EDUCATION
Ph.D. Candidate, Comparative Literature and Critical Theory, University of Washington, (June 2004, expected)

Dissertation: “The Witness in History: Memoirs of the Soviet Gulags and Testimonios of the Latin American Dirty Wars,” directed by Professors Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen, Cynthia Steele, and Guntis Smidchens (abstract attached)

M.A., Slavic Studies, Lithuanian Literature focus,
Minor in Philosophy, University of Illinois-Chicago, 1996

B.A., Linguistics, University of Chicago, 1986

RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS
Life writing • history and memory • twentieth-century world literature • film • writing, editing and composition • critical theory • psychoanalysis •  postcolonialism

LANGUAGES
Bilingual English/Lithuanian • fluent Spanish • strong French reading, research and listening comprehension • rudiments of German

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Special Topics: “Autobiography: Truth or Fiction?” University of Southern Maine, Dept. of English, Spring2004..  Writing intensive course with a focus on the thin line that separates autobiography from fiction.

College Writing, two sections.  University of Southern Maine, Dept. of English, Fall 2003.  English composition course required of all USM students.

Introduction to Literature, two sections. University of Southern Maine, Dept. of English, Fall 2003.  Writing intensive core course covering prose fiction, drama and poetry from the Greeks to the present., world literature focus.

“Amnesia in Film.” University of Washington, Dept. of Comparative Literature, Summer 2002. Upper-level film studies course examining amnesia plots in recent films.  Treated issues of identity (individual, national) and responsibility, examined traditional plot structures of Hollywood films, independents and foreign films.

“Narrating the Self: Gender and Society at Century’s End.” University of Washington, Dept. of Comparative Literature, Spring 2001. Introduction to literary analysis and composition, theme of autobiography and self-portraiture. Texts included photography of Cindy Sherman, paintings of Frida Kahlo, works  of Elena Poniatowska, Amy Tan, Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

Teaching Assistant for Professor Jane K. Brown, “Classics of European Literature.” University of Washington, Dept. of Comparative Literature, Winter 2001. Evaluated student papers, taught writing workshop and gave guest lecture on World War I and Ford’s The Good Soldier.

“Defining Narratives: Gender, Society and Identity.” University of Washington, Dept. of Comparative Literature, Fall 1999. Introduction to literary analysis and composition, theme of identity and gender.  Texts included excerpts from History of Sexuality (Foucault), Freud’s Dora, Bakhtin’s The Dialogic Imagination, Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own.

Introductory Lithuanian. University of Washington, Dept. of Scandinavian Studies, 1996-1999. Adapted grammar-based textbook to communicative approach; introduced contemporary Lithuanian culture.

Intensive Introductory Lithuanian. Baltic Studies Summer Institute, Indiana University, Dept. of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Summers of 1998 and 1999, and University of Illinois at Chicago, Dept. of Slavic and Baltic Languages and Literatures, Summers of 1996, 1997.

PEDAGOGICAL TRAINING

C LIT 595, TA Workshop, for guidance in teaching composition and writing, Professor Jean Dornbush, University of Washington, Fall 1999, Spring 2001.

Workshop, Foreign Language Teaching Methods, for instructors of Intensive Slavic and Baltic Language Summer Institute, Indiana University, June 1999.

SCAN 595, TA Workshop for guidance in teaching Lithuanian language, Professor Marianne Stecher-Hansen, University of Washington, Fall 1996, 1997, 1998.

SCAN 518, Language Teaching Methods, quarter long seminar, Professor Klaus Brandl, University of Washington, Fall 1996.

PUBLICATIONS

(Forthcoming). “Learning to Curse in Russian: Mimicry in Gulag,” in Violeta Kelertas, ed., Baltic Postcolonialism: A Critical Reader, Rodopi Publishers (Netherlands).

(Under Consideration). “Mediated and Unmediated Access to the Past: Assessing the Memoir as Literary Genre,” special issue on life writing of the Journal of Baltic Studies, a peer-reviewed journal.

(Forthcoming). “Performing Identity: Lithuanian Memoirs of Siberian Deportation and Exile,” A Comparative History of the Literary Cultures of East Central Europe: Junctures and Disjunctures in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Marcel Cornis-Pope and John Neubauer, eds., Benjamins Press (Netherlands).

(2002). “Ligos retorika: Nacionalizmas ir isterija Jono Basanaviciaus autobiografijoje,” (The Rhetoric of Illness: Nationalism and Hysteria in the Autobiography of [National Patriarch] Jonas Basanavicius), Baltos Lankos 14 (Vilnius, Lithuania): 19-34.

(2002).  “Moters kaip okupuotos teritorijos naratyvas Birutes Baltrusaitytes noveliu rinkinyje Po pietvakariu  dangumi” (The Narration of Woman as Occupied Territory in Birute Baltrusaityte’s short story collection Under the Southwestern Sky) in Arturas Tereskinas, ed., Intymios erdves, viesi gyvenimai, (Intimate spaces, public lives) Vilnius, Lithuania: Baltos Lankos, trans., Artuas Tereskinas, pp. 99-111. Originally appeared in English in Lituanus 45.2 (1999): 38-53.

