Dan Breining studied Spanish while working in Mexico City during the 1980s.
During his free time from his position as Co-Principal Bassoonist with the
Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, he was able to teach music lessons, study
Spanish at the El Centro Cultural Del Sur, and teach English as a Second
Language. After returning to the US, Dan continued with his Spanish studies at
the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where he received his B.A. After
graduating, he and his wife, Gabriela, moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where he
completed his Master’s in Hispanic Literature and Linguistics with a
concentration in Chicano studies. Dan, Gaby, and their two cats then moved to
Madison where he received his Ph.D.
In addition to teaching Spanish at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point,
Dan enjoys canoeing, playing bassoon with the Central Wisconsin Symphony
Orchestra and the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, and spending time with his wife
and ever increasing family of cats. Every summer Dan leads a group of students
on a study abroad trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, his segundo hogar.
Education
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ph.D., Hispanic Literature,
2000.
University of New Mexico-Albuquerque, M.A., Hispanic Literature and
Linguistics, 1994.
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, B.A., Spanish
Literature and Language, 1992.
El Centro Cultural Del Sur-Xochimilco,
Mexico D.F., Diploma, Spanish Language, 1989.
Recent and Forthcoming
Publications
Books
Western Cultural Symbols in Latin American and Chicano Literature An
Expanded Edition. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen P, 2011.
Western Cultural Symbols in Latin American and Chicano Literature.
Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen P, 2010.
Mexican Theater and Drama From
the Conquest Through the Seventeenth Century. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen P,
2007.
Dramatic and Theatrical Censorship of Sixteenth-Century New
Spain. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen P, 2002.
Articles
“Orality and the Written Word in the Popol Vuh.” Monograph Series of the
National Association of Hispanic and Latino Studies (2009):
1116-1123.
“An Empowered Latin America, A Shakespearean Deconstruction of
the Colonies.” Journal of Intercultural Disciplines 16 (2008):
20-37.
“The Sign of the ‘Other’ as Portrayed Through the Latino
Experience.” Monograph Series of the National Association of Hispanic and Latino
Studies (2008): 1012-1032.
“Orality, Literacy, and the Preservation of
History through Memory in the Mayan Dance Drama.” Baylor Journal of Theater
& Performance 4.2 (2007): 47-56.
“History and Memory in
Sixteenth-Century Mexican Theater: The Battle between Christianity and Native
Popular Culture.” 2006 Conference Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Hawaii
International Conference on Arts and Humanities 4 (2006): 414-28.
“Identity through Literature of the Gay Chicano.” Journal of
Latino-Latin American Studies, Office of Latino-Latin American Studies of the
Great Plains, University of Nebraska at Omaha (2005):45-61.
“El chicano
gay, su identidad y su literatura.” Occasional Paper Series, Center for Latin
American and Caribbean Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2002).
“El ‘Otro’ de Jacques Lacán en Como agua para chocolate de Laura
Esquivel.” Literal 19 (1994): 33-36.
Recent and Upcoming Conference
Presentations
“The Semiotics of Time and Body in Chicano Poetry” at the
International Conference of the Semiotic Society of America held at Cincinnati,
OH (2009)
“El presente y el pasado como presentado por Gustavo Sainz en
su novela Gazapo” at the annual conference of North Central Council of Latin
Americanists held at Simpson College, Indianola, IA (2009)
“Orality and
the Written Word in the Mayan Popol Vuh” at the 17th Annual Conference of the
National Association of African American Studies & Affiliates, Baton Rouge,
LA (2009)
“El impacto social de sor Juana Inés de la Cruz” at the annual
conference of North Central Council of Latin Americanists held at University of
Wisconsin-Whitewater, Whitewater, WI (2008)
“A German in Latin America:
How Alexander von Humboldt Defined a People” at the 33rd Annual European Studies
Conference at the University of Omaha, Omaha, NE (2008)
“Colonial
Mexican Theater, ‘Signs’ of the Times” at the Phi Kappa Phi Spring Colloquium at
UW-Stevens Point (2008)
“The Sign of the ‘Other’ as Portrayed in the
Latino Experience” at the 16th Annual Conference of the National Association of
African American Studies & Affiliates, Baton Rouge, LA (2008)
“Grammar and Cultural Activities for the Communicative Spanish
Classroom” three hour workshop in collaboration with Renée Craig-Odders,
Associate Professor (UW-Stevens Point) at the annual conference of the Wisconsin
Association for Foreign Language Teachers (2007)
“Myth and Legend in the
Conquered Indigenous Voice” at the annual conference of the North Central
