Kelly Comfort
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor of Spanish
- School of Modern Languages
- ADVANCE IAC
Overview
Kelly Comfort is Professor of Spanish and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Modern Languages at Georgia Tech, where she has worked since 2005. She earned her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature with a Designated Emphasis in Critical Theory from the University of California Davis (2005) and undergraduate degrees in Comparative Literature and in International Studies from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (1997).
A specialist in Latin American literature and transatlantic modernisms, Dr. Comfort’s research focuses primarily on the intersections between Latin American modernismo and contemporaneous turn-of-the-century literary movements in Europe such as aestheticism and decadence. Her book, European Aestheticism and Spanish American Modernismo: Artists Protagonists and the Philosophy of Art for Art’s Sake (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) examines the changing role of art and the artist during the turn-of-the-century period and considers the multiple dichotomies of art and life, aesthetics and economics, production and consumption, and center and periphery. Her edited volume, Art and Life in Aestheticism: De-Humanizing and Re-Humanizing Art, the Artist, and the Artistic Receptor (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008) rethinks the relationship in aestheticism between the aesthetic and the human realms over the past two hundred years. Her textbook and anthology Cien años de identidad: Introducción a la literatura latinoamericana del siglo XX (Georgetown University Press, 2018) received the “Most Promising New Textbook Award” from the Textbook & Academic Authors Association and currently ranks 9th among “Amazon Best Sellers in Latin American Literature.”
Her impactful contributions to the fields of urban studies and flânerie studies include two co-edited volumes: Twenty-First Century Flânerie: From Social Distance to Social Justice (South Atlantic Review, 2022) and New Directions in Flânerie: Global Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century (Routledge, 2021).
Her recent publications include the edited textbook A Global Humanities Approach to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals: Understanding Planet, People, and Prosperity (Routledge, 2023) and her co-written book Teaching Literature in the World Language Classroom: A Practical Guide that Uses Bloom’s Taxonomy to Enhance Learning (Routledge, 2025). She also self-published The Complete Spanish Pronunciation Guide: Designed for Native Speakers of English in 2025.
Kelly Comfort has designed and directed three study abroad programs in Spain and currently leads the virtual Salud in Spain Program on comparative healthcare and medicine. She has designed five service-learning and experiential education courses at Georgia Tech ans well as the semester-long “Serve-Learn-Sustain in Spain” Program.
Dr. Comfort has received fifteen distinct teaching awards, including the USG Board of Regents Teaching Excellence Award.
- Ph.D. in Comparative Literature (Highest Honors) with a designated emphasis in Critical Theory, University of California, Davis (2005)
- B.A in Comparative Literature (Highest Honors) and in International Studies with a designated emphasis in Social Theory and Cross-Cultural Studies and a concentration in Environmental Studies, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (1997)
Distinctions:
- 2019 Most Promising New Textbook Award from the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA) for Cien años de identidad: Introducción a la literatura latinoamericana del siglo XX
- Faculty Champion of Service Learning Award from the Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain, 2019
- Named “Best Overall Faculty Member from Georgia Institute of Technology” in the 2015 U.S. Higher Education Faculty Awards Volume 1 for Fine Arts, Humanities, Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
- Recipient of the 2014 University System of Georgia Board of Regents Teaching Excellence Award
- Recipient of the 2013 Class of 1940 W. Howard Ector Outstanding Teacher Award
- Recipient of the 2013 CETL Innovation in Co-Curricular Education Award
- Recipient of the 2017 and 2012 Class of 1934 Course Survey Teaching Effectiveness Award
- Recipient of the 2010 CETL/BP Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award
- Recipient of the Spring 2010 Internationalizing Faculty of the Semester Award
Interests
- Cultural and Ethical Awareness
- Literary and Cultural Studies
- Pedagogy and Curriculum Development
- Social Justice and Social Change
- Spanish
- Studies Abroad
Focuses:
- Europe
- Latin America and Caribbean
- Aestheticism
- Aesthetics
- Caribbean Studies
- Cross-Cultural Engagement
- Cross-Cultural Understanding
- Globalization and Localization
- Higher Education: Teaching and Learning
- Intercultural Issues
- Language Acquisition
- Latin-American, Latino/Latina, and Hispanic Studies
- Literary Theory
- Literature
- Modernismo
- Modernity
- Sustainability
- World Literature
Courses
- GRMN-4699: Undergraduate Research
- INTA-4811: Special Topics
- ML-2500: Intro Cross-Cult Studies
- ML-2813: Special Topics
- ML-3500: Intercultural Communicat
- SPAN-2001: Intermediate Spanish I
- SPAN-3064: Medical Spanish
- SPAN-3101: Conversation I
- SPAN-3102: Conversation II
- SPAN-3151: Conversation Practicum
- SPAN-3260: Identity In Hisp. Lit.