(2001). “Literatura, kanonas ir etika globalizacijos ir nauju technologiju akivaizdoje,” (Literature, the Canon and Ethics in the Face of Globalization and New Technologies), Literatura  43 (1), (Publication of Vilnius University, Dept. of Lithuanian Literature).  Also available on the Internet: http://www.literatura.lt/

(2000). “Ieskodami treciosios erdves: Kavolio liminalijos” (Searching for the Third Space: Vytautas Kavolis’s Liminalities). Book Review of Vytautas Kavolis: asmuo ir idejos in Kulturos Barai 10.431 (Vilnius, Lithuania, October 2000): 87-91.

(1999). Book Review of Karlis Racevskis, Modernity’s Pretenses: Making Reality Fit Reason from Candide to the Gulag (Albany: SUNY Press, 1998) in Lituanus 45.2 (Chicago): 76-79.

(1999). “Dalia Grinkeviciute un Stalinisma upuri” translation into Latvian of my article “Dalia Grinkeviciute and the Victims of Stalinism,” trans., Zane Elksnite, Jauna gaita XLIV, 2:217 (Toronto): 15-17.

(1997). “Istorija ir atmintis: Dalios Grinkeviciutes pirmi memuarai” (History and memory: Dalia Grinkeviciute's first memoirs), Metmenys 73 (Chicago): 161-76.

(1997). “The Early Poetry of Kazys Bradunas: Infant, Mother, and National Jouissance,” Lituanus 43:1 (Chicago): 70-78.

PUBLISHED LITERARY TRANSLATIONS
 (2002). “Autobiographical Vignettes In the Mirror of Childhood,” translation of excerpts from Lithuanian poet Judita Vaiciunaite’s autobiography, Vaikystes veidrodyje (In the Mirror of Childhood), New Currents: East European Arts, Politics, and Humanities 1: 42-44.  Also available on-line: www.newcurrents.com

(1994). Translation of Zita Cepaite's short story “Malvos istorija” (Malva’s story), Icarus: Journal of New Writing from Around the World 16: 171-92.

(1992). Translations of Birute Baltrusaite’s short stories, “Under the Southwestern Sky,” Violeta Kelertas, ed., Come Into My Time: Lithuania in Prose Fiction: 1970-1990, Champaign: U of Illinois P, 47-69.

(1992). Translation of Rimantas Savelis’s short story, “In the Autumn Rain,” Violeta Kelertas, ed., Come Into My Time: Lithuania in Prose Fiction: 1970-1990, Champaign, IL: U of Illinois P, 162-68.

(1992). Translation of Ricardas Gavelis’s short story, “A Report on Ghosts,” Violeta Kelertas, ed., Come Into My Time: Lithuania in Prose Fiction: 1970-1990, Champaign, IL: U of Illinois P, 189-202.

PUBLISHED INTERVIEW
 “Skandalingo pranesimo apie J. Basanaviciu autore nebijo patriotu priekaistu” (Author of scandalous speech about [national patriarch] Jonas Basanavicus does not fear patriots’ accusations), full-page interview about my essay on Jonas Basanavicius and the controversy it incited, and color photo, published in Respublika (major national daily newspaper published in Vilnius, Lithuania) June 28, 2000, p. 19.

INVITED SPEAKER
 (2001).“Mediated and Unmediated Access to the Past: Assessing the Memoir as Literary Genre,” paper presented at “Memory and History: Crossdisciplinary Approaches to Twentieth Century Baltic Life Stories,” an international workshop at the University of Toronto Munk Centre for International Studies, November 2001.

(2000). “Kanono pletimasis: skaitymas ir etika” (The Expanding Canon: Ethics and Reading), paper presented at the 60th anniversary commemoration of the Department of Lithuanian Literature at the University of Vilnius, Lithuania.

(2000). “Ligos retorika: Nacionalizmas ir isterija Jono Basanaviciaus autobiografijoje” (The Rhetoric of Illness: Nationalism and Hysteria in the Autobiography of [National Patriarch] Jonas Basanavicius), presented at the Baltos Lankos annual interdisciplinary seminar, Druskininkai, Lithuania.

(2000). “Literaturine analize: ne-literaturinis tekstas” (Literary Analysis: Non-Literary Texts), presentation on the question of the literary, as well as topics from my dissertation, to graduate students and faculty at Vilnius University, Department of Lithuanian Literature.

(1999). Special lecture, “Commemorating Stalin’s Victims on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the 1949 Deportations,” Dept. of Scandinavian Studies, University of Washington.

(1999). Keynote address, “Remembering February the 16th (Lithuanian Independence Day) in the Gulags,” presented to the Baltic community of Seattle on the occasion of the Lithuanian Independence Day celebration.

ACADEMIC CONFERENCES

(2001). “Remaking the Past: Eastern Europe in Romantic Memory,” paper delivered at annual meeting of PAMLA: Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association, Santa Clara, CA.

