Historically, there have been close ties between the Spanish government and the Roman Catholic Church. Even today Spaniards can designate a portion of their income taxes for the maintenance of church buildings and properties in Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Jos\u00e9 Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was elected prime minister in 2004, however, that relationship began to change. Zapatero was perceived to be anti-Catholic, and that created some societal upheaval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nTransylvania students are smart, hard-working, adventuresome, and somewhat spontaneous. It\u2019s such a joy every day.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Transylvania student Leslie Little Gailey \u201806 was doing research into the church\u2019s position in Spain, and she was awarded a grant to travel to Spain with professor Veronica Dean-Thacker to interview writers, publishers, professors, clergymen, and others about this new attitude toward the church. Another Transylvania student, Rachel Wilson \u201907, decided to join them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMost Spaniards are Catholic but they don\u2019t go to church,\u201d said Dean-Thacker. \u201cThey still pass on the values to their kids. They just don\u2019t participate. Before Zapatero came into office, the Franco government aligned itself with the church 100 percent. If people didn\u2019t practice their faith, they were basically turning their back on the government. That wasn\u2019t true, but that\u2019s what the government wanted the people to believe. That was the case for nearly 40 years. We wanted to talk about that with some key people, not only clergymen but professors of sociology, editors of socialist journals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group prepared questions. Dean-Thacker reached out to her network of connections to arrange the interviews, including one with the director of Vatican radio in Rome. While in Spain, the three traveled all around the country for their appointments, talking with dignitaries and absorbing the Spanish culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the type of enthusiasm and scholarly engagement that Dean-Thacker says is typical among Transylvania students. In her experience, the students love learning and gaining new knowledge, skills, and perspectives. Some of Dean-Thacker\u2019s other students will soon have the opportunity to collaborate with her on a new project: an article about the poetry of an important Basque author, whose works she is collecting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This active participation among the students can lead to post-graduation success. Gailey, for example, is now working at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation. Another graduate is working with the Fulbright Commission in Colombia. Dean-Thacker\u2019s daughter, also a Transylvania graduate, received a summer internship with a federal judge after her first year of law school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMany of our majors go on to graduate programs in Spanish language and literature, Hispanic studies, international affairs, and programs in other fields such as diplomacy, law, medicine, and business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dean-Thacker attributes this success to a combination of the students\u2019 motivation and the Transylvania professors\u2019 skillful teaching. \u201cWe all try to have a good breadth of knowledge so we can discuss topics in general in addition to our own areas of expertise. We want the students to learn to depend on their own brain instead of what other people tell them. Read primary sources and then read the secondary sources. You decide if the critics are right or not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dean-Thacker particularly appreciates working with her colleagues in the Spanish program. \u201cIt\u2019s such a joy of a job. We work very hard, but we love it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\nAcademic History<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Ph.D., Spanish Language and Literature, University of Kentucky, 1986
M.A., Spanish Language and Literature, University of Northern Iowa, 1981
B.A., Spanish, Nazareth College, 1978<\/p>\n\n\n\nCourses Taught at Transy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Modern Spanish Literature
Legacies: Spanish Cities and Towns
The Golden Ages of Spanish Art and Literature
Twentieth-century Spain
Tertulia
Basic and Intermediate Spanish Language
Advanced Spanish Grammar and Composition
Spanish Civilization
Senior Seminar in Spanish Literature<\/p>\n\n\n\nAreas of Specialization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Poetry and visual art; ekphrasis
The Catholic Church in Spanish history and society
Spanish literature from the nineteenth century to the present<\/p>\n\n\n\nAwards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Bingham Award for Excellence in Teaching
Spanish Ministry of Culture grants to bring three Leonese writers to campus, April 2009
Kenan Sabbatical Research Grant, 2002, 2009
Transylvania University Summer Research Grants for Faculty for literary research in Spain, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2010\u201311
Kentucky Council for International Education for research in Spain, 1991
National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute on Alphonsine Language, Literature, and Culture, 1990<\/p>\n\n\n\nPerformance Opportunities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Modern Language Association<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grupo Internacional de Investigaci\u00f3n E014-06 Did\u00e1ctica de la Lengua y Educaci\u00f3n Literaria of the University of Murcia<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ALDEEU (Asociaci\u00f3n de Licenciados y Doctores Espa\u00f1oles en Estados Unidos)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nRecent Publications<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Upon the Death of Don Quixote (English translation of Spanish author Andr\u00e9s Trapiello\u2019s novel Al morir don Quijote). Newark, Delaware: Juan de la Cuesta Hispanic Monographs, 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBathtubs Teeming with Frogs: Confluence of Form in the Multi-modal Work of Spanish Artist and Poet Margarita Merino.\u201d Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, Vol 5, No 7 (2018), 228-239.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2018La aurora\u2019 o el surrealismo del progreso oscuro: comentarios argumentativos en Educaci\u00f3n Superior.\u201d Nueva York en Espa\u00f1ol: Intersecciones Hisp\u00e1nicas en EEUU. Lakeville, MA: The Country Press, 2017, 261-276. (Co-authored with Dr. Shelby G. Thacker).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLa Tabla de Flandes: enigma, paradoja y la construcci\u00f3n de un pe\u00f3n.\u201d \u201cThis Spanish Thing\u201d: Essays in Honor of Edward F. Stanton. Newark, Delaware: Juan de la Cuesta Hispanic Monographs, 2016, 119-128.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEl Pintor Juan Bautista Sanz,\u201d La Opini\u00f3n (Murcia, Spain), 25 Jan. 2015 (Newspaper article with Dr. Pedro Guerrero of la Universidad de Murcia).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAlexandra Dom\u00ednguez: A Journey to Mythical Spaces, International Journal of Art and Art History, Vol. 3, No. 1 (June, 2015) 109-120 (co-authored with Prof. Jack Girard).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEl dolor fantasma como met\u00e1fora subyacente en El l\u00e1piz del carpintero de Manuel Rivas,\u201d H\u00e9cula, Vol. 3, (Jan.-Dec., 2014) 47-54.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIsolation and Alienation in the Art and Poetry of Juan Carlos Mestre\u201d International Journal of the Image, 2012, Vol. 3, Issue 4, pp. 91-103 (co- authored with Prof. Jack Girard).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Professional Memberships<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
