IVAN ALLEN COLLEGE
STANDARD FORMAT FOR RÉSUMÉS
FOR
REAPPOINTMENT, PROMOTION AND TENURE
_________________________________
Kelly R. Comfort
Assistant Professor of Spanish
School of Modern Languages
I.
EARNED DEGREES
Ph.D. University of California, Davis
Comparative Literature with a designated emphasis in Critical Theory
June 2005
Dissertation Title: “Art(ist) for Art’s Sake or Art(ist) for Capital’s Sake: Aesthetic Production and
Consumption in Turn-of-the-Century Literature.”
B.A.
II.
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
May 1997
Comparative Literature and International Studies with a designated emphasis in Social
Theory and Cross-Cultural Studies and a concentration in Environmental Studies
EMPLOYMENT
(2005 – present)
Assistant Professor
Georgia Institute of Technology
Associate Instructor
University of California, Davis
(2001 – 2002, 2004 – 2005)
Teaching Assistant
University of California, Davis
(1998 – 2000, 2004)
Teaching Assistant Consultant University of California, Davis
(2001 – 2002, 2004 – 2005)
Academic Director
The School for International Training
English as a Second
Language Instructor
AmeriCorps Corporation for Natl. Service
& The Chapel Hill Women’s Center
(1995 – 1996)
Literacy Instructor
AmeriCorps Corporation for Natl. Service,
The Community Literacy Initiative,
The Hargrave Reading Center,
and The Interfaith Homeless Shelter
(1995 – 1996)
III.
TEACHING
A.
COURSES TAUGHT
(2003)
Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Modern Languages:
Spring 2011
Spanish Service-Learning
Hispanic Community Internship
SPAN 4150-H
SPAN 4251-J
19 students
12 students
Fall 2010
Conversation I
Spanish Service-Learning
Special Topics in International Affairs
SPAN 3101-E
SPAN 4150-B
INTA 4811-IH
19 students
18 students
9 students
Spring 2010
Faculty Development Grant to Support Full-Time Research
Fall 2009
Conversation I
Spanish Service-Learning
SPAN 3101 – E
SPAN 4150 – B
24 students
20 students
Summer 2009
Conversation II
SPAN 3102 – C
16 students
Spring 2009
Conversation II
Spanish Service-Learning
SPAN 3102 – E
SPAN 4150 – B
24 students
22 students
Fall 2008
Hispanic Community Internship
SPAN 4813 – B
4 students
Spring 2008
Conversation I
Intercultural Seminar in Spanish
SPAN 3101 – A
SPAN 4183 – D
23 students
5 students
Fall 2007
Service/Learning in the Hispanic Community
Latin American Short Story
SPAN 4183 – A
SPAN 4152 – F
19 students
23 students
Spring 2007
Conversation II
Conversation II
SPAN 3102 – C
SPAN 3102 – D
19 students
22 students
Fall 2006
Conversation I
Latin American Short Story
SPAN 3101 – B
SPAN 4152 – F
23 students
21 students
Spring 2006
Conversation II
The Latin American Short Story
SPAN 3102 – A
SPAN 4152 – H
27 students
26 students
Fall 2005
Intermediate Spanish I
SPAN 2001 – A
21 students
SPAN 2001 – C
SPAN 3101 – H
Intermediate Spanish I
Conversation I
B.
INDIVIDUAL STUDENT GUIDANCE
Special Topics
Undergraduate Research
Special Problems
Special Topics
C.
23 students
23 students
SPAN 4813—A
SPAN 4699 – A
SPAN 4091 – A
SPAN 4813 – B
1 student
6 students
1 student
1 student
OTHER TEACHING ACTIVITIES
New Courses Developed:

SPAN 4813-B, “Hispanic Community Internship”: this course places students in Spanish-speaking
internship positions with such organizations as the Latin American Association, the Georgia Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce, La Amistad, Hope for Atlanta, and Turner Broadcasting and CNN
International. Students complete 60 internship hours, maintain a blog about the experience, attend
guest lectures by business and community leaders, and participate in job shadowing and professional
networking activities. Approved by IUCC.

SPAN 4813-D, “Intercultural Seminar in Spanish”: this course was co-designed and co-taught by
Dr. Kelly Comfort and Dr. Vicki Galloway. It functions as a capstone course in Modern Languages
for students who have spent time abroad in a Spanish-speaking country, especially those students
completing the International Plan. Approved by IUCC.