- SPAN-3697: Span Health Professionls
- SPAN-3698: Spain Health Industry
- SPAN-4150: Spanish Service Learning
- SPAN-4156: Span Service Abroad I
- SPAN-4157: Span Service Abroad II
- SPAN-4158: Diversity in Spain
- SPAN-4251: Hispanic Internship
- SPAN-4500: Intercultural Seminar
- SPAN-4693: Sustainability in Span
- SPAN-4699: Undergraduate Research
- SPAN-6251: Hispanic Internship
- SPAN-6500: Intercultural Seminar
- SPAN-6501: Theory & Foundations Sem
- SPAN-6503: Professional Portfolio
- SPAN-6510: Language Practicum
- SPAN-8803: Special Topics
Publications
Recent Publications
Books
- Teaching Literature in the World Language Classroom: A Practical Guide that Uses Bloom’s Taxonomy to Enhance Learning
Date: 2025
- The Complete Spanish Pronunciation Guide: Designed for Native Speakers of English
Date: 2025
Book - Editors
- A Global Humanities Approach to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals: Understanding Planet, People and Prosperity
Date: 2023
Chapters
- Conclusion: Think Global, Act Local: Partnerships and Projects (SDG 17)
In: A Global Humanities Approach to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals: Understanding Planet, People and Prosperity [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2023
- Fabrice Monteiro’s The Prophecy: Trash Art Photography Protests Trashing the Planet
In: A Global Humanities Approach to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals: Understanding Planet, People and Prosperity [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2023
All Publications
Books
- Teaching Literature in the World Language Classroom: A Practical Guide that Uses Bloom’s Taxonomy to Enhance Learning
Date: 2025
- The Complete Spanish Pronunciation Guide: Designed for Native Speakers of English
Date: 2025
- Cien años de identidad: Introducción a la literatura latinoamericana del siglo XX
Date: 2018
- European Aestheticism and Spanish American Modernismo: Artist Protagonists and the Philosophy of Art for Art's Sake
Date: 2011
Book - Editors
- A Global Humanities Approach to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals: Understanding Planet, People and Prosperity
Date: 2023
- New Directions in Flânerie: Global Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century
In: Series in Comparative Literature [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2021
- Art and Life in Aestheticism: De-Humanizing and Re-Humanizing Art, the Artist, and the Artistic Receptor
Date: 2008
Journal Articles
- Martí’s ‘Nuestra América mestiza’ versus Darío’s ‘Unión Latina’: A Comparison of Race Rhetoric and Foundational Thinking
In: A Contracorriente [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2023
- Twenty-First Century Flânerie: From Social Distance to Social Justice
In: South Atlantic Review [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2022
- Walking in Senegal: Photography, Flânerie, and Ragpicking for Environmental and Social Justice in Fabrice Monteiro’s The Prophecy
In: South Atlantic Review [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2022
- From "Guardia" to "Guarida" and "Insilio" to "Exilio": A Close (Re-)Reading of Senel Paz’s "El lobo, el bosque y el hombre nuevo"
In: Letras Hispanas [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2021
- "The Flâneur in Paris and Mexico City: Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera’s Transnational Search for Modern Beauty"
Date: 2016
- Art for the Artist’s Sake or Artist for Sale: Lulu's and Else's Failed Attempts at Aesthetic Self-Fashioning
Date: 2014
- Colonial Others as Cuba’s Protonational Subjects: The Privileged Space of Women, Slaves and Natives in Gómez de Avellaneda’s Sab
Date: 2014
- Masculinidad rechazada: El artista recluído y no productivo en Rubén Darío y José Asunción Silva
Date: 2014
- The Clash of the Foreign and the Local in Martí and Carpentier: From 'Misplaced Ideas' to 'Trasculturation'
Date: 2014
- The Critic as Artist and Liar: The Reuse and Abuse of Plato and Aristotle by Wilde
Date: 2014
- The Artist as Impressionistic Critic in José Asunción Silva’s De sobremesa: Transatlantic Borrowings from Walter Pater, Oscar Wilde, and British Aestheticism
Date: 2013
Chapters
- Conclusion: Think Global, Act Local: Partnerships and Projects (SDG 17)
In: A Global Humanities Approach to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals: Understanding Planet, People and Prosperity [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2023
- Fabrice Monteiro’s The Prophecy: Trash Art Photography Protests Trashing the Planet
In: A Global Humanities Approach to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals: Understanding Planet, People and Prosperity [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2023
- Introduction: A Global Humanities Approach to Education for Sustainable Development and the UN SDGs
In: A Global Humanities Approach to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals: Understanding Planet, People and Prosperity [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2023
- Tracing the Geography, Genius, and Gender of Flânerie
In: New Directions in Flânerie: Global Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2022
- Uncivilived Flânerie: The Gaucho-Flâneur in Jorge Luis Borges’ "The South"
In: New Directions in Flânerie: Global Perspectives for the Twenty-First Century [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2021
- Reflections on the Relationship between Art and Life in Aestheticism
Date: 2014
Updated: Jan 27th, 2026 at 10:36 AM