“Dulce et utile: los cuentos de Asensio Sez,” in Homenaje al Acad\u00e9mico Asensio Sez, Murcia: Academia Alfonso X el Sabio, 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“La poes\u00eda de Rafael Alberti: el poder de la imagen,” Lenguaje y textos num. 18, Rafael Alberti, La Coru\u00f1a: Universidade da Coru\u00f1a, 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Imagen e imaginaci\u00f3n en La piel del tambor de P\u00e9rez-Reverte,” in Territorio Reverte, ed. by Jos\u00e9 Manuel L\u00f3pez de Abiada. Madrid: Verbum, 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Federico Garc\u00eda Lorca: El color de la poes\u00eda. In collaboration with Pedro Guerrero Ruiz. University of Murcia and the Ayuntamiento de Murcia, 1998.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Poemas visuales y dibujos po\u00e9ticos de Garc\u00eda Lorca” in Federico Garc\u00eda Lorca en el espejo del tiempo, ed. de Pedro Guerrero Ruiz. Alicante: Editorial Aguaclara, 1998.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Poetic Mystery in Garc\u00eda Lorca’s Drawings and Visual Poetry,” Scripta Mediterranea (University of Toronto), 1997.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3749,"template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Relevanssi image attachment filter Relevanssi index exclude","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"academic_division":[56,57,67,65],"class_list":["post-235","faculty","type-faculty","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n
Dean-Thacker, Veronica - Website Experiments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/faculty\/vdeanthacker\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dean-Thacker, Veronica\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Historically, there have been close ties between the Spanish government and the Roman Catholic Church. Even today Spaniards can designate a portion of their income taxes for the maintenance of church buildings and properties in Spain. When Jos\u00e9 Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was elected prime minister in 2004, however, that relationship began to change. Zapatero was perceived to be anti-Catholic, and that created some societal upheaval.Continue to “Dean-Thacker, Veronica”\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/faculty\/vdeanthacker\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Website Experiments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/transylvaniauniversity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2020\/02\/vDeanThacker-210.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"210\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"210\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@transy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.transy.edu\\\/experiments\\\/faculty\\\/vdeanthacker\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.transy.edu\\\/experiments\\\/faculty\\\/vdeanthacker\\\/\",\"name\":\"Dean-Thacker, Veronica - Website Experiments\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.transy.edu\\\/experiments\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.transy.edu\\\/experiments\\\/faculty\\\/vdeanthacker\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.transy.edu\\\/experiments\\\/faculty\\\/vdeanthacker\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.transy.edu\\\/experiments\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/vDeanThacker-210.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-07T20:47:17+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.transy.edu\\\/experiments\\\/faculty\\\/vdeanthacker\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.transy.edu\\\/experiments\\\/faculty\\\/vdeanthacker\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.transy.edu\\\/experiments\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/vDeanThacker-210.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.transy.edu\\\/experiments\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/24\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/vDeanThacker-210.jpg\",\"width\":210,\"height\":210},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.transy.edu\\\/experiments\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.transy.edu\\\/experiments\\\/\",\"name\":\"Website Experiments\",\"description\":\"does the tagline ruin things?\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.transy.edu\\\/experiments\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dean-Thacker, Veronica - Website Experiments","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/faculty\/vdeanthacker\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dean-Thacker, Veronica","og_description":"Historically, there have been close ties between the Spanish government and the Roman Catholic Church. Even today Spaniards can designate a portion of their income taxes for the maintenance of church buildings and properties in Spain. When Jos\u00e9 Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was elected prime minister in 2004, however, that relationship began to change. Zapatero was perceived to be anti-Catholic, and that created some societal upheaval.Continue to “Dean-Thacker, Veronica”","og_url":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/faculty\/vdeanthacker\/","og_site_name":"Website Experiments","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/transylvaniauniversity","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2020\/02\/vDeanThacker-210.jpg","width":210,"height":210,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@transy","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/faculty\/vdeanthacker\/","url":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/faculty\/vdeanthacker\/","name":"Dean-Thacker, Veronica - Website Experiments","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/faculty\/vdeanthacker\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/faculty\/vdeanthacker\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2020\/02\/vDeanThacker-210.jpg","datePublished":"2026-10-07T20:47:17+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/faculty\/vdeanthacker\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/faculty\/vdeanthacker\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2020\/02\/vDeanThacker-210.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2020\/02\/vDeanThacker-210.jpg","width":210,"height":210},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/","name":"Website Experiments","description":"does the tagline ruin things?","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faculty\/235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faculty"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/faculty"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faculty\/235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11087,"href":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faculty\/235\/revisions\/11087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"academic_division","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/academic_division?post=235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}