SPAN 4150 – B, “Spanish Service-Learning in the Hispanic Community”: this course explores
the issues and concerns of the Latino population in the US in general and Atlanta in particular through
the combination of in-class discussion and out-of-class service projects. Students complete
individually-designed volunteer projects in the local Hispanic community and gain first-hand
experience of Hispanic cultures and practice their Spanish in real-life, authentic settings. Approved
by IUCC.
IV.
SCHOLARLY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
A.
PUBLISHED BOOKS AND PARTS OF BOOKS
A1.
BOOKS

European Aestheticism and Spanish American Modernismo: Artist Protagonists and the Philosophy
of Art for Art’s Sake. Hampshire, U.K. and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. (192 pages)

Art and Life in Aestheticism: De-Humanizing and Re-Humanizing Art, the Artist, and the Artistic
Receptor. Ed. Kelly Comfort. Hampshire, U.K. and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. (256
pages) Reviewed in Modern Language Review, Forum for Modern Language Studies, and The
Comparatist.
A2.
PARTS OF BOOKS

Comfort, Kelly. “Reflections on the Relationship between Art and Life in Aestheticism.”
Introduction. Art and Life in Aestheticism: De-Humanizing and Re-Humanizing Art, the Artist, and
the Artistic Receptor. Ed. Kelly Comfort. Hampshire, U.K. and New York: Palgrave Macmillan,
2008: 1-20.
B.
REFEREED JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS

“The Artist as Impressionistic Critic in José Asunción Silva’s De sobremesa: Transatlantic
Borrowings from Walter Pater, Oscar Wilde, and British Aestheticism.” Revista de Estudios
Colombianos. 38 (2011). (Forthcoming)

“The Clash of the Foreign and the Local in Martí and Carpentier: From ‘Misplaced Ideas’ to
‘Trasculturation.’” Hipertexto. 11 (2010) 51-62.

“Masculinidad rechazada: El artista recluído y no productivo en Rubén Darío y José Asunción Silva.”
Latin American Literary Review. 37.73 (2009) 26-46. (Reprinted as a book chapter in Entre
hombres: masculinidades del siglo XIX en América Latina. Eds. Ana Peluffo and Ignacio M.
Sánchez Prado. Madrid: Iberoamericana Editorial Vervuert. 2010.)

“Art for the Artist’s Sake or Artist for Sale: Lulu’s and Else’s Failed Attempts at Aesthetic SelfFashioning.” Women in German Yearbook: Feminist Studies in German Literature and Culture. 22
(2006) 189-210.

“Colonial Others as Cuba’s Protonational Subjects: The Privileged Space of Women, Slaves and
Natives in Gómez de Avellaneda’s Sab.” MESTER: Journal of Spanish and Portuguese Studies. 32
(2003) 179-194. (Translation by Pedro Llanes to be reprinted in forthcoming issue of the Cuban
journal Temas.)
C.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Comfort, Kelly. “The Critic as Artist and Liar: The Reuse and Abuse of Plato and Aristotle by
Wilde.” The Wildean. 32 (2008).
D.
PRESENTATIONS
Conference Papers Presented:

“Service-Learning and Second Language Acquisition: Increasing Linguistic and Cultural
Competence, Improving Personal and Social Confidence.” Workshop presented at the 10th Annual
Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities. Honolulu, Hawaii. January 9-12, 2011.

“The Latin American Modernista Chronicler: Dandy, Flâneur, or Wage-Laborer?” The American
Comparative Literature Association’s “Creoles, Diasporas, Cosmopolitanisms” Conference. New
Orleans, Louisiana. April 1-4, 2010.

“Self-Exile in Cuban Literature: The Escape to Inner Islands of Acceptance, Hybridity, and
Freedom.” The South Atlantic Modern Language Association “Human Rights and the Humanities”
Conference. Atlanta, Georgia. November 6-8, 2009.

“European Aestheticism and Latin American Modernismo: Art for Art’s Sake versus Art for Capital’s
Sake.” The American Comparative Literature Association’s “Global Languages, Local Cultures”
Conference. Cambridge, Massachusettes. March 26-29, 2009.

“From the Visual to the Textual: Literary Recycling of Art in British Aestheticism and Latin
American Modernismo.” 34th Annual Southern Comparative Literature Association “Comparative
Literature and World Literature: Textual, Visual, Aural Interconnections and Interfaces” Conference.
Auburn, Alabama. October 2-4, 2008.

