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| Sara Poot-Herrera Professor, Spanish and Portuguese |
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Students in Sara Poot-Herrera’s classes in modern and contemporary Mexican literature often get a much more intimate introduction than most to the best Mexican writing of the day. Thanks to their professor’s extensive connections to Mexico’s literary elite, it is not unusual for students to participate in discussions of various works led by the authors themselves. “I like to connect the students to the writer,” says Poot-Herrera, who came to UCSB in 1987 soon after earning her Ph.D. at El Colegio de México in her native Mexico. “We have a permanent connection with many Mexican writers. It’s a very good situation for us.” One of the world’s leading authorities on the life and writings of Sor Juana, Poot-Herrera is organizing a November 2001 conference in Guadalajara to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the birth of the famed Mexican nun. Poot-Herrera shares her research with her classes. Research and teaching, she says, are enterprises that go forth “tomados de la man” — hand-in-hand. |