Faculty

Ana-Isabel Aliaga-Buchenau

Department Chair, Professor of German & Comparative Literature
Mebane Hall 435

Chair of the Department of Languages and Culture Studies Appointments via my Appointment Schedule Anabel Aliaga-Buchenau is Professor of German. Currently she is serving as Chair of the Department of Languages, Cultures and Translation. She was awarded the prestigious Bank of America Teaching Award in 2021 and the Board of Governors’ Excellence in Teaching Award in […]

Jaime Ashby

MA Fellow in Spanish
Mebane 406B

Jaime is a first year MA fellow in Spanish. Ashby holds an MA in Spanish from UIUC and an MA in Latin American studies from UNC Charlotte. Ashby is also obtaining their PhD where they focus on language acquisition and social liberation movements in the transgender and queer communities specifically from the Black Spanish-speaking Caribbean. […]

Ryan Augustyniak

Francophone Studies Advisor & Assistant Teaching Professor of French
Mebane Hall 463

Francophone Studies Coordinator and Advisor Education Ph.D., Florida State University, 2022 (French and Francophone Studies) M.A., Florida State University, 2016 (French and Francophone Studies) B.A., Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville 2014 (French Language and Literature) Research and teaching interests Francophone film and literature Postcolonial studies Critical theory

Enika Banerjee

Senior Lecturer of Japanese
Mebane Hall 403B

Coordinator of Undergraduate Certificate Business Japanese Enika Banerjee is a Senior Lecturer of Japanese. Currently she is teaching elementary and upper intermediate level of Japanese language courses. She also teaches Japanese Business and Culture and Advanced Spoken Business Japanese. She is currently oversees the Japanese Business Certificate program. She received her BA in Japanese Linguistics […]

José Manuel Batista

Associate Professor of Spanish
Mebane Hall 405

Coordinator of the Undergraduate Certificate Hispanic Literary Studies José Manuel Batista is an Associate Professor of Spanish, and an affiliate of the Latin American Studies Program. From 2011 to 2013, he directed the Spanish MA Program.  Dr. Batista’s areas of specialization are Latin American Literature, Spanish and Spanish American Poetry, and Caribbean Literature and Culture. […]

Michèle Bissière

Professor of French
Mebane Hall 424B

Dr. Bissiere is a professor of French. Education Ph.D. French, 1989 – University of Wisconsin-MadisonM.A. French, 1986 – University of Wisconsin-MadisonM.A. American History, 1986 – University of Wisconsin-MadisonAgrégation d’anglais, 1982 (France)Maîtrise d’anglais / M.A. English, 1981 – Université Paul Cézanne-Aix-Marseille IIILicence d’anglais / B.A. English, 1979, Université Paul Cézanne-Aix-Marseille Research InterestsContemporary French CinemaTeaching Language and […]

Jordan Bledsoe

Lecturer of Japanese
Mebane Hall 466

Full Time Faculty Overview Jordan Bledsoe is a lecturer of Japanese, teaching all levels of Japanese language as well as Japanese culture-related courses. After living in Kyushu and Okinawa for two years, Jordan then earned a B.A in Japanese and an M.A. in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching. He is excited about the Japanese language […]

David Boyd

Associate Professor of Translation and Japanese Studies
Mebane Hall 410

Coordinator of Undergraduate Certificate of Translating Japanese-English David Boyd is an Associate Professor of Japanese. He has translated fiction by Izumi Suzuki, Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, and Kanoko Okamoto, among others. His translations of novellas by Hideo Furukawa (Slow Boat; Pushkin Press, 2017) and Hiroko Oyamada (The Hole; New Directions, 2020) have won the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission […]

Jenn Burke

MA Fellow in Spanish
Mebane Hall 421

Jenn Burke is an MA Fellow in Spanish. She holds an MA in Spanish, which she obtained here at Charlotte. She worked in the department as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for two years and has been studying the Spanish language for 14. She has a special interest in linguistics and discourse, and her thesis research […]

Fang-yi Chao

Assistant Teaching Professor of Chinese
Mebane 446

Assistant Teaching Professor & Coordinator of Chinese Coordinator of Chinese Advisor of Chinese Minor Fang-yi Chao is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Chinese. She is currently the coordinator and advisor of the Chinese language program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She teaches all levels of Chinese language courses as well as Chinese […]