“Martí’s ‘Nuestra América’ versus Darío’s ‘Unión Latina’: Constructing Pan-American or Pan-Latino
Identity vis-à-vis the United States.” XXVII International Congress of the Latin American Studies
Association (LASA 2007), “After the Washington Consensus: Collaborative Scholarship for a New
América.” Montreal, Canada. September 5-8, 2007.

“The Place of the Foreign in Cuba: ‘Misplaced Ideas’ or ‘Trasculturation.’” The American
Comparative Literature Association’s 2007 Annual Meeting on “Trans, Pan, Inter: Cultures in
Contact.” Puebla, Mexico. April 19-22, 2007.

“Liberating the Artist from Confinement: Modernist Escapism in Darío’s ‘El pájaro azul’ and ‘El velo
de la reina Mab.’” Hofstra Cultural Symposium on “Rubén Darío: 90 Years Later.” Hofstra
University, New York. October 27-28, 2006.

“Aestheticism: Rehumanizing or Dehumanizing Art, the Artist, and the Artistic Receptor.” The
American Comparative Literature Association’s 2006 Annual Meeting on “The Human and Its
Others” at Princeton University. March 23-26, 2006.

“The Critic as Artist and Liar: The Reuse and Abuse of Plato and Aristotle by Wilde.” CSU Long
Beach’s 41st Annual Comparative Literature Conference on “Ancient and Modern Narrative:
Intersections, Interactions, and Interstices.” March 9-11, 2006.

“Transatlantic Exchange: The Artist as Worker, the Commodity as Art in Rubén Darío and J.K.
Huysmans.” Stanford University’s “Literature, Philosophy, and Commerce in Europe and the
Americas, 1750-1900” Conference, April 7-9, 2005.

“Unamuno’s Niebla: An Examination of the Interplay Between Aestheticism and Existentialism in
the Self-Conscious Novel.” Saint Louis University Madrid’s “Unstable Realities, Unstable Identities”
Colloquium. June 20, 2003.

“Colonial Others as Cuba’s Protonational Subjects: The Privileged Space of Women, Slaves and
Natives in Gómez de Avellaneda’s Sab.” Northeast Modern Language Association 34th Annual
Convention in Boston, Massachusetts. March 6-9, 2003.

“Art for Art's Sake or Art for Money's Sake: Aestheticism as a Battle between Nietzsche and Marx.”
University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s International Marxism 2000 Conference. September 21-24,
2000.

“Authorial Representation and Narratological Self-Representation in Arthur Schnitzler’s Fräulein
Else.” Valdosta State University’s 5th Annual Women’s Studies Conference on “(Re)Presenting
‘Woman.’” March 2-4, 2000.
E. OTHER SCHOLARLY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
PUBLISHED BOOK REVIEWS

V.
Book Review. José Asunción Silva y la ciudad letrada. By José Jesús Osorio. Bulletin of Hispanic
Studies 85.2 (2008): 256-7.
SERVICE
A.
PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS
A.1 Manuscript Review:

Peer reviewer for the sixth edition of Brújula: Revista interdisciplinaria sobre estudios latinoamericanos
(“Arte y encuentros.” Eds. Ana Alonso Minutti and Juan Manuel Portillo)
A.2 Professional Service in Organizations:

Selected as 2010-2012 Secretary and 2013-2014 President of the American Association of Teachers
of Spanish and Portuguese’s annual panel at the South Atlantic Modern Languages Association.
A. 3 Conference Seminars/Panels/Sessions Organized and Chaired:

“Latin American Modernismo: Negotiating the Foreign and the Local, the Aesthetic and the Social.”
The American Comparative Literature Association’s 2009 Annual Meeting on “Global Languages,
Local Cultures” at Harvard University. March 26-29, 2009.

“Foreign Attraction or Repulsion: National and Literary Perspectives of the Latin American Writer
Abroad.” Seminar Co-Organizer. “Colonial and Postcolonial Encounters: The Latin American Writer
in the American Context” Session Chair. “Return to Europe: Exile, Identity, and the Latin American
Expatriate Writer.” Session Co-Chair. The American Comparative Literature Association’s 2007
Annual Meeting on “Trans, Pan, Inter: Cultures in Contact” in Puebla, Mexico. April 19-22, 2007.