Council of Latin Americanists held at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau
Claire, WI (2007)
“Theater, Semiotics, and Colonial Mexico” at the
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point L&S Humanities Forum (2007)
Organized and led the workshop “Tenochtitlán después de la conquista: el
teatro de conversión” at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico
City (2006)
“The Topsy-Turvy World of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: A
Conquered Conqueror” at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Open House
(2006)
“Teachable Moments in Oaxaca, Mexico” at the Tenth Annual
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Teaching Conference (2006)
“History and Memory in Sixteenth-Century Mexican Theater: The Battle
between Christianity and Native Popular Culture” at the Fourth Annual Hawaii
International Conference on Arts and Humanities, Honolulu, HI (2006)
“La
herencia de Alejandro von Humboldt en la América Latina actual” at the annual
conference of the North Central Council of Latin Americanists held at Marian
College, Fond du Lac, WI (2005)
Translations of captions and titles for
the artwork exhibited in “Spanish Colonial Religious Art 1650-1950: Work from a
Midwest Collection” at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (2005)
“El teatro mexicano colonial de Eusebio Vela y los aparatos del estado
althusserianos” at the Spanish Golden Age Theater Symposium sponsored by the
Association for Hispanic Classical Theater in conjunction with the Chamizal
Theater Festival, El Paso, TX (2005)
“Literary Identity of Chicano Gays”
at the Midwest Modern Language Association Conference in Minneapolis (2002)
“La minoría gay: cruzando fronteras en la literatura de los chicanos
homosexuales" at the Midwest Conference on Latin American Studies, University of
Wisconsin-Eau Claire (2002)
“Historical Preservation Versus Cultural
Change in Pre-Hispanic Mayan Theater” at the Mid-America Theatre Conference, St.
Louis, MO (2002)
“Ritmos latinos: Music and Cultural Activities for the
Spanish Classroom" in collaboration with Renée Craig-Odders, Associate Professor
(UW-Stevens Point) at the annual conference of the Wisconsin Association of
Foreign Language Teachers (2001)
“La homosexualidad: su intercambio
cultural y manifestación literaria entre México y los Estados Unidos” at the
annual conference of the North Central Council of Latin Americanists held at
Simpson College, Indianola, IA (2001)
“Using Music to Teach Grammar in
the Spanish Classroom” in collaboration with Renée Craig-Odders, Associate
Professor (UW-Stevens Point) at the annual conference of the Wisconsin
Association of Foreign Language Teachers (2000)
“La subversión y la
liminalidad de los dramas sociales de sor Juana Inés de la Cruz” at The 13th
Annual Mid-America Conference on Hispanic Literature sponsored by and held at
the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1997)
“La identidad de la
literatura de los chicanos gays” at The 11th Annual Mid-America Conference on
Hispanic Literature sponsored by and held at the University of Kansas-Lawrence
(1994)
“Apostolado de las Indias y martirio de un cacique de Eusebio
Vela (1688-1737) y el colonialismo de la Nueva España” at the 2das Jornadas
Internacionales de Teatro Latinoamericano sponsored by the University of
Tennessee-Knoxville and held at Ciudad de Puebla, México (1994)
“Teorías
lacanianas y La isla bárbara de Miguel Sánchez, El Divino” at the Louisiana
Conference on Hispanic Language and Literatures sponsored by and held at
Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge (1994)
“El ‘Otro’ de Jacques
Lacán en Como agua para chocolate de Laura Esquivel” at the VIII Simposio
Internacional de Campos Semióticos sponsored by the Universidad Veracruzana and
held at Xalapa, México (1993)
“La voz narrativa en la novela epistolar
de aprendizaje, El principio del placer por José Emilio Pacheco” at the 2nd
Annual University of New Mexico Conference on Ibero-American Culture and Society
sponsored by and held at the University of New Mexico-Albuquerque (1993)
Courses Taught
- Beginning Spanish
- Intermediate Spanish
- Advanced Composition and Conversation
- Hispanics in the US
- Introduction to Hispanic Literature
- La literatura de los chicanos
- Los dramas en un acto de la Latinoamérica contemporánea
Honors
2009 Certificate of Appreciation from the North Central Council of Latin
Americanists
2008 Faculty/Staff of the Month, University of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point
2008 Featured Author at the Midwest Modern
Language Association convention
2007 Featured Foreign Author at the
University of Mexico-Mexico City
2005 Featured Author at the Midwest
Modern Language Association convention
2003 Excellence in Teaching
Award, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
2003 Honorary Faculty
Member of Phi Eta Sigma
2003 Kersten Professional Research Award from
the Center of Latin American and Caribbean Studies
1990 Michael K.
Morgan Scholarship in the Study of Spanish, University of Wisconsin-Stevens
Point
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