Tim Foster

Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures (Spanish)

Contact 309-341-7300 tfoster@knox.edu

General Interests
"Questions of the power to speak, on a variety of levels, greatly interest me. As a teacher of the Spanish language, I try to provide not only the necessary grammatical skills for interpersonal communication but also a contextual understanding of a vibrant, living language. By teaching a foreign language, I can provide students both with a knowledge of those unlike themselves and the power to speak to, understand and access areas of knowledge unavailable to monolinguals.

My research focuses on groups generally not given the power to speak. My dissertation studies the narrative utterances of authors unable to speak in their homeland due to sociopolitical repression. I would like to amplify this investigation by studying the voices of other marginalized, oppressed groups such as women, gay, lesbian, indigenous minorities, etc., and their struggles to attain a voice. One of my greatest satisfactions as a teacher is empowering my students to speak with reasoned authority."

Years at Knox: 1989 to present

Education
Ph.D., Spanish, 1994, Columbia University.
M.Phil, Spanish, 1988, Columbia University.
A.M., Spanish, 1984, Columbia University.
A.B., Spanish, 1981, Grinnell College.

Teaching Interests
Introductory Spanish, Hispanic literature: 1700 to the present, Spanish American literature through modernism, twentieth century Spanish-American literature, area and language studies of Mexico.

Selected Professional Accomplishments

Presentations
Quickstart Spanish, Paper presented at the ACM's Integrating Study Abroad Conference, Beloit College. November 2009.

Campus & Community Involvement
Resident Director, Knox College Program in Barcelona.
Executive Committee Member, Association of American Programs in Spain.

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What Students Say
"One of Tim's best qualities as a professor is the way he makes students feel comfortable contributing to class discussions. Tim brings up provocative points of discussion and then makes it clear that he values students' opinions and input. Consequently, I am encouraged to form and re-form my own viewpoints regarding our texts and our subject matter. My experience with Tim as a professor was an important factor in my decision to major in Spanish."
-Karl Kooistra, Spanish and History