“Nuestra América, nuestra literatura: National and Literary Perspectives of the Latin American Writer
Abroad.” Panel Co-Organizer. XXVII International Congress of the Latin American Studies
Association (LASA 2007), “After the Washington Consensus: Collaborative Scholarship for a New
América.” Montreal, Canada. September 5-8, 2007.

“Aestheticism: Rehumanizing or Dehumanizing Art, the Artist, and the Artistic Receptor.” Seminar
Organizer. The American Comparative Literature Association’s 2006 Annual Meeting on “The Human and
Its Others” at Princeton University. March 23-26, 2006.
B.
CAMPUS CONTRIBUTIONS
Georgia Tech Service:
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Member of the Faculty Advisory Board for the Goizueta STEM Initiative, which aims to improve the
academic achievement of Latino students in STEM disciplines and to encourage their pursuit of
STEM careers or higher education degrees.
Chair of the Modern Languages Service Learning Committee
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Member of the Modern Languages Futures Committee
Member of the Ivan Allen College Latin American Advisory Committee (IACLAAC), which is
working toward launching the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) at Georgia Tech.
Member of the Ivan Allen College Westside Community Alliance Project
Director of the International House as part of the Think Big Living/Learning Communities at Georgia
Tech, Fall 2010 to present.
Modern Languages Student Awards Committee Chair, 2009-2011
Modern Languages Representative at the Girl’s Night Out Majors Recruitment Fair, Summer 2009
Modern Languages Representative on the Study Abroad Committee, 2007-2009
Member of the Modern Languages Search Committee in Spanish, 2007-2008, 2010
Founder and Faculty Advisor of Gringos y Latinos: Atlanta’s Spanish Service Society (G.L.A.S.S.S.),
a Georgia Tech student organization dedicated to providing community outreach services to Atlanta’s
growing Hispanic population
Member of the Modern Languages Capstone Course Development Committee, 2006-07.
Coordinator of Course Scheduling for Spanish Unit
Fulbright Interview Committee Member, 2006
Organized campus visit of Dr. Pérez for “Emerging Hispanic Populations,” Modern Language
Speaker Series
Represented School of Modern Languages in visit to Monterrey Tec to explore future study abroad
possibilities for Georgia Tech students
UC Davis Pedagogy Workshops

“Creating Student-Centered Syllabi and Lesson Plans.” TA Consultant 2005 Spring Workshop
Series, UC Davis.

“Assessment and Student Self-Reflection.” TA Consultant 2005 Spring Workshop Series, UC Davis.

“Recognizing and Reacting to Diverse Learning Styles and Cognitive Levels.” TA Consultant 2005
Spring Workshop Series, UC Davis.
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“Ace Your Job Application: Putting Together an Effective Teaching Portfolio.” TA Consultant 2005
Winter Workshop Series, UC Davis.
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“Teaching: A Value-Laden Practice.” TA Consultant 2002 Spring Workshop Series, UC Davis.
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“Critical Pedagogy.” TA Consultant 2002 Spring Workshop Series, UC Davis.
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“Teaching to Different Learning Styles.” TA Consultant 2002 Winter Workshop Series, UC Davis.

“Approaches in Teaching Major Works of Contemporary World Literature.” Department of
Comparative Literature TA Training, UC Davis. Fall 2001.

“What Should Teachers Do to Prevent Plagiarism?” Program in College Teaching Roundtable
Meeting, UC Davis. Spring 2000.
C.
OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS

“Preparando a su hijo/a para la universidad: Ayudando con la transición entre la escuela secundaria y
la universidad.” Invited Speaker at the 2007 Latino Youth Leadership Conference. Latin American
Association. Atlanta, Georgia. October 27, 2007.

“Spanish Service-Learning in the Hispanic Community” Course Presentation and “Using Innovative
Courses to Spark Learning” Panel Participation. Celebrating Teaching Day Event. Georgia Tech.
March 11, 2008.
VI.
GRANTS AND CONTRACTS
A. AS PRINCIPAL AND CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Recipient of a CIBER Faculty Curricular Development Award in Spring 2011 for planning and
preparation of SPAN 4341, “Nation and Narration in Latin America,” which examines the connection
between nation and narration in Latin America and explores the narrative construction of national
identities. ($3,500)

Recipient of Ivan Allen College Incentives for Seeking Extramural Research Funding (ISERF)
Awards in Summer 2010 ($2,500)