(2001). “Remembering/Imagining Home: History and Memory Across National and Class Boundaries,” paper delivered at “Imagining Home(s): Exploring Culture, Language, Nation,” Graduate Student Conference, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

(2000). “Teaching Baltic Culture and Society,” presented at Baltic Studies Network Workshop, Tartu, Estonia.

(2000). “Ligos retorika: Nacionalizmas ir isterija Jono Basanaviciaus autobiografijoje” (The rhetoric of illness: Nationalism and Hysteria in the Autobiography of [National Patriarch] Jonas Basanavicius), paper presented at the annual conference of Santara-Sviesa, Anyksciai, Lithuania.

(1999). “Como dos fotos viejas: Photography and the Memory of Home in the Poetry of Julio Llamazares,” at Graduate Student Conference, “Más allá del ’98,” University of Washington.

(1999). “Oublier Baudrillard? The Implications of Postmodernism for Feminist Studies,” Annual Feminist Graduate Students Conference, University of Wisconsin at Madison.

(1998). “Jean Paul Sartre and the Negritude Movement,” University of Washington, “Dangerous Liaisons,” Comparative Literature Graduate Student Conference.

(1997). “The Narration of Woman as Occupied Territory,” presented at “Conquering Women”: Interdisciplinary German Studies Conference, University of California-Berkeley.

SERVICE

Member of ad-hoc committee to select outside reviewers for English Dept. self-study, University of Southern Maine, Fall 2003.

Co-founder, Graduate Student Film Studies Forum.  Monthly meeting of Comparative Literature Department graduate students, providing a forum for discussing films and film theory and an opportunity to socialize.  Fall 2002.

Graduate Student Representative to Committee on Graduate Studies in Comparative Literature. Conducted survey on graduate student experience in the department, in the discipline, and at the university; conveyed results to committee to assist in compiling departmental 10-year review.  Represent graduate students at faculty meetings.  Winter 2002 to present.

One week of guest lectures on Baltic component of SCAN/EURO 445: “The Nordic-Baltic Region and World War II: Literary Representations,” Professor Marianne Stecher-Hansen, week of November 26, 2001.

Guest lecture on activities and exercises for Comp Lit 240 (Writing in Comparative Literature) presented to new TAs in Comparative Literature, Fall Orientation 2001.

Guest lecture on the work of Lithuanian writer Ricardas Gavelis to Professor Guntis Smidchens’ class, "Baltic Cultures," University of Washington, Winter 2001.

Student Senator, GPSS (Graduate and Professional Student Senate), University of Washington, Fall, 1999.  Obtained funds to purchase a computer and printer for home department.

Guest lecture, "Professional Development and the Graduate Student Experience," Dept. of Scandinavian Studies, Orientation of New Graduate Students and Teaching Assistants, Fall 1999.

Guest lectures on Baltic literature given to Lotte Gavel-Adams’ class, SCAN 499: "Scandinavian and Baltic Women’s Writing," University of Washington, Spring 1998 and Winter 1999.
Program Coordinator, Baltic Studies Summer Institute, University of Illinois at Chicago, Summer 1996.  Organized guest lectures and extracurricular activities, liaison between administration, faculty and students.

EDITORIAL, PUBLISHING EXPERIENCE

Research Assistant, Modern Language Quarterly: A Journal of Literary History, Assistant to Editor Marshall Brown, University of Washington.  Summer 2001 to present.  Liaison between authors, editor, and production and marketing staff; copyedit essays and reviews; manage and update website; organize MLQ-sponsored conferences.

Developmental Editor, Introductory Spanish CD-ROM textbook Mundos hispanos, Heinle and Heinle Publishers, Boston, MA.  Fall 1995-Spring 1996.  Liaison between authors, designers, and programmers.

Research Assistant, Humanities Institute, University of Illinois at Chicago, Spring-Summer, 1995. Copyedited scholarly anthology Conrad in Poland, Alex Kurczaba, ed., Eastern European Monographs.

Revisions and Permissions Editor and Marketing Specialist, F. E. Peacock Publishers, Itasca, IL.  August 1992 - May1995.  Scheduled revisions of successful textbooks, commissioned and analyzed reviews, conducted marketing research and wrote advertising copy; liaison between authors, designers, editors, and sales representatives; represented company at academic conferences.

Sales and Marketing Representative, F. E. Peacock Publishers, Itasca, IL and Harlan Davidson Publishers, Arlington Heights, IL, August 1990 – August 1992; Wadsworth Publishing Company, Belmont, CA.  November 1988 – May 1990; The Dorsey Press, Chicago, IL, September 1987 – September 1988.

AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS

Chester William Fritz Endowed Scholarship in the Humanities • awarded Spring 2003

University of Washington Graduate School Fellowship for dissertation research and writing • Fall 2001

Fulbright Fellowship for dissertation research in Vilnius, Lithuania • March-December 2000

Bronius Vaskelis Endowed Chair of Lithuanian Studies Fellowship • 1994-95

HOBBIES

Classical Ballet (9 years)