Frederick Luis Aldama is an American academic, known for this work as the Jacob & Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities, founder and director of the Latinx Pop Lab, and Affiliate Faculty in Radio-TV-Film at the University of Texas, Austin, and Adjunct Professor & Distinguished University Professor at The

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. He teaches courses on Latinx comics, tv, and film in the departments of English and Radio-Television-Film. At the Ohio State University he was Distinguished University Professor, Arts & Humanities Distinguished Professor of English, University Distinguished Scholar, and Alumni Distinguished Teacher as well as recipient of the Rodica C. Botoman Award for Distinguished Teaching and Mentoring and the Susan M. Hartmann Mentoring and Leadership Award. At the Ohio State University he was founder and director of the award-winning LASER/Latinx Space for Enrichment Research and founder and co-director of the Humanities & Cognitive Sciences High School Summer Institute. Aldama is the creator and curator of the Planetary Republic of Comics.

Early life and education

Aldama was born in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

to a

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

n- and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-American mother from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

father from Mexico City. When he was a child, his mother moved the family to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He received his

undergraduate degree An undergraduate degree (also called first degree or simply degree) is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher e ...

in English from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1992 and obtained his PhD from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1999.

Career

Aldama is an author of fiction and comics as well as a scholar and professor who uses insights from

narrative theory A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (ge ...

, cognitive science, and

Latinx ''Latinx'' is a neologism in American English which is used to refer to people of Latin American cultural or ethnic identity in the United States. The gender-neutral suffix replaces the ending of ''Latino'' and ''Latina'' that are typical o ...

critical cultural theory to enrich understanding of the creation, distribution, and consumption of

pop cultural phenomena, especially comic books, TV, and film. He is book series editor of the ''

Latinx and Latin American Profiles ''Latinx'' is a neologism in American English which is used to refer to people of Latin American cultural or ethnic identity in the United States. The gender-neutral suffix replaces the ending of ''Latino'' and ''Latina'' that are typical o ...

'' (with the

University of Pittsburgh Press The University of Pittsburgh Press is a scholarly publishing house and a major American university press, part of the University of Pittsburgh. The university and the press are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The press ...

) that publishes scholarship on innovative Latinx cultural figures, such as ''Reading Junot Dia''z and ''Poets,

Philosophers A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, Lovers: On the Writings of

Giannina Braschi Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include ''Empire of Dreams'' (1988), ''Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998) ''and United States of Banana'' (2011). Braschi writes cross-genr ...

''. He also edits the ''Global Media & Race'' and ''Critical Graphics'' series (with

Rutgers University Press Rutgers University Press (RUP) is a nonprofit academic publishing house, operating in New Brunswick, New Jersey under the auspices of Rutgers University. History Rutgers University Press, a nonprofit academic publishing house operating in New B ...

). He co-edits ''

Pop Culture'' (for

University of Arizona Press The University of Arizona Press, a publishing house founded in 1959 as a department of the University of Arizona, is a nonprofit publisher of scholarly and regional books. As a delegate of the University of Arizona to the larger world, the Press p ...

) as well as the ''World Comics and Graphic Nonfiction'' series (for the

University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is a university press that is part of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly books and journals in several areas, including Latin American studies, Texan ...

). Aldama edits Latinographix, a comic books series that showcases graphic novels, memoir, and nonfiction by Latinx writers and artists, including ''Tales from la Vida: A Latinx Comics Anthology'' and ''

United States of Banana ''United States of Banana'' (2011) is a postmodern allegorical novel by the Puerto Rican author Giannina Braschi. It is a cross-genre work that blends experimental theatre, prose poetry, short story, and political philosophy with a manifesto o ...

: A Graphic Novel'' by

and Joakim Lindengren. In 2017, Aldama published his first book of fiction, ''Long Stories Cut Short: Fictions from the Borderlands''. His

flash fiction Flash fiction is a fictional work of extreme brevity that still offers character and plot development. Identified varieties, many of them defined by word count, include the six-word story; the 280-character story (also known as " twitterature"); ...

style depicts marginalized Latinx lives on both sides of the US/Mexico border. He is the author of the children's books, ''With Papá'' and ''The Adventures of Charlie the

Chupacabra The chupacabra or chupacabras (, literally 'goat-sucker'; from es, chupar, 'to suck', and , 'goats') is a legendary creature in the folklore of parts of the Americas, with its first purported sightings reported in Puerto Rico in 1995. The na ...

''. He produced the first

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

on the history of Latinx superheroes in mainstream comics. He co-founded and directed of SÕL-CON: The Brown, Black, & Indigenous Comics Expo. He is founder and director of the Latinx Pop Lab BIPOC Comics & Multimedia Arts Expo & Symposium at UT Austin--the nation's only collegiate comic book expo that focuses on the work of BIPOC scholars, artists, writers, editors, filmmakers, and illustrators. He served on the executive council of the International Society for the Study of Narrative from 2013 to 2015, and serves on the

advisory boards An advisory board is a body that provides non-binding strategic advice to the management of a corporation, organization, or foundation. The informal nature of an advisory board gives greater flexibility in structure and management compared to th ...

for journals such as ''Narrative'', ''INKS: The Journal of Comics Society'', '' MELUS,'' and ''

Journal of Narrative Theory The ''Journal of Narrative Theory'' is a triannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering narratology in literary fiction. The journal was established in 1971 as the ''Journal of Narrative Technique'' and obtained its current title in 1999. It is ...

