Tabitha Benitez
BA in French Language and Literature, Stony Brook University
MA in English, St. John’s University
PhD Candidate, St. John’s University
Prior to accepting a Graduate Assistantship at St. John’s University Tabitha spent a year teaching in a Parisian high school instructing native French speakers English grammar and composition. Upon her return to the United States, Tabitha decided to redirect her academic interests from a decade long focus on French literature to the Anglophone, Hispanophone and Francophone diasporas. As a result, Tabitha has developed an interest in racial and ethnic identities as they relate to languages. She is also interested in the deconstruction of systematic whiteness that is pervasive in both the canonical works of her previous French studies and general university curriculums.
At St. John’s University, Tabitha explores the intersections of race, ethnicity, language and systems of power class at the university in a global context. She hopes to pursue a long career in academia wherein she may be able to unteach the white literary canon and provide a safe space for students of all backgrounds where all are included and well represented.
Tabitha was co-coordinator of the 2018 St. John’s University English Conference and works currently as the St. John’s English Department blog coordinator.