Ph.D., Spanish and Comparative Literature, University of Texas at Austin, 1981
M.A., University of Texas at Austin, 1976
B.A., Baylor, 1971

Dr. Diaz, originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, teaches World Literature and Literary Theory and serves as director of the Graduate English Literature and Language program. She is fluent in Spanish, English, French, and Portuguese, and publishes in both Spanish and English. She has published six books on various topics of Argentine literature; her latest are Women and Power in Argentine Literature (Univ. Texas Press, 2009) and Mujer y poder en la literatura argentina (Emece, 2009), and Texto, Contexto y Postexto en la obra de Luisa Valenzuela, to appear in 2010. Dr. Diaz also has published articles on Latin American literature, literary theory, U.S. Latino literature, and works by Sandra Cisneros, Cristina Garcia, and others. She co-founded and directed the Latina Letters Conference, now titled Las Americas Letters Series in the Arts, an annual conference held at St. Mary's University.

Her awards include a Fulbright Award, a Carnegie Mellon Fellowship, the St. Mary's University Distinguished Professor Award for both undergraduate and graduate teaching, and an Honorary Professorship at the Universidad Catolica de Salta in Argentina. She is frequently invited to speak abroad on the topics of her research. Her interactive teaching style includes discussion, student participation, lecture, and peer work. Her favorite teaching moment happens when she catches the sparkle of understanding in a student's eye.

Dr. Diaz's academic website