Patricia E. Grieve has served as Columbia Athletics’ Faculty Athletic Representative since 2008. The primary responsibilities of the Faculty Athletic Representative are to certify that all student-athletes meet all NCAA, Pac-12 Conference, and University requirements for initial and continuing eligibility for athletic participation, both practice and intercollegiate competition, and financial aid.
Professor Grive is the Nancy and Jeffrey Marcus Professor in the Humanities in Columbia University’s Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures. Grieve teaches in the Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures and the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society. A former chair of Literature Humanities, she is currently the chair of the Committee on Global Core and a member of the Educational Planning and Policy Committee.
In addition to teaching various courses at Columbia, Professor Grieve specializes in comparative medieval and early modern studies, especially the role that stories and storytelling play in shaping and reflecting cultures. Her previous book projects include: The Eve of Spain: Myths of Origins in the History of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Conflict (2009), ‘Floire and Blancheflor’ and the European Romance (1997; 2006) and Desire and Death in the Sentimental Romance: 1440-1550 (1987). Her current book projects include Flores and Blancaflor: The Iberian Lovers in 16th Century Mediterranean and Transatlantic Contexts; The Traveling Tale: Curiosity, Knowledge and Social Relevance in Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern Storytelling, a study of migrating Indian and Middle Eastern frame tale collections, and their transformations into European short fiction and frame tale collections, and Blood/Lust: Cultural Exchange and Conflict in the Early Modern Mediterranean, a study of English, Spanish, and Ottoman Empire travel narratives, captivity narratives, and theater.
Prior to arriving at Columbia in 1985, Grieve earned a Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literature from Princeton University in 1983. She has also served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania (1989), Brown University (1984-85), and at Williams College (1982-84). She earned a Master of Arts degree in Peninsular Spanish Literature from Purdue University in 1977, and studied at the Universidad de Sevilla in 1974.
Grieve, who can speak Spanish, Portugese, and French, has earned three National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships from the United States Government in 1987, 2004, and 2005. She also has spent time on research and attended conferences in Europe, the Middle East, China, and South America.
