CofC Faces to Know: Susan Divine

Name: Susan Divine

Hometown: Ames, Iowa

Education/Background: I have a B.A in Spanish and a B.A in anthropology from Iowa State University (2000). I loved school and my advisors did not do much advising, so I accidentally ended up with enough credits for a double degree instead of a double major. I got my M.A. and my Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Arizona in 2008. My dissertation was on contemporary science fiction from Spain.

Job title: Associate Professor of Spanish and Chair of Hispanic Studies

How long have you worked at the College? I arrived in the fall of 2013.

What are your job responsibilities? In addition to the classes I teach every semester, I manage and lead Hispanic studies, one of the most dynamic, engaged and enthusiastic departments on campus (I may be biased).

What do you like most about your job? In the classroom, I love when students gain enough confidence to start being themselves in a second language – it is no small thing to have the ability to express opinions, ideas and humor in a new language! In my job as chair, I love working with students and faculty to bring great ideas into reality. Sometimes it’s a small idea like a Reading Day dance party to burn off stress. Other times it’s a big idea like our new mentorship program that connects our majors with community members who use Spanish in their professional lives, or curricular changes that help our programs grow in meaningful ways. Right now, based on ideas from HISP faculty, we’re transforming our conference room into a lounge to create a community space for our students and faculty.

What question do you get asked most in your job and what’s your typical answer? Honestly, the question I get most is some variation of, “What’s a person from Iowa doing teaching Spanish?” But when anyone asks, I get to tell them about how much my parents valued education, language study and making sure that all their five kids saw the world outside of the Midwest. I also get to tell people that I took Spanish for fun and was certain that it would never be my career. Now I’m the chair of Hispanic studies! The ability to teach the language, literatures and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world is an immense privilege. Also, since I left my home state, the Hispanic population has grown tremendously, and so now a lot of people in Iowa speak Spanish.

What’s your favorite location on campus and why? I feel like I should say the Cistern – and I do love it there – but I’m going to say Liberty Street Food Hall. The food is good, it’s a great deal and I get to leave my office and experience students, staff and faculty coming together over food.

What are your hobbies? I love working in my garden, seeing things grow and then eating them. Ha! I’m also a (slow) runner and exercise enthusiast. Lately, I’ve been trying to find time for more creativity, especially learning how to paint with watercolors.

What personal and/or professional accomplishment are you most proud of? Last summer after my first year as chair, I finished a book manuscript and submitted it for publication. It was well-reviewed and I’m working now on minor revisions. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to finish, but I did it.

Name a creative work (book, movie, performance, etc.) you enjoyed recently and why? I’m in the middle of Stephan Graham Jones’ The Buffalo Hunter Hunter and am recommending it to everyone. I love the way the author mixes historical fiction with fantasy. His descriptions of the Montana wilderness at the turn of the 20th century are gorgeous – and, while the story can be gruesome, the violence is never gratuitous.

What was your favorite TV show growing up? I grew up watching Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.

What’s next on your bucket list? Filling my yard with local plants and making a pollinator paradise.

What is something your campus colleagues would be surprised to know about you? When I was in undergrad, I drove a city bus. It was daunting to learn how to manage a 40-foot bus and go through the CDL process, but, let me tell you, if you can parallel park a bus, you can do just about anything you set your mind to.

What was your first job? Like many kids from Iowa of my generation, my first real job with a W2 was detasseling corn at 14. Every July they would send small armies of teenagers out to walk the muggy, muddy, bug-filled cornfields to pull the tassels off each corn stalk for $8.00 an hour. That was good money in the 1990s!

What’s your favorite Lowcountry restaurant? I always love a charcuterie moment at Avondale Wine and Cheese in West Ashley, or fresh oysters at any of the cool oyster bars downtown.

Describe your perfect day: It starts with no alarm waking me up so I can sleep in a little bit. I get to linger over my coffee and play all my NYT morning games (Wordle, Connections and Strands). I take my 15-year-old dog Ruby for a walk and then spend the day in my garden. In the afternoon I meet friends for dinner and cocktails and stay up way too late talking and laughing, but it’s OK because there’s no alarm set for the next morning, either.

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