Jonathan Dettman

Ph.D Candidate, Spanish and Portuguese
University of California, Davis
E-mail: jondettman@ucdavis.edu

Education

Ph.D. in Latin American Literatures & Cultures; Designated Emphasis in Critical Theory

University of California, Davis (will file by June, 2012)

M.A.T. in Spanish, Awarded with Distinction

Northern Arizona University (May, 2006)

Degree in Teaching Spanish, Awarded with Distinction

B.A. in Spanish

Arizona State University (May, 2001)

Dissertation

My dissertation examines several important Cuban novels from the post-Soviet period (1991– ), more commonly known as the Special Period. The first decade (1991–2001) of the post-Soviet era was characterized by an unprecedented economic crisis caused by the island’s loss of Soviet subsidies and the tightening of the US trade embargo. Novels from this period tend to diverge both thematically and formally from the more prescriptive patterns of previous decades, and range from realist detective fiction to more experimental, postmodern or neo-Avant Garde works. The study applies a common method to the novels: a critical approach to literature derived, in part, from the pioneering work of Brazilians Antonio Candido and Roberto Schwarz. This method isolates one or more social forms—say, a subjective standpoint unique to a place or era—that appear in a literary work as determinants of key formal aspects. It oscillates between formal aesthetic analysis and sociohistorical analysis to establish mediations between the literary and social forms of Cuba’s post-Soviet period. The novels studied include Siberiana, by Jesús Díaz; Inventario secreto de La Habana and Los palacios distantes, by Abilio Estévez; La novela de mi vida and La neblina del ayer, by Leonardo Padura; El pájaro: pincel y tinta china, by Ena Lucía Portela; and Livadia [Nocturnal Butterflies of the Russian Empire], by José Manuel Prieto.

 

Directors:
Professor Emilio Bejel (Spanish and Portuguese)
Professor Neil Larsen (Comparative Literature; Program in Critical Theory)

 

Teaching Experience

As Sole Instructor:

Department of Comparative Literature, University of California, Davis

COM 3: The Modern Crisis. Fall 2011, Winter 2012.

Department of Spanish and Portuguese, University of California, Davis

SPA 1, Elementary Spanish. Summer 2008.

SPA 2, Elementary Spanish. Fall 2006, Winter 2007, Spring 2011.

SPA 3. Elementary Spanish. Spring 2007, Winter & Spring 2008, Summer 2011.

SPA 21, Intermediate Spanish. Fall 2008, Winter 2009.

SPA 22, Intermediate Spanish. Spring 2009–Fall 2010 (Six Quarters).

Department of Modern Languages, Northern Arizona University

SPA 101, First Year Spanish. Fall 2004, Summer & Fall 2005, Summer 2006.

SPA 102, First Year Spanish. Spring 2005, Spring 2006.

SPA 102H, First Year Spanish, Honors. Spring 2006.

As Teaching Assistant:

Program in Comparative Literature, University of California, Davis

COM 25: Ethnic Minority Writers in World Literature with Professor Noha Radwan. Winter 2011.

Program in the Humanities, University of California, Davis

HUM 60, Gay Cuban Nation with Professor Emilio Bejel. Fall 2007.

Guest Teaching:

Jesús Díaz: literatura y revolución: graduate lecture (Spanish, Spring 2011).

Ethnic Minorities on the Silver Screen: undergraduate lecture (Comparative Literature, Winter 2011).

James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time”: undergraduate lecture (Comparative Literature, Winter 2011).

Javier Marías: undergraduate lecture and discussion (Spanish, Fall 2010).

Memorias del subdesarrollo: undergraduate film lecture and discussion (Spanish, Winter 2010).

Retrato de Teresa: undergraduate film lecture and discussion (Spanish, Fall 2008).

Tomás Rivera’s “Las salamandras”: undergraduate lecture and discussion (Spanish, Fall 2008).

Cuba’s Revolution: undergraduate lecture (Film Studies, Summer 2008).

Cuba: A Brief History: undergraduate lecture (Humanities, Fall 2007).

Fresa y chocolate: two-day film lecture in course on Latin American culture (Spanish, Spring 2007).

Library Research Workshop: introduction to literary criticism course (Spanish, Spring 2007).

Publications

Book Chapter

Presentations

“Papa in Cuba: Hemingway in an Island’s Imagination.” 7th Annual Colloquium on Latin American and Peninsular Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. University of California, Davis. Oct. 21, 2011.

“Las de abajo: la ficción policial de Myriam Laurini.” Conferencia Internacional de Literatura Detectivesca en Español. Texas Tech University. Sept. 29–Oct. 1, 2011.

“Labor is a Cold Mistress: the Post-Soviet Moment in Two Cuban Novels.” UC–Cuba Graduate Student Conference. University of California, Irvine. April 28–29, 2011.

“A Teoria Crítica e a Atual Crise da Educação.” VII Congresso Internacional de Teoria Crítica: Natureza, sociedade: crises. UNICAMP, Campinas (São Paulo), Brazil. Sept. 13–17, 2010.

“Critical Standpoints in Post-Soviet Cuban Literature: Ena Lucía Portela.” Invited Lecture, UC Berkeley Cuba Working Group. Center for Latin American Studies, Berkeley, California. March 1, 2010.

“Reflections on Consumption and the Culture Industry in Light of the Grundrisse.” Annual MLG Institute on Culture and Society, Portland, Oregon. June 16–20, 2009.

“Canary in a Coalmine: Two Decades of Capitalist Crisis in Cuba.” The Politics of Crisis: 4th Annual Comparative Literature Graduate Conference, University of California, Irvine. April 3–4, 2009.

“La neblina del ayer: Heterotopía y posmodernidad en Leonardo Padura Fuentes.” Cuba: New Research Directions, UC Cuba Multi-Campus Research Program, University of California, Irvine. May 2–3, 2008.

“Extrañas formas de colectividad: La distorsión de motivos ‘noirs’ en Papel picado de Rolo Diez”. RMCLAS Annual Conference: Flagstaff, Arizona, April 9–12, 2008.

“Julián del Casal en la posmodernidad cubana.” Perspectives Colloquium: University of California, Davis. October 20, 2007.

“El lobo, el bosque y el hombre nuevo de Senel Paz: Una versión anotada para el estudiante de literatura.” Public presentation of Masters Capstone. Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona. April 28, 2006.

“Entre el amor y la soledad: Las expresiones del amor en la obra de García Márquez.” 10th Annual Spanish Graduate Student Symposium: Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. April 14–16, 2005.