Danny Mendez

mendezda@msu.edu
(517) 884-6350

B367 Wells Hall
619 Red Cedar Rd
East Lansing, MI 48824

FacultyRomance and Classical Studies

Associate Professor
Spanish

Biography

Danny Méndez earned his Ph.D. in Caribbean literatures from the University of Texas at Austin. He is an Associate Professor of Spanish in the Department of Romance and Classical Studies and a Core-Faculty of the Program of Global Studies in Arts and Humanities (GSAH). His research focuses on contemporary narrative representations of Dominican migrations to the United States and Puerto Rico, analyzing the particular ways in which these narratives challenge conceptions of Latin American literature and Latino Studies.

Degree: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin

Research Interests: Hispanic Caribbean  literatures  and cultures; Latino/a studies; Race  critical theory;  Gender and sexuality in a global  context; Migration studies

Projects


“Fictive Identities on a Diasporic Ethnic Stage: A ‘Modern Girl’ Consumed in Dominican Beauty Pageants” in The Postcolonial World. Eds. Jyotsna G. Singh and David D. Kim. London: Routledge, 2017. Print.

“Criando y amando al tigre queer: la masculinidad dominicana diaspórica en Elliot Loves” In NUESTRO CARIBE. Poder, raza y postnacionalismos para dinamitar el archipiélago LGBTQ. Ed. Mabel Cuesta. San Juan: Isla Negra, 2016. Print.

“Charytín Goyco, la rubia de América: A case Study of Television Stardom in the Dominican Republic in the 1970s.” Studies in Latin American Popular Culture. 33 (2015): 27-40. Print.

“De travestismos sospechosos y seducciones peligrosas: La identidad sexual and dos cuentos de José Alcántara Almánzar.” Revista Iberoamericana. 79:243 (2013): 523-533. Print.

Narratives of Migration and Displacement in Dominican Literature. New York: Routledge, 2012. Print.

Publications

“Soraya’s Wail: Netflix’s Melodramatic Algorithm and the Reappearance of the Volatile Latina Body.” Journal of Latin American Communication Research 7: 1-2 (2019-2020): 44-59. Print.

“Involuntary Witness: Amanda Alvear and the Coverage of the Massacre in Pulse in Spanish-Language News Media.” Journal of Latin American Communication Research 6:1-2 (2018): 234-250. Print.

“María Montez: The Unnatural Actress and the Consumption of the Early Dominican Diva.” Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism 22:2 (2018): 115-127. Print.

“Of Ideological Continuums and Sentimental Memories: Enriquillo Sánchez’ Musiquito: Anales de un déspota y de un bolerista” in Postmodern Parodies: Toward a Theory of Creative Imitation in Latin American Literature. Ed. Helene Weldt-Basson. New York: Palgrave, 2018.

“Fictive Identities on a Diasporic Ethnic Stage: A ‘Modern Girl’ Consumed in Dominican Beauty Pageants” in The Postcolonial World. Eds. Jyotsna G. Singh and David D. Kim. London: Routledge, 2017.

Charytín Goyco, la rubia de América: A case Study of Television Stardom in the Dominican Republic in the 1970s.” Studies in Latin American Popular Culture. 33 (2015): 27-40. Print.

Narratives of Migration and Displacement in Dominican Literature. New York: Routledge, 2012.

University News

Historic North American MSU Graduate Student-Edited Journal Returns After Six-Year Hiatus
Published December 2, 2024 in College of Arts & Letters
After a six-year hiatus, one of the longest-running graduate student-edited journals in Romance Studies in North America has returned. The publication, TROPOS, which was first published in 1971, is…Read now »
International Collaboration to Explore Intersectionality and Inclusion in Research and Curriculum Design
Published December 9, 2022 in College of Arts & Letters
A collaborative project focusing on “Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality in Africa: the History and Current Status of LGBTQ+ in Kenya,” led by College of Arts & Letters…Read now »