Nelson López, Associate Professor of the Department of Global Languages and Cultures, earned his BA in Humanities-Drama from the University of Puerto Rico, and holds two terminal degrees in Arts and Literature: an M.F.A. degree in Theatre-Directing, from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Ph.D. in Spanish Golden Age Literature from the University of Florida.
Dr. López, an educator at heart, has won the respect and admiration of his students by being awarded the Sister Patricia Lowman student advocate award in 2010. Labeled sometimes as a Theatre and Spanish Generalist, his research interests centers around Spanish Golden Age and 19th century Literature, as well as Hispanic and Latino Theatre where he focuses on Performance Studies in Theatre and Film. He has given lectures and published several articles in his field, and a book entitled El valiente negro en Flandes: edición para actores y directores by Reichenberger Press, 2007.
A person of many hidden talents, his other research interests are centered on marginalized characters in Spanish Renaissance and Golden Age Literature, Puerto Rican Popular Culture, Spanish for the professions, and other guilty pleasures such as reading detective, thrillers, and adventure fiction, the old style way, through authentic non-battery operated books. If you are tech savvy enough, you may run into him online dabbling in Ubisoft, Origin, and/or Steam servers. His heart is still with theatre, and proof of such endeavors are his contributions as an acting coach, a translator, and director for Bellarmine University’s Theatre program when the opportunity presents itself.
Dr. López supports studying abroad as means of learning about other cultures and languages, and making connections by other means than social networks. He has traveled to Colombia, Cuba, France, Italy, Puerto Rico, and Spain. During summer, Dr. López spends his time in Segovia, Spain where he serves as a director of Kentucky Institute for International Studies (KIIS) June program. In his capacity as director and teacher, he enjoys sharing his in depth knowledge of his motherland with his students from the KIIS consortium.