2004): 206-215.

Translations Published:

  • Aurora Afterwards and Other Stories. Book-length Translation of Con Aurora después y otros cuentos by Julio Torres-Recinos. (Under review)
  • "The Magic Ashes." Translation of "Las cenizas mágicas", a short story by Julio Torroes-Recinos. (Fourthcoming).
  • The Faces of Fear. Translation of Los rostros del miedo (book) by Julio Torres-Recinos. Ottawa: Editorial Lugar Común, 2017.
  • “The Family Farm.” Translation of “La finca” by Luz Elena Cardona; “Of Losses and Absences in a Time of Violence.” Translation of “De mis despojos y ausencias en una era de violencia” by Consuelo Arbeláez; “Samantha.” Translation of “Samantha” by Maryluz López. Círculo del Ave Fénix: Memoria Histórica y Escritura en Colombia. Arteaga, Andrés, ed. (Forthcoming 2016).
  • “Five Minutes.” Translation of “Cinco minutos” by Julio Torres-Recinos. K1N Journal of Literary Translation. The Four Americas Rewritten 3 (2013).
  • “I’ve Gone Down to the Netherworlds.” Translation of “He bajado a los infiernos” by Julio Torres-Recinos. Creative Registry of the Canadian Association of Hispanists. Cuadernarios 9 (2007).

Conference Papers:

International Conferences

  • "Una Propsuesta económico-literaria para el desarrollo de regiones aisladas." Simposio Imaginarios económicos en la literatura y el cine de España y Latinoamérica. Lehman College, CUNY, New York, April 6-7, 2019.
  •  "Cultural Sensitivity and Social Healing in Canadian Universities: Contributions from Latin American Studies." 100th Annual Conference, American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. Salamanca, Spain. June 2018
  • “From Utopian Territorialization to Literary Dystopia: Horacio Quiroga’s Pessimistic Vision of Modernization.” 88th South Atlantic Modern Language Association Conference. Jacksonville, Florida. November 2016.
  • “Atormentadores de mujeres indígenas: Historia de un terror infundido.” 47th Annual Northeast Modern Language Association Convention. University of Connecticut, Hartford, Connecticut. March 2016.
  • “Learning along the Way: Improving the Teaching of Introductory Literature Courses.” 46th Annual Northeast Modern Language Association Convention. Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario. May 2015.
  • “From Popular Art to Subject Matter: The Case of Telenovelas.” 96th Annual Conference, American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. Panama City, Panama. July 2014.
  • “Narrating the Regional History through a Female Geography.” Annual Meeting of the American Comparative Literature Association. University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario. April 2013.
  • “La selva guatemalteca y una propuesta literaria para la modernización del Petén.” XIX International Congress on Central American Literature. Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala. April 2011.

National Conferences

  • "Inclusión lingüística y cultural en la narrativa centroamericana: Los casos marginales de Belice y Panamá." LV Congress of the Canadian Association of Hispanists. University of Bristish Columbia, Vancouver, Bristish Columbia. June 2019.
  • "Entre colosos, un gigante nacional: Protagonistas hiperbólicos centroamericanos entre el medioambiente y el neocolonialismo." LIV Congress of the Canadian Association of Hispanists. University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan. May-June 2018. 
  • “Historia, memoria y verdad subversivas: Evolución de la conciencia guerrillera en Guatemala.” LIII Congress of the Canadian Association of Hispanists. Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario. May-June 2017.
  • “Improntas en el testimonio indígena femenino: Anatomía de un terror infundido.” LI Congress of the Canadian Association of Hispanists. University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario. June 2015.
  • “El trazo autobiográfico en el criollismo guatemalteco: Las novelas de Rodríguez Macal.” XLIX Congress of the Canadian Association of Hispanists. University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia. June 2013.
  • “Posibilidades fundacionales y modernizadoras en la jungla norte de Guatemala.” Congress of the Canadian Association for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario. May 2013.
  • “Teaching Literature and Intercultural Competence.” Annual Conference of the Ontario Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. Glendon College, York University, Toronto, Ontario. November 2012.
  • “Literatura y nación: Las tradiciones pre-criollismo y el criollismo como tradición.” XLVIII Congress of the Canadian Association of Hispanists. Wilfrid Laurier University/University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario. May 2012.
  • “A Literary Dialogue on Miscegenation.” Annual Conference of the Ontario Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario. November 2011.
  • “Entre cuerpo y geografía: La caribeña como sinécdoque regional.” XLVII Congress of the Canadian Association of Hispanists. University of New Brunswick/St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick. May 2011.
  • “La parodia de un Bolívar quijotesco.” Annual Conference of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, Canadian Chapter. Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario. November 2010.
  • “Crítica de la Revolución: Literatura y denuncia ante la historia en Guatemala.” XLVI Congress of the Canadian Association of Hispanists. Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec. May 2010.
  • “Obstáculos para el progreso: Adversidad en el avance de la frontera civilizadora.” Annual Conference of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, Canadian Chapter. Glendon College, York University, Toronto, Ontario. November 2009.

