Professor Frederick Aldama

Frederick Luis Aldama (Ph.D., Stanford) teaches Chicano/a, Latino/a, and Postcolonial literature and film. He is the author of several books, including Dancing With Ghosts: A Critical Biography of Arturo Islas, Postethnic Narrative Criticism, Spilling the Beans in Chicanolandia: Conversations with Artists and Writers, and Brown on Brown: Chicano/a Representations of Gender, Sexuality, and Ethnicity.

"It's a pleasure to be on board at OSU as a Latino faculty member," said Aldama. "I consider my teaching and research as one, and consider the Latino/a and Chicano/a scholars (students and faculty) here at OSU to be carving new and exciting paths. My research and teaching focus is on Chicano/a, Latino/a, and postcolonial literature and film, and on how the tools of narrative theory and cognitive science-two great scholarly strengths in the department of English-can enhance our understanding of such cultural phenomenon. For instance, in a course that I'm currently teaching, Your Brain on Latino Fiction, I explore with my students the how and why of code-switching and bilingualism in the short stories of Ana Castillo and Luis Arturo Ramos, among others. With the many outstanding scholars in English and across the disciplines here at OSU there is much support for the kind of work (teaching and research) that I'm currently pursuing."

About the Latin@ community at OSU, Aldama noted: "I'm proud to be a part of the growing Latino community here at OSU and in Columbus. I'm elated to be a part of this community that is growing in strength and that offers increasingly the possibility of being directly in touch with the cultural and intellectual variety with in the Latino community here at OSU and beyond. I look forward to becoming more established here in Columbus so I can be in a better position to help continue to fortify those ties between Latinos on and off campus."

Professor Manuel Martínez

The other new Latin@ professor on campus, Manuel Martínez (Ph.D., Stanford), also holds an M.A. from The Ohio State University. His publications include: Crossing, a novel (1998), Drift, a novel (2003), Countering the Counterculture: Rereading Postwar American Dissent from Jack Kerouac to Tomas Rivera (2004).

"I am very happy to be joining the faculty at OSU," Martínez said. "I was a graduate student in creative writing here back in 1989, so I was familiar with the tradition of excellence here, as well as the nurturing environment that exists at OSU. One of the principal reasons for coming here is because of the commitment that the English department and the College [of the Humanities] have shown to creating diversity and supporting Latino/a Studies. I'm especially happy to come here with Frederick Aldama, whose work I find exciting and useful."

With regard to working with Latin@ students, Martínez added: "I hope to work closely with Latino/a students across the board. I see my role as both a mentor and as a resource to students who want to delve into the complexities of the Latino/a experience in the Americas. I invite students to get in touch with me. I hope to see many of you in my courses."