Julio Paredes

Biography

Julio César Paredes is a Ph.D. Candidate (A.B.D.) in Hispanic Cultural Studies in the Department of Romance and Classical Studies at Michigan State University. His doctoral dissertation explores the intersections of fashion and political discourses in Latin America post-Independence period and the configurations of gender and fashion in the works of 19th-century’s influential writers such as Alberto Blest Ganas, Esteban Echeverria, and Luciano Santos. Julio César is the recipient of the “José Martí Publishing Award” of the National Association of Hispanic Publications and “Distinguished Contributor Award in Spanish” in the RCS department at MSU. He has previously taught courses in intermediate and advance Spanish, as well as in grammar, cultural reading and composition, and media and conversation in Spanish at MSU. He has also taught at Queensborough Community College, St. John’s University, and at the No Child Left Behind program in New York. Prior to his Ph.D. studies at MSU, he has worked as Latin American and Lifestyle editor for El Diario/La Prensa, the oldest Spanish-language daily newspaper in the United States. As part of his journalism career, he has had the pleasure of covering important national and international stories, including 9/11 attacks, the massive 2003 blackout in New York City, presidential elections in the United States and Venezuela, among others. Also, he has interviewed some of the most influential people in the world such as Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Chita Rivera, Esmeralda Santiago, Isabell Allende, Sara Montiel, Laura Esquivel, Julia Alvarez, Montserrat Caballé, Iman, Jennifer López, among others. Julio César has a B.A. in Journalism from the Universidad Católica Cecilio Acosta, Maracaibo, Venezuela, a M.A. in Spanish Literature and a Graduate Certificate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) from St. John’s University, New York.

Research Interests: 19th- and 20th-Century Latin American culture and literature, visual and media culture, gender studies, and fashion studies.