RESEARCH PROJECTS
TAROT & IMAGERY
Inquiry into how the distinct iconography of Tarot Cards, has aided in the transition from Medieval/Renaissance Italy playing cards into a contemporary mystic/spiritual practice. Part of the edited collection, The Return to Medievalism in the 21st Century (In preparation).
NICOLÁS GUILLÉN, BIOPOLITICS, AND BESTIARIES
Investigation on Nicolás Guilléns pioneering use of humans in bestiaries, its implications, and its impact on contemporary Hispanic works.
(DI)SIMULATION AND THE BESTIARY GENRE
An investigation based upon Baudrillard's theories of simulation, indagating into why some bestiaries choose to conceal their true form.
Supervision of metadata production for the Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture (CEMVC), a database containing 20,000+ book illustrations, the largest interdisciplinary resource in the world dedicated to early-modern book illustration. Built the website www.cemvc.ca, which functions as a curated entry-point into the database together with Samantha Ruckenstein, a McGill University doctoral student.
Supervisor: Canada Research Chair Lauren Beck (Mount Allison University)
THE UNHEIMLICH IN THE CARIBBEAN AND LATIN AMERICA
Two separate investigations joined by Freud's musings on the Uncanny, one concerning Julio Cortázar's "Casa tomada", the other Virgilio Piñera's La carne de René. Two peer-reviewed articles resulted from this investigation.
Database created through funded field research to facilitate research on the bestiary genre (www.bestiassueltas.net).
Catalogued visual representations of the Tragicomedia across media and eras. A graduate/undergraduate course originated from this research at the University of Toronto, SPA 2052.
Supervisors: Prof. Yolanda Iglesias (University of Toronto) and Prof. Enrique Fernández (University of Manitoba)
FROM THE GRIFFIN TO THE AXOLOTL
Investigation on the resurgence of the medieval bestiary in contemporary Hispanic literature. Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, by the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, and by the Mitacs Globalink Award. Full monograph in preparation.