Assistant Professor at Utica University
This course offers an introduction to the novel as a literary genre, tracing the trajectory of the novel from its beginnings, with the epic and the Romance, to the postmodern. Students will read epistolary, nonlinear, and graphic novels, along with examples of Romantic, Realistic, Modernist, Post-modernist, and Satirical works. The course also addresses literary elements of the novel, such as the setting, imagery, dialogue, and point of view. Finally, the course also takes into consideration the independent market and how it influences and changes traditional conceptualizations of novel writing.
This course entails intensive practice in creative writing and study of the creative process, focused on fantasy fiction writing. Students should write seven thousand words of polished work and a final story outline applying novel-writing strategies practiced throughout the semester.
I have taught a variety of courses that explore literature across the Americas. We examine how authors from North, Central, South America, and the Caribbean represent personal and collective experiences across borders, languages, and histories. The courses include pre- and post-1865 surveys of American literatures, and they place strong emphasis on comparative and intersectional approaches to literature and encourage students to draw connections between historical contexts and contemporary realities. As part of their final projects, students often participate in student conferences, connecting literary analysis with pedagogical or civic engagement strategies.
I have taught a variety of courses that explore women’s voices in literature, with emphasis on motherhood, mother-daughter relationships, autofiction, and travel writing. Most of my 300-level thematic courses include a student seminar, which is open to the university community, in which students present their argument-based papers in conference-style panels.
I have taught many sections of this course, which explores how otherworlds in science fiction and fantasy resemble our multifaceted realities in terms of social, cultural, and political aspects. In particular, I focused on analyzing how social and historical occurrences are represented and re-signified in the worldbuilding of science fiction and fantasy texts. Combining different genres, such as films, short stories, and novels dating from the 1910s until the Marvel Era, students have the opportunity to discuss various topics.
I have taught many sections of this course, which explores the history, aesthetics, and basic concepts of movies. Students got acquainted with the major concepts, genres, techniques, and cultural aspects of movies. Students also learned the basics of film analysis, employing concepts in film production, narrative elements, and structure, which helped them to develop skills in analysis, description, and evaluation. The major objective of this course was to help students perceive cinema not only as an entertainment art of significant economic value, but also as a means of cultural expression.
I have taught a variety of versions of first-year Composition, including sections focusing on data science with first-year engineers, summer online courses, and research-focused classes, among others. These courses are focused on developing students’ awareness of rhetorical situations while providing opportunities for composing a variety of texts to diverse audiences. Some of these texts include Rhetorical Analysis of scientific articles, Research-based essays, Reports, Reviews, and Academic Posters.
“I feel as though my writing skills in the future will be better based on this class, because of all of the things I learned about that can help pull the writing together. Learning about citations, ways to do research, how to include things, making a plan of study are all things that I learned about and practiced over the course of this semester. The things I learned in this class transferee perfectly to my other classes in which I had to write papers for.”
"When introduced to many of the stories in this course this semester I was shocked to see myself so heavily represented in so many different ways, ways that I could never put into words myself ... Like so many of the voices heard this semester, I learned to embrace who I have always been, despite losing touch with a single portion of my identity and letting it completely define the rest of who I am. I have learned to love myself despite not having that part because it is a part that I can always evolve at any point in my life."
“Both source collection and rhetoric usage have been extremely important skills that I have had the opportunity to learn and begin to master throughout my time in this class. Between these two skills, and a number of others, this course has vastly improved my ability to write.”
“This course helped begin thinking of writing as a whole process and not just putting words on paper. In addition to my usual focus on grammar and sentence structure, I now focus on rhetoric, audience, design, accessibility, and much more. Keeping all those things in mind when planning and writing a paper really helped me begin to see the whole picture behind writing, which I think is a great step forward in improving my own writing.”
“The graduate tutorial (ENG-500) that Dr. Costa created for me during her class ‘The Novel’ was extremely helpful. She tailored the course content into a final portfolio of lesson plans, a cover letter, and an educational philosophy statement that helped me with my career pursuits. The fact that she was willing to take extra time to fill my graduate credit requirements says quite a bit about her character as an educator.”
“ENG10600Y exposed me to writing, research, and design for the first time. Composing on a digital environment has been very convenient as information can be stored and accessed easily. In addition to learning about rhetorical strategies and writing in general, I learned how to develop arguments, conduct researches, work collaboratively with a peer, and take constructive criticism. I even explored new aspects of Microsoft Word which will all be useful to me in future classes as well as in a workplace environment. I am now a better writer and student, which is more than I signed up for.”