Metropolitan State University of Denver

Dr Lunden E MacDonald

Other

Additional consultation hours by appointment. Skype by appointment as well, username mrsmac2001. Follow me on Twitter at mrsmac2001! Friend me on Facebook!

Educational Biography

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Spanish Language and Literature: Princeton University, 2006
- Dissertation title: Joseph Blanco White: An Intellectual Biography, 1775-1814.
- Director: Prof. Eduardo Subirats (New York University); Second Reader: Prof. Ángel Loureiro (Chair, Spanish and Portuguese, Princeton University).

M.A., Spanish Language and Literature: Princeton University, 1997
- Pursued doctoral-level seminars in both Spanish and French.

M.A., Spanish Language and Literature: University of Colorado at Boulder, 1995
- Concentration in Spanish and Latin American Literature, Cinema, and Literary Theory.

Bachelor of Arts: University of Colorado at Boulder, 1993
- Major in Spanish Language and Literature, concentration in French Language and Literature.
- Graduated Cum Laude with a written Honors Thesis and an Oral Defense.

Languages
-English: Native speaker
-Spanish: spoken and written with near-native fluency
-French: spoken and written with advanced proficiency
-Portuguese: intermediate command of spoken and written skills
-Galician: intermediate command of spoken and written skills
-Latin: command of basic skills
-Italian: command of basic skills

Teaching Philosophy

At Metro State, I have developed a personal philosophy of teaching based upon what I want my students to know and be able to do after spending a semester in my class, what kind of learning environment I want to create for my students, and what kind of teacher I need to be in order to reach these goals.
Beyond content mastery, I want students to take ownership of their civic participation in our democratic classroom community and to see the dignity in hard work and intellectual endeavor. I want them to exercise their curiosity through the critical examination of issues brought forth in a climate of inquiry. I want them to feel emotionally safe and able to learn collaboratively. I want my students to be different, better people for having spent time in my classroom.
In my classroom, I strive to: establish a community within which students can explore a learning environment, construct new models of knowledge, and consider new realms of meaning; develop a new common perspective about the course content that is defined by the process of activities and the interaction held among the members of this learning community; foster a personalized student experience and interaction with the content; enhance comprehension of the content placed within a socio-cultural and historical context; and explore in-depth the ideas and skills coincident to college level study.
I want my students to know me as a teacher who is kind, patient, understanding, generous, dedicated, informed, capable, prepared, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, professional, technologically savvy, culturally aware, fun, contemporary, and approachable. I want my students to remember that I had high standards for them, but that I helped them to reach these standards step by step. I do not want to be boring, disengaged, disorganized, slow to return graded work, “easy,” uni-dimensional, rude, or unaware of how each student’s individual needs and abilities affect his or her capacity for success.

Courses Taught

SPA-1010,SPA-2310,SPA-3200,SPA-3250,SPAN-1020,SPAN-2110

Office Hours

Tuesday - [09:30 to 11:30]
Thursday - [09:30 to 11:30]