Irene Jacobsen

Irene Jacobsen

Personal profile

About

Prof. Irene Jacobsen (né Irene Coromina) was born in Córdoba, Argentina, to parents who loved to read. Her first exposure to a foreign language occurred in kindergarten (Spanish in the morning, German in the afternoon). At age seven she moved to Montréal, Canada, where her father worked as a U.N. translator, thus bringing forth her second exposure to a foreign language, French. After graduation from secondary school, following the wise advice of her parents, she switched to the English school system and earned a B.A. in Sociology from McGill University (1989). Eventually she followed in her mother's footsteps and decided to study Spanish and Latin American literature, which led to a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania (2002). In 2007 her linguistic odyssey came full circle when she married a native from Germany, an event that reignited her interest in German.

Every semester, Prof. Jacobsen teaches Elementary Spanish (FLS 1101 or 1102). Once a year, she offers the advanced course she has taught most often, Problems in Spanish Grammar (FLS 3000). Depending on the needs of the Department, her other courses will be any of the following: Spanish Through Latin American Narrative and Film (FLS 3010, a writing-centered course that focuses on techniques and style); Survey of Early Spanish Literature (FLS 4510, medieval and early modern literature of Spain); Women in the Hispanic World (FLE 3025, in English, cross-listed with Women's Studies); and Cultural Perspectives on the Tango (Special Topics: FLS 4650). In fall 2017, she taught for the first time FLS 4320, Civilization and Culture of Spanish America. In spring 2018, she developed and taught for the first time FLS 1112, Spanish for the Health Professions.

Prof. Jacobsen's research interests coincide with the literature and culture courses she teaches. For a decade, inspired by the topic of her doctoral dissertation, her conference papers and articles focused on the issues faced by women writers, such as censorship of their work and the textual strategies they developed to avert clashes with (male) authorities. The past few years have seen a shift in the focus of her research toward the intersection of the picaresque (an early modern Spanish literary genre) novel with Tango lyrics (a subgenre of Argentine poetry). For this project she is busy translating numerous Tango-songs from the River Plate variety of Spanish (peppered with lunfardo, a local lexicon) to standard English. In 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014, she lectured on the Tango at six different universities (including in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and in Medellín, Colombia).

Contact Information

Office: 1361 - Coleman Hall
Phone: 2175813021
Email: [email protected]

On Sabbatical Leave Spring 2019

Related documents

Education/Academic qualification

Department of Romance Languages, PhD, University of Pennsylvania

… → 2002

Department of Romance Languages, MA, University of Pennsylvania

… → 1998

Sociology, BA, McGill University

… → 1989

Disciplines

  • Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature
  • Spanish Linguistics
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