Explore UAB

Carolina Rodríguez Tsouroukdissian Assistant Professor of Spanish
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
University Hall 3167
(205) 934-4652

Research and Teaching Interests: 19th and 20th century Latin American literature, nation building through literature, women’s literature, race representations, Spanish for the health professions

Office Hours: By appointment

Education:
  • BA, Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (UCAB), Journalism (Venezuela)
  • PhD in Spanish, Vanderbilt University

Get to know Carolina Rodríguez Tsouroukdissian.

Carolina Rodriguez Tsouroukdissian grew up in Venezuela where she received her BA in Journalism from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello. She worked as a journalist for El Universal and El Mundo for more than a decade. One of her areas of specialty was medical journalism. She also wrote scripts for 90.3 FM, a radio station serving the city of Caracas, and pursued an independent writing project that resulted in the publication of the short novel for children Por un pelo, winner of two national awards.

In 2015, Carolina moved from Caracas to Nashville where she earned her Ph.D. in Spanish from Vanderbilt University and started a career in foreign language and culture education. She came to UAB in 2020 to develop the area of medical Spanish and teach a variety of language and literature courses.

Carolina loves teaching Spanish courses at all levels. Whether it is an introductory class or a course in Latin American literature, she will do her best to energize students and create a rich and pleasant learning environment. Carolina believes in the importance of personalized mentoring and is eager to show students the career opportunities that come with the knowledge of Spanish.

Specifically, Carolina is committed to help UAB students acquire the linguistic and cultural competence they need to be successful healthcare professionals, capable of communicating and connecting with the Hispanic community.

Carolina’s current book project examines social protest in short narratives for adults and children during the period of nation formation in Latin America (1830-1920). She studies how authors from this period used horror as a didactic tool to raise awareness about social injustices.

Her work has appeared in refereed journals such as Hispanófila, The Latin Americanist, Hispanic Studies Review, Afro-Hispanic Review, and Ciberletras.


  • Current Courses
    • Introductory Spanish I (SPA 101)
    • Introductory Spanish II (SPA 102)
    • Intermediate Spanish I (SPA 201)
    • Spanish for Health Professionals (SPA 280)
    • Greatest Hits of Hispanic Literature (SPA 312)
    • US Latino Writers (SPA 405/505)
  • Select Publications
    Academic publications
    • “Las marcas de la represión: Espacios confinados, melancolía y voz irónica en Las memorias de Mamá Blanca.” Hispanófila, vol. 186, 2019, pp. 101-15.
    • “El adulterio borrado en Sab (1841) de Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda.” The Latin Americanist, vol. 63, no. 1, 2019, pp.107-118.
    • “Carteles antivenéreos de la Guerra Civil Española: Imágenes de la prostituta en tiempos de conflicto y revolución social.” Ciberletras, no. 42, 2019, pp. 103-19.
    • “El yo fragmentado y la agencia en Cuestión de amor propio.” Hispanic Studies Review, vol. 2, no. 2, 2017, pp. 254-68.
    • “Codificación espacial de la dominación: Los no-hogares del esclavo en la Cuba del siglo XIX.” Afro-Hispanic Review, vol. 36, no. 2, 2017, pp. 9-30.
    Creative publications
    • “La bota derecha.” Quince que cuentan, edited by Ana Teresa Torres y Héctor Torres, Fundación para la Cultura Urbana, 2008, pp. 17-37 (short story)
    • ¿Qué es el ahorro? Banco Central de Venezuela, 2008 (children’s educational and fictional book)
    • Por un pelo. Monte Ávila Editores, 2006 (young adult fiction)
  • Academic Distinctions and Professional Societies
    • Award for Excellence in Teaching in a World Language, granted by the College of Arts and Science, Vanderbilt University (2019)
    • Robert Penn Warren Graduate Student Fellowship, Vanderbilt University (2019)
    • Richmond Brown Award for Graduate Student Scholarship granted by the Southeastern Conference of Latin American Studies (SECOLAS) for the paper “El adulterio borrado en Sab (1841) de Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda” (2018)
    • National book prize awarded by Centro Nacional del Libro (Cenal) in the category “First Author’s Book in Narrative Genre” for the short novel for children Por un pelo. Caracas, Venezuela (2006)
    • Member of the MLA