Invited Presentations:

  • “Hispanic Canadian Literature in Translation and Its Relevance for Multiculturalism in Canada.” Spanish American Literature: How Translated and Original Works Enrich Canada’s Cultural Diversity. Multiculturalism and Multilingualism in Canada Symposium. University of Ottawa and Canadian Commission for UNESCO, Ottawa, Ontario. February 2015.
  • “Between Texts and Cultures: The Mestizo Writing Process.” Invited Author, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. October 8, 2014.
  • “Reencuentro con la obra de Virgilio Rodríguez Macal.” Guest Speaker, XI Feria Internacional del Libro en Guatemala, Gremial de Editores, Ciudad Guatemala, Guatemala. July 16-17, 2014.
  • “Formación de profesores de ELE: Experiencias y reflexiones.” Round Table, IV Jornadas de Español Lengua Extranjera, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec. May 2014.
  • “Portrayals of Tyrants in Guatemalan Novels and the Construction of a Collective Memory.” Dictatorship and Memory in Latin American Literature Seminar, St. Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. February 2013.
  • “A Graduate Studies Perspective on the Academic Profession.” Latin American Research Group, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario. 2012.
  • “Traversing the Country: The Travels of José Eustasio Rivera in The Vortex.” Launching of the Minor in Latin American Studies, St. Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. March 2012.
  • “La visión ecológica de Horacio Quiroga.” Literatura del Mundo Hispánico Seminar, Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec. November 2011. 
  • Guest Lecturer "Central American Liturature and the Future of Hispanic Studies." Contemporary Spanish American Novels Graduate Seminar, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario. February 2019.
  •  Guest Lecturer "Retratos históricos de la mujer indígena guatemalteca en Ixcanul." Gender, Power and Representations in Latin America Seminar, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario. November 2018
  • Guest Lecturer "What's the Need for Revision/s in Translation?" Literary Translation Seminar, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario. March 2017.
  • Guest Lecturer "Proceso socio-literario en Guatemala, 1954-1996." Central American War Narratives Seminar, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario. November 2016.
  • Guest Speaker. Contexto literario de Virgilio Rodríguez Macal y su obra Negrura." Rafael Landivar University, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. July 2016
  • Guest Speaker. "Características literarias de La mansíon del pájaro serpiente." Book Launch: La Mansíon del pájaro serpiente (Illustrated and Deluxe Edition) by Virgilio Rodríguez Macal with photographs by Thor Janson. XII Feria Internacional del Libro en Guatemala, Gremial de Editores, Ciudad Guatemala, Guatemala. July 2016.
  • Guest Speaker. "Negrura: Preocupaciones heterodoxas y concepto de nación." Book Launch: Negrura by Virgilio Rodriguez Macal. Editorial Piedra Santa, Guatemala City, Guatemala. June 2016

Courses taught

Course Number Title
SPAN 101 and SPAN 102 Introduction to Spanish 1 and 2
SPAN 201B Intermediate Spanish 2
SPAN 228 Introduction to Latin American Literature
SPAN 301A and SPAN 301B Spanish in Context 1 and 2
SPAN 344 Cultural Dimensions in English/Spanish Literary Translation
SPAN 490 Advanced Translation

Curriculum Development

Redesigned Courses

  • SPAN 301A and SPAN 301B – Spanish in Context 1 and 2: Courses that promote students’ oral and written abilities in Spanish, as well as their critical understanding of the history and culture of the Spanish-speaking regions.
  • SPAN 490 – Advanced Translation: A course for students enrolled in third and fourth year of the General or Honours program in Spanish, requiring fluency in both Spanish and English. The objective of this course is to refine translation techniques in order to enable the student to provide accurate and idiomatic translations of English texts in Spanish and vice versa.

Designed Course

  • SPAN 344 – Cultural Dimensions in English/Spanish Literary Translation: This course focuses on the actual practice of translating literature, not only as the transformation of textual expressions, but also as a process of cultural interpretation. Besides reinforcing vocabulary and grammar, students also review notions of different literary genres (poetry, narrative and theatre), and solidify their knowledge on cultural studies.

Professional Activities

  • Panel Organizer in the Northeast Modern Language Association Convention and the Canadian Association of Hispanists within the framework of the Canadian Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences;
  • Conference Organizer, Annual Conference of the Ontario Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese;
  • Article Reviewer for the Canadian Journal of Hispanic Studies, CiberLetras Journal of Literary Criticism and Culture, Centroamericana Journal of Central American and Caribbean Literature, and Catedral Tomada Journal of Latin American Literary Criticism;
  • Exam Marker and Translation Evaluation Coordinator for the Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council, and the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Saskatchewan;
  • Member of the Literary Translator’s Association of Canada, and the Canadian Association for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.