Recipient of the School of Modern Language’s Faculty Development Grant to Support Full-Time Research
($10,000)

Recipient of Ivan Allen College Incentives for Seeking Extramural Research Funding (ISERF)
Awards in Summer 2008 ($2,500)

Recipient of Ivan Allen College Incentives for Seeking Extramural Research Funding (ISERF)
Awards in Summer 2007 ($2,500)

Recipient of Ivan Allen College Incentives for Seeking Extramural Research Funding (ISERF)
Awards in Summer 2006 ($2,500)

Recipient of the Georgia Tech Foundation Small Grants in April 2007. Grant funds used for
international conference travel. ($2,100)

Recipient of the Georgia Tech Foundation Small Grants in September 2007. Grant funds used for
international conference travel. ($2,400)

Recipient of a CIBER Faculty Curricular Development Award in Fall 2009 for revising and
expanding SPAN 4151 – Hispanic Community Internship. ($3,000)
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Recipient of the Modern Languages Research Summer Stipend. ($3,000)
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Recipient of a CIBER Faculty Curricular Development Award in Summer 2008 for planning and
preparation of SPAN 4XXX – Hispanic Caribbean Voices from Abroad: Literature of Exile and
Immigration from the Islands to the Diasporas, a new course that examined the ways in which
Hispanic Caribbean authors from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic reflect on the
experiences of exile and (im)migration from abroad. ($3,000)

Recipient of a CIBER Faculty Curricular Development Award in Spring 2008 for planning and
preparation of SPAN 4XXX (“Hispanic Community Internship”), a new course that would provide
selected Georgia Tech students of Spanish with the opportunity to earn academic credit for
internships completed in local Hispanic agencies and companies. ($3,000)

Recipient of a CIBER Faculty Curricular Development Award in Spring 2007 for planning and
preparation of SPAN 4813 (“Service/Learning in the Hispanic Community”), a new course that will
provide Georgia Tech students of Spanish the opportunity to combine service learning with language
immersion and increased social and cultural awareness as they conduct community service projects
aimed at meeting the diverse needs of Atlanta’s growing Hispanic population. ($3,000)

International Plan Course Development Funding received to support the creation of a Modern
Languages Capstone Course. ($1,500)

Teaching Resources Center Curriculum Development Grant to revise the Comparative Literature 3
(“The Modern Crisis”) Handbook and to make it available digitally. Explored major authors and
works of the Modern period and compiled relevant secondary sources related to primary texts by
Goethe, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Freud, Kafka, Conrad, Woolf, and Beckett. UC-Davis ($3,000)
B. AS INVESTIGATOR
VII. HONORS AND AWARDS
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Finalist for the Goizueta Foundation Junior Faculty Rotating Chair position.
Recipient of the 2010 “CETL/BP Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award.”
Recipient of the Spring 2010 “International House Internationalizing Faculty of the Semester Award,”
which is given to a GT faculty member who uses his or her enthusiasm, teaching, outreach, and
research to enhance the international experience of GT students.
Recipient of Multiple “Thank a Teacher Awards” from CETL in 2009, 2010, and 2011.
Nominated for the “Emerging Scholars in the Humanities Prize” from the Consortium of Humanities
Centers and Institutes.
Invitation to present on Spanish Service-Learning Course and participate in “Using Innovative
Courses to Spark Learning” Panel at the Celebrating Teaching Day Event.
Innovative Pedagogical Methods on Service-Learning cited in the fall 2007 issue of The Classroom,
the annual newsletter on teaching and learning published by the Center for the Enhancement of
Teaching and Learning (CETL) at Georgia Tech, as well as the December 2007 issue of the Ivan
Allen College newsletter.
Teaching Assistant Consultants Program Fellowship. UC Davis, 2004-2005, 2000-2001.
Teaching Resources Center Curriculum Development Grant. UC Davis, Summer 2003.
Comparative Literature Grant Recipient. UC Davis, Fall 2002.
Selected to President’s Undergraduate Fellowship Selection Committee. UC Davis, 2001-2002.
Outstanding Graduate Student Teacher Award. UC Davis, 1999-2000.
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) University Summer Course Scholarship, 1999.
AmeriCorps Educational Award from the Corporation for National Service, 1995-1996.
Member of Phi Beta Kappa, Golden Key National Honor Society, and La Sociedad Nacional
Honoraria Hispánica.