Profile
My research has included the analysis of literary texts (poetry, drama, the novel and short stories) on the subject of migration during adolescence in the context of the Caribbean, specifically Cuba. I also teach on representations of mental illness in a range of genres through the centuries, for example, medical writings, rap music, autobiography, short stories, novels and plays.
My newest module, Maternal Bodies: Metaphor and Materiality (launching in 2024), examines the ways in which images of mothers and motherhood are employed across different eras and cultures to a range of differing ends. The set texts explore this subject in the realm of myth, religion and politics, and primary texts include films, paintings and written narratives.
My current scholarship concerns students’ motivations for choosing modules on sensitive topics such as mental illness like Madness Past and Present, and how academic study may impact social attitudes outside of the seminar room. I am grateful for support from the HSS Student Bursary Fund for student assistance on this project.
I chair the SSLC (staff-student liaison committee) for Comparative Literature, and have taken a number of roles in relation to admissions and outreach within both the department and School. I am currently the Teaching Lead for the department as well as co-ordinator of our contributions to the Liberal Arts programme. I continue to be involved in the development of the Global Medical Humanities IBSc.
Teaching
During my time at QMUL I have supervised a number of final year research projects, both for Comparative Literature and the Global Medical Humanities programmes. These have addressed a diverse range of topics, such as cannibalism as metaphor for the desire of the ‘Other’, depictions of loneliness in visual and written fictional narratives, mental illness in modern South Asian and British Asian drama and representations of hysteria in medieval and contemporary literature.
I convene/have convened the following modules:
COM6068/GMH6068: Maternal Bodies: Metaphor and Materiality (from January 2024)
COM5065/GMH6065: Madness Past and Present
COM4207: Scene of Learning
COM4208: Brief Encounters: Around the World in Short Stories
COM6212: Epic Remakes: Ancient Hero(in)es and Modern Society
COM5010: Grand Tours: 19th-Century Adventure Stories and Their 20th- Century Afterlives
COM6201/SML005: Comparative Literature and Modern Languages Research Project
SML002: European Culture and Society
I have also taught on a number of other modules in department of Comparative Literature and Culture, for example, COM200: Scene of Reading, COM300: Scene of Writing, COM4206: Introduction to Comparison and COM4202: Understanding Culture: An Introduction to Cultural Theory.
I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).
Research
Research Interests:
My research interests include the literature of migration and adolescence (including Spanish-English bilingual texts), the literature of mental illness, images of mothers/motherhood in literature and culture, postcolonial Caribbean studies, Cuban studies and pedagogical studies.
I am a member of the Society for Research into Higher Education.
Publications
Articles:
- ‘Stereotyped fans and social critique: Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixoteand Eminem’s “Stan”’, Journal of Fandom Studies, 5 (1): 113-128
- ‘Literature in the contact zone: Emily Apter’s ‘A new comparative literature’ and Achy Obejas’s ‘Sugarcane’, Crossings: Journal of Migration & Culture, 5 (2-3): 231-243
- 'Poppy Shakespeare: Verging on the Historical', English, 63 (240):1-23
- 'Cristina García's Dreaming in Cuban: Latina Literature and Beyond?', Latino Studies7 (3): 357-77
- 'Gustavo Pérez Firmat's 'Bilingual Blues' and 'Turning the Times Tables': Language Choice and Cultural Identity in Cuban-American Literature', Neophilologus,91(1): 63-81
Chapters in edited volumes:
2007. 'From Exile Community to 'Hy'-Society: Cuban American Literature and Cultural Identity', in America's Americans: Population Issues in US Society and Politics, eds. Philip Davies and Iwan Morgan (London: Institute for the Study of the Americas)
2003. 'Achy Obejas's 'Sugarcane' and Cuban-American Bilingual Literature: Language Choices and Cultural Identities', in Exile, Language and Identity, eds. Magda Stroinska & Vittorina Cecchetto (Frankfurt: Peter Lang)Accommodation
