Dr. Leticia Isabel Espinoza’s Hope courses focus on language instruction and the cultures of Spanish-speaking societies. As a writer, researcher and speaker, she studies Latin American and Spanish literature and culture from the 18th century to the present, as well as US Latino culture and literature since the 1960s. Within these fields, her special interests include the intersections of comics and literature, and the interplay of sexuality, gender and national identity in 21st-century pan-Hispanic novels. 

Her Hope courses have included US Latino History and Literature, Contemporary Spanish Culture and Literature, the introductory Spanish course and Cultural Perspectives of Hispanics in the US (a May Term course). Dr. Espinoza began teaching at Hope in 2023. Earlier, she taught Spanish for eight years at Cornerstone University.

AREAS OF Expertise

• Spanish literature from the 18th century to the present
• US Latino literature
• Mexican literature
• Graphic novels from Spain and Latin America

EDUCATION

• Ph.D., Spanish language and literature, Western Michigan University, 2016
• B.A., business and communications, with an English minor, Calvin College, 2003

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

• “My Experience as a Non-White Latina, Single Mother in the Academy,” in The Hispanic
  Faculty Experience: Opportunities for Growth and Retention in Christian Colleges and
  Universities (ed. O. J. Esqueda and B. Espinoza), Abilene Christian University Press, 2023
• “Contemplation, Academics, and Worship,” presentation at Cornerstone University
  Celebration of Scholarship, 2022
• “La deconstrucción femenina en El desencanto y su espacio en el discurso hegemónico
  oficial de Centro América,” presentation at Congreso Internacional de Literatura y
  Estudios Hispánicos virtual conference, 2021  
• “La realización de la identidad de género: deseo, expresión visual y oral en Cuerpo
  náufrago,” presentation at Latin American Studies Association virtual conference, 2020
• “Why Should I Care About César Chávez?,” presentation at Cornerstone University, 2016
• “Language, Desire and Identity in The Shipwrecked Body,” The Hilltop Review, 2012

outisde the college

Dr. Espinoza, affectionately known as Dr. E to some of her alumni, has one son, who will be a
Hope College student in 2026 and has two wonderful cats. She enjoys learning about cultures,
discovering new restaurants and traveling.