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Research and teaching interests: Comparative Literature; Medieval Iberian Literature; Mediterranean Studies; Frame-tale traditions; Translation and transmission of stories and exempla; Material and cultural approaches to literature; Spain and Latin America; Spanish Language Pedagogy; Experiential and Community-Engaged Language Teaching.

Education

Ph.D. in Hispanic Literature and Culture with specialization in Medieval Spanish Literature, University of Toronto.
M.A. in Hispanic Literature and Culture with specialization in Medieval Spanish Literature, University of Toronto, 2018.
B.A. in Literature, Magna Cum Laude, Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia), 2014.

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Daniela Maldonado-Castañeda holds a Ph.D. in Hispanic Literatures and Cultures from the University of Toronto. Her research approaches Iberia as a multilingual and cross-cultural Mediterranean space shaped by sustained exchanges among Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, and Castilian traditions. She specializes in medieval frame-tale narratives and examines how translation, transmission, and material forms—texts, objects, and sensory practices—shape authorship, ethical instruction, and modes of reading. Her work brings together literary analysis, comparative methodology, and cultural studies.

Her doctoral dissertation on El Conde Lucanor by Don Juan Manuel examines the constitutive role of promises in the work, arguing that they function not only as a central theme in key tales but also as a fundamental structural principle shaping narrative form, the reading experience, and the ethical relationship between author and reader. This project forms the basis of her first book manuscript, which situates medieval Iberian literature within broader Mediterranean and comparative frameworks, with particular attention to authorship, translation, memory, space, and ethical responsibility.

Alongside her work on medieval literature, Professor Maldonado-Castañeda pursues interdisciplinary approaches to literature and culture across Iberian and Latin American contexts. Her research brings medieval literary traditions into dialogue with modern cultural studies and comparative literature, incorporating material and sensory perspectives into her literary analysis.

She is also deeply committed to language pedagogy and experiential learning. She has taught Spanish at all levels at Queen’s University and the University of Toronto and has served as a facilitator for the Community-Engaged Learning program in Spanish at the University of Toronto. She is co-author of A parar bien la oreja: Cuaderno de comprensión auditiva (OER Pressbooks, 2020), an open educational resource for intermediate and advanced learners. Her teaching integrates experiential learning, community engagement, and cultural materials—such as food, music, film, and visual culture—to foster ethical reflection, intercultural awareness, and active student participation.

Publications

Maldonado Castañeda, Daniela et al. A parar bien la oreja: cuaderno de Comprensión auditiva. Spanish Listening Comprehension Handbook for Intermediate and Advanced Levels. OER Pressbooks, 2020.

Rocha Osornio, J. C., & Maldonado Castañeda, D. “Tender puentes de reciprocidad global en tiempos de pandemia: Diseño e implementación de un programa internacional de aprendizaje-servicio virtual (APSv)”. Decires, 24 (30), 109-134, 2023.

Teaching

Professor Maldonado Castañeda teaches following courses:

SPAN 112: Beginn ing Spanish II
SPAN 302: Gramática avanzada y composición II
SPAN 380/LLCU 395: Classical Literature of Spain
SPAN 381/LLCU 395: Modern Literature of Spain
LLCU 247: The Dynamic History of Spain