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Paul Begin Faculty Profile

Paul Begin

Interim Senior Associate Dean
International Studies and Languages Division, Seaver College
TAC 320
310.506.4866

Biography

Paul Begin is the Interim Senior Associate Dean of Seaver College. He has served the University since 2006, as Divisional Dean of International Studies & Languages from 2014 to 2020 and Associate Dean of Curriculum and General Education from 2020 to 2025. He is also a professor of Hispanic Studies and Foundations of Reasoning. He has served as the director of the upper division Spanish program in Madrid, Spain on multiple occasions. Dean Begin received his BA from Pepperdine University and earned his MA and PhD, from the University of Virginia, both in Spanish with a specialization in Spanish culture and literature.

Education

  • BA Pepperdine University
  • MA University of Virginia
  • PhD University of Virginia

 

  • Begin, Paul. “Airbnb and the Boundaries of the Tourist Center in San Sebastián (Spain).” Invisible Borders in a Bordered World: Geographies of Power, Mobility, and Belonging. New York and London: Routledge, 2023. pp. 129-143..
  • Begin, Paul. “Mar adentro and the Question of Freedom.” Ethics of Life: Contemporary Iberian Debates. Vanderbilt University Press (2016): 183-202.
  • Begin, Paul. “Assisted suicide and academic suicide.” A polemical companion to Ethics of Life: Contemporary Iberian Debates. Hispanic Issues Online Debates. Volume 7 (2016): 133-136
  • Begin, Paul. “Empathy and Sinophobia: Depicting Chinese Migration in Biutiful (Iñárritu, 2010).” Transnational Cinemas 6.1 (2015): 1-16.
  • Begin, Paul. “Picking a Fight with Domestic Violence: New Perspectives on Patriarchy in Contemporary Spanish Cinema.” New Representations of Family in Contemporary Spanish Culture. Jefferson, North Carolina and London: McFarland Press, 2011. pp. 126-40
  • Begin, Paul. “España 1936: A ‘Buñueloni’ Documentary.” Letras Peninsulares 22.1 (2010): 285-301.
  • Begin, Paul. “The Art of Managing Contentious Content in Social Issue Cinema: On Regarding the Pain of Others in Iciar Bollaín’s Te doy mis ojos.” Studies in Hispanic Cinemas 6.1-2 (2009): 31-44.
  • Begin, Paul. “When Victim Meets Voyeur: An Aesthetic of Confrontation in Hispanic Social Issue Cinema.” Hispanic Research Journal 9.3 (2008): 261-75.
  • Begin, Paul. “Entomology as Anthropology in the Films of Luis Buñuel.” Screen 48.4 (Winter 2007): 425-442.
  • Begin, Paul. “Buñuel, Eisenstein and the Montage of Attractions: An Approach to Film in Theory and Practice.” Bulletin of Spanish Studies 83.8 (2006): 1113-32.
  • Begin, Paul. “Ángel Ganivet, Gothic Art and the British Socialist Movement.” Revista Hispánica Moderna 58.1-2 (2005): 61-80.
  • "Cultivating Virtue via Great Books Pathway Through the Core Curriculum." The Education Character Initiative (ECI). $393,000. Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) with Jessica Hooten Wilson (Co-PI). 2025–2028.
  • "Foundations of Reasoning and Great Books: Two Paths toward a Transformational Education." Teagle Cornerstone: Learning for Living. $50,000. Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) with Jessica Hooten Wilson (Co-PI). 2025–2026.

Topics

  • Spanish literature
  • Spanish cinema
  • Culture and politics of Spain
  • Curriculum Development
  • Virtue Education

Courses

  • SPAN 450: Spanish Texts
  • FOR 101: Foundations of Reasoning