Directory
Stephanie Litka
Senior Lecturer
Full-Time Faculty
College of Arts and Sciences: Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work
Degrees
- Ph.D., Linguistic and Cultural Anthropology, Florida State University, 2012
- M.A., Anthropology, University of Florida, 2004
- B.A., Spanish and Portuguese (Cum Laude), University of Florida, 2001
Profile
Stephanie Litka is a lecturer of anthropology. Her research interests focus on the intersection of sustainable tourism, social ties and language contact among the Yucatec Maya. She has traveled to the region for over 20 years, primarily concentrating on community development and the expansion of kinship networks within the context of global tourism in the town of Cobá, Quintana Roo, Mexico. She received formal linguistic training in Yucatec Mayan, in addition to Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese, as an undergraduate and graduate student. Dr. Litka enjoys bringing UD students to the area in partnership with the Universidad Marista de Mérida and the Center for International Programs.
She also serves as the primary advisor for sociology majors and instructor for first-year student seminars within the department.
Linguistic training
- Three levels of Yucatec Mayan, sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2003, 2004, and 2009
- Certification in Spanish at the Francisco Marroquín language school in Antigua, Guatemala, 2001
- Study abroad in partnership with the University of Florida and the Instituto Brasileiro Estados Unidos (IBEU) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2000
Courses taught
- Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (Classroom and on-line instruction, along with a summer section in Suzhou, China)
- Language and Culture (Classroom and on-line instruction, along with intersession components in Suzhou, China and Cobá, Mexico)
- Tourism and the Social Sciences (Classroom instruction for study abroad programs in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Suzhou, China, and Barcelona, Spain)
- Cultures of Latin America
- First-Year Seminar for Discovering Arts and Sociology Students
Campus involvement and affiliations
- Member of the Native Peoples of the Americas Colloquium (NPAC)
- Nominated member of the University of Dayton Academic Advising Task Force
- Selected member of the University of Dayton China Institute Working Group
- Center for International Programs (CIP)
- Multi-Ethnic Education and Engagement Center
Selected publications
Litka, Stephanie J. 2020. A Locally Global Home: Social Ties, Tourism, and Language Contact among the Yucatec Maya of Cobá, Mexico. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press. (Book manuscript in progress and in preparation for review).
Litka, Stephanie J. 2018. Jacinto Pat and the Talking Cross: Caste War Heroes in the Yucatán Peninsula, in A. Kistler (ed.) The Faces of Resistance: Maya Heroes, Power, and Identity. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, pp. 100-120.
Litka, Stephanie J. 2013. The Maya of Cobá: Managing Tourism in a Local Ejido. Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 43: 350-369.
Media appearances
Television interview in Spanish about tourism in the Maya region, Tulum al Mundo program in Tulum Mexico, July 2019 https://youtu.be/UTyo0rtu4dg
Radio interview in Spanish and Yucatec Mayan about research in Cobá, Radio Xenka program in Felipe Carrillo Puerto Mexico, June 2019 https://youtu.be/DnV3n5u-Zdk