DEPARTMENT OF SPANISH & PORTUGUESE

Johan Gotera holds a PhD in Spanish and Portuguese from Northwestern University (2023), a Master’s degree in Hispanic Language and Literatures from Boston University (2016), and aMaster’s degree in Latin American Literature from Universidad Simón Bolívar (2012) For over a decade, he has taught elementary through advanced Spanish language courses and Latin American literature at Northwestern University, Lake Forest College, and the Instituto Cervantes.

He has published essays in magazines and journals in Cuba, Venezuela, and the United States. He is the author of Severo Sarduy: alcances de una novelística y otros ensayos, Octavio Armand contra sí mismo, and Distorsiones del barroco. Erosión y archivo en Octavio Armand y Severo Sarduy. He has also edited Acercamientos a Octavio Armand and Conversaciones con Octavio Armand, both published in Mexico.

His documentary film, Cuba huía de mí, which explores the life and work of Cuban writer Octavio Armand, will premiere this year (2026) at a film festival in Prague. His interests include contemporary literature, poetry, Cuban literature, Latin American revolutions, political philosophy, and Spanish language instruction.