Department of Foreign Languages

Grandson of a Chihuahuense, son of a Spanish professor, Eric J. Kartchner grew up surrounded by things Hispanic and is a fervent advocate of the notion that the United States is a Latin American country; in addition to the Hispanic U.S., he also holds Argentina, Spain, and, especially, Mexico, close to his heart. He received his Ph.D. from Indiana University in Bloomington in 1998 after receiving his master's at the University of Nevada-Reno and his bachelor's at Weber State University. He has been teaching in the post-secondary system since 1990 and has held ranked positions at BYU (visiting), the University of North Texas, Southern Methodist University, and Colorado State University (Pueblo).

Dr. Kartchner is an associate professor of Spanish and serves as the chair of the Department of Foreign Languages at Georgia Southern University. His publications concentrate principally on early Spanish literature. His most recent book, a contribution to the monographic series Hecho Teatral (subtitled Cervantes y los dramaturgos del siglo XVI: Hacia la Comedia Nueva), gathers essays that examine pre-Lopean theatrical tendencies and influences from a variety of scholars from Spain and the United States. He is currently working on a book-length project that explores the impact of the social and literary conventions depicted in the exemplary novellas of Miguel de Cervantes and María de Zayas. His teaching interests, in addition to Hispanic literature, include Hispanic linguistics, the cultural and linguistic acquisition of Spanish, and foreign-language pedagogy. An avid supporter of the language proficiency standards drafted by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), Dr. Kartchner helps train other academics in the art of language proficiency assessment and acquisition. He also serves on various university, community, and state boards and committees. In his non-professorial duties, Eric and his wife, a native of Mexico City, foster Latino life with their four children; they especially enjoy dancing música tropical (salsa, merengue, son, etc.).