Iani Moreno, PhD

Program Director, Spanish

Research and Creative Interests

I love teaching upper and lower-level courses in a variety of topics, including contemporary Latin American and Peninsular literature, arts, and culture. I have a strong commitment to teaching Spanish grammar, culture, and literature courses. Additionally, I have experience teaching Spanish for the Professions courses.

My research interests include contemporary Latin American Theatre, U.S.-Mexico Border Studies, Latin American Studies, Brazilian Studies, Spanish and Portuguese language and literature, and contemporary Latin American cinema and music.

Teaching Philosophy

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by foreign languages. Teaching them is my life, and it gives me great satisfaction to see students become proficient in Spanish. A teacher’s classroom should present an atmosphere of mutual respect and exchange of ideas. I encourage my students to be independent, original, and to inquire beyond what is presented in class. I value their comments and output in and outside of the classroom, and gladly give them feedback on their work in progress.

I am very dedicated to my teaching. My most important job is to recognize and develop students’ individual gifts, and it is my duty to help them accept the challenges of learning a foreign language. In the classroom, I tell students that the principal rule for me is respect. We must respect each other as human beings before we can start a meaningful learning process.

Professional Activities and Affiliations

Member of the Latin American Studies Association and Modern Language Association.

I am dedicated to social activism and community service. My project “Exploring Pimeria Alta: A Window to Ancient and Contemporary Native American, Hispanic and American Cultural Heritage” was awarded the Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation Travel Fellowship Prize in 2022. Winning this fellowship gave me the opportunity to engage in community service and learn about the southern Arizona and northern Sonora high desert landscape and heritage. As part of the project, I volunteered to help with translating asylum declarations, vital records, evidence, and I-589 asylum applications. Additionally, during these trips I had a chance to work with lawyer, actress, and political activist Alba Jaramillo, the director and founder of Casa de la Misericordia y de todas las Naciones, Alma Angélica Macías Mejía, and Mexican playwright Hugo Salcedo.

I am dedicated to promoting Service Learning at Suffolk University and have joined forces with CCE to organize trips to Puerto Rico and Panama and hope to organize many more.

Grants, Awards, Honors, and Recognitions

Recipient of the 2022 Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation Fellowship, April 01, 2022
Awarded Faculty Sabbatical for academic year 2021-2022.
Recipient of College of Arts and Sciences’ Faculty Research Assistant Program Suffolk University.

Employment History

Suffolk University (2006 - Present)

Recent Scholarly and Creative Contributions

Theatre of the Borderlands: Conflict, Violence, and Healing. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books a Division of Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group, 2015 and reprinted in 2017.

“Antígona González o la representación de la ausencia de los desaparecidos.” Latin American Theatre Review, vol. 58, no. 2, Spring 2025, pp. 119-138.

“La Mara Salvatrucha presentada en el teatro mexicano contemporáneo.” Revue reCHERches. Culture et Histoire dans l’Espace Roman. Presses universitaires de Strasbourg. No. 31, Autumn 2023, pp. 29-45.

“Román y Salcedo: La representación contemporánea de la violencia en México.” Revista Acápite, Editorial de la Universidad Iberoamericana. no. 3, July-December 2023, pp. 36-60.

“Hugo Salcedo.” Fifty Key Figures in Latinx and Latin American Theatre. Paola S. Hernandez and Analola Santana Eds. New York: Routledge, 2022.

“El viaje mítico a través de la obra de Hugo Salcedo” Revista Iberoamericana, vol. 84, no. 265, Oct-Dic 2018, pp. 1015-1030.

Dos Nogales. Iani del Rosario Moreno, Translator. Bilingual Edition. Hugo Salcedo, Author. Mexico City: Editorial de la Universidad Iberoamericana, 2026.

Miss Esther. Iani del Rosario Moreno, Translator. La niña Esther. Hugo Salcedo, Author. Review: Literature and Arts of the Americas, Issue 104, vol. 55, no. 1, June 2022, pp. 108-113.

Nosotras que los queremos tanto… We Women. Iani del Rosario Moreno, Translator. Bilingual Edition. Hugo Salcedo, Author. Mexico City: Editorial de la Universidad Iberoamericana, 2020.

Keynote Speaker: “Migratory Journeys to the United States as Seen Through Contemporary Mexican Theatre.” Syracuse University Department of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. Syracuse, NY, April 8, 2025, Hobart and William Smith Colleges Spanish and Hispanic Studies Department. Geneva, NY, April 9, 2025, Colgate University Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. Hamilton, NY, April 10, 2025, and Cornell University Department of Romance Studies. Ithaka, NY, April 11, 2025.

“Trinidad: Una lucha contra la homofobia en el México contemporáneo.” International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association: Poner el cuerpo en Latinx América, San Francisco, May 23–26, 2025.

“Art and Activism as a Binational Project.” International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association: Reaction and Resistance: Imagining Possible Futures in the Americas, Bogota, Colombia, June 12–15, 2024.

Education

• PhD, University of Kansas
• MA, University of Kansas
• BA, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University