As Professor Shifra Armon retires at the end of this academic year, we take a moment to celebrate her distinguished career and the impact she has made in the field of Hispanic studies. With an academic background that spans various prestigious institutions, Professor Armon has dedicated her career to teaching, research, and fostering innovation in interdisciplinary and site-specific teaching.
Dr. Armon’s educational journey began at Hobart & William Smith Colleges, where she earned her B.A. in Comparative Literature in 1978. She went on to receive her M.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of Chicago in 1981, followed by her M.A. and Ph.D. in Hispanic & Italian Studies from The Johns Hopkins University in 1985 and 1993, respectively.
Over the years, Professor Armon has held various academic positions, including Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish at Cornell University in 1993-1994 and her long-standing tenure at the University of Florida from 1995 to the present day. She was tenured in 2002 and has since served as an Associate Professor of Spanish.
Her research interests span a wide range of topics, including Enlightenment Science and the Spanish Baroque, Theories of Gender, the works of Baltasar Gracián and Cervantes, Female Novelists, Spanish Literary Historiography, Mise-en-scène as an Approach to Teaching Comedia, History and Theory of Money and Coinage, and Comparative Approaches to Seventeenth-Century Studies.
Dr. Armon has been affiliated with various centers at the University of Florida, including the Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research, the Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, and the Center for Jewish Studies. Furthermore, she has directed four summer study-abroad programs in Spain, immersing students in the rich culture and history of the region.
Throughout her teaching career, Professor Armon has been a proponent of innovation and interdisciplinary approaches. She has taught numerous undergraduate and graduate-level courses, integrating site-specific teaching methods and unique course proposals. Some examples include her “Don Quixote: Hero or Fool?” course in the UF Honors Program’s UnCommon Reading Program, the co-development of an “Introduction to Spanish Literatures and Cultures” course that combined four survey courses under the rubric of literary and cultural studies, and the “Material World of Don Quixote” course, which explored history through the lens of Cervantes’ famous work. Additionally, Professor Armon created the “Spanish in the Museum” course, which was funded by the College of Fine Arts and held at the Harn Museum of Art, providing students with an innovative, site-specific Spanish conversation experience. These inventive approaches have showcased Professor Armon’s commitment to enriching students’ learning experiences.
As we mark the retirement of Professor Shifra Armon, we recognize her years of dedication to the field of early-Modern Hispanic studies and her contributions to the academic community. Her work and expertise have left a lasting impression, and we wish her the best as she embarks on the next chapter of her life.