''. He is a member of the board for the Oxford Bibliographies in

Latino Studies Latino studies is an academic discipline which studies the experience of people of Latin American ancestry in the United States. Closely related to other ethnic studies disciplines such as African-American studies, Asian American studies, and ...

. He is an associate editor of ''

American Book Review ''American Book Review'' is a literary journal operating out of the University of Houston-Victoria. Their mission statement is to “specialize in reviews of frequently neglected published works of fiction, poetry, and literary and cultural critici ...

'' and judge for the TIL/Texas Institute of Letters.

Essays and interviews

Aldama's articles, reviews, and interviews have appeared in ''

Aztlán Aztlán (from nah, Astlan, ) is the ancestral home of the Aztec peoples. '' Astekah'' is the Nahuatl word for "people from Aztlan". Aztlan is mentioned in several ethnohistorical sources dating from the colonial period, and while they each cite ...

'', ''College Literature'', ''Poets & Writers'', ''

World Literature Today ''World Literature Today'' is an American magazine of international literature and culture, published at the University of Oklahoma. The stated goal of the magazine is to publish international essays, poetry, fiction, interviews, and book review ...

'', ''Cross Cultural Poetics'', ''Lit: Literature Interpretation Theory'', ''Lucero'', ''

Comparative Literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

'', ''

The Callaloo Journal ''Callaloo, A Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters'', is a quarterly literary magazine established in 1976 by Charles Rowell, who remains its editor-in-chief. It contains creative writing, visual art, and critical texts about literature an ...

'', ''Nepantla, Journal of Interdisciplinary Literary Analysis'', ''

American Literature American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also inc ...

'', ''

Latin American Research Review The ''Latin American Research Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on Latin America and the Caribbean. It was established in 1965 by the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) and is published by LASA's publis ...

'', ''

Modern Fiction Studies ''Modern Fiction Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1955 at Purdue University's Department of English, where it is still edited. It publishes general and themed issues on the topic of modernist and contemporary fiction ...

'', ''

Modern Drama ''Modern Drama'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal publishing studies of dramatic literature. It is published four times a year by the University of Toronto Press. It was founded in 1958 and largely focuses on literature of the 19th century on ...

'', ''

SubStance Substance may refer to: * Matter, anything that has mass and takes up space Chemistry * Chemical substance, a material with a definite chemical composition * Drug substance ** Substance abuse, drug-related healthcare and social policy diagnosis ...

'', ''Style'', ''ImageTexT'', ''Latino Studies Projections: The Journal of Movies and Mind'', ''Alter/nativas: Latin American Cultural Studies Journal'', and ''

Journal of the West ''Journal of the West'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering the history and culture of the American West. Each issue of the journal is highlighted by a series of articles on a theme central to the history and life of the region. ...

''. Interviews with Aldama have appeared in

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

Fox News Latino The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

, VOXXI,

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

, th
New York Times
th
LARB
and Channel 10 news.

Selected awards

* 2018–2019 Susan M. Hartmann Mentoring and Leadership Award * 2018–2019 Rodica C. Botoman Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring * 2018 Eisner Award for Best Academic/Scholarly Work for ''Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics'' * 2018 International Latino Book Award for Best Nonfiction * 2017 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching and inducted into the Academy of Teaching * 2016 American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education's Outstanding Latino/a Faculty Award * 2016 Ohio Education Summit Award * 2015 White House "Hispanic Education Bright Spot" Award for founding and directing LASER * 2014 Arts and Humanities Distinguished Professor * 2014 University Emerging Community Engagement Award * 2008 University Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award * 2004 MLA Award: Outstanding Scholarly Book Chicano/Latino Studies for ''Dancing with Ghosts: A Critical Biography of Arturo Islas'' * 1999 Ford Foundation Fellowship

Books published

As author

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *''Las aventuras de Chupacabra Charlie.'
Latinographix
Illustrations by Chris Escobar. Translation by Sonia Rodríguez Salazar. Columbus, OH: Mad Creek Books, August 2021. ISBN 978-0-8142-5801-9.

As editor

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Aldama, Frederick Luis; O'Dwyer, Tess; and Stavans, Ilan. ''Poets, Philosophers, Lovers: On the Writings of

.'' (Latinx and Latin American Profiles) Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. October 2020. 9780822946182. * ''

: A Graphic Nove''l by

and Joakim Lindengren. Introduction: Smith, Amanda M.; Sheeran, Amy. Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Press. 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldama, Frederick 1969 births American academics of English literature Living people UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni Stanford University alumni Ohio State University faculty Comic book editors Book editors