Steven White
Professor and Chair of Modern Languages (Spanish)

Steven White grew up north of Chicago and was educated at Williams College and the University of Oregon . As an undergraduate, he majored in English, but earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in Spanish with a focus on Latin American literature. St. Lawrence was his first position after graduate school; he has been teaching Spanish language classes and courses on Latin American culture and literature since 1987. His current research is on ecocriticism, which is the study of literature in relation to the physical environment. In a recent publication, he used this as a tool to study the poetry of Nicaraguan Pablo Antonio Cuadra (1912-2002). “What I most enjoy about working at St. Lawrence is the chance to do independent research projects with my best students,” he says. “Recently, this work has included studies of Latinos working in the dairy industry in the North Country ; the March 11, 2004 , bombings in Madrid, Spain; and the paintings of Peruvian artist Pablo Amaringo. Other students with whom I've worked have published their book reviews, articles and translations of poems in a variety of academic journals.” The new electronic publication Inside the Area has published many of his students’ best research papers in Caribbean and Latin American Studies from many different disciplines. Outside of work, White says that in winter, “I love speed skating at the St. Lawrence ice arena or, better still, on the canal in Ottawa !”