Dr. Theresa Rojas
Information
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Professor of Ethnic Studies.
Professor of English.
Dr. Theresa Rojas teaches Ethnic Studies, literature, creative writing, and comparative media, with a specialty in post-1945 Comics Studies, visual culture, multi-ethnic literature, and critical theory. She is on the Board of the Graphic Medicine International Collective and is the Director of the Latinx Comic Arts Festival. LCAF, which takes place in the spring on the campus of Modesto Junior College, is the California Central Valley's international celebration of Latinx comic arts creators and friends, highlighting Latinx cartoonists, writers, animators, artists, and comic arts educators. It also features a lowrider exhibit with over 130 vehicles on display. Her art has appeared in numerous group and solo exhibits and has been collected internationally.
Dr. Rojas is the study guide author for Monster Matador (2510 Press) and Quince (Fanbase Press) essayist for RIPPLE EFFECTS (Fanbase Press); cultural consultant for Starlite (Overcast), and editor of the graphic biography, Días de Consuelo (Radiator Comics). Her current scholarly project focuses on the intersection of Latinxs and graphic medicine (medically-related narratives in comics form).
Education
School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
PhD, English
Graduate interdisciplinary Specialization (GIS) in Latino Studies
The Ohio State University
Dissertation: Manifold Imaginaries: Latino Intermedial Narratives in the Twenty-first Century
MLS, Women's and Gender Studies
Eastern Michigan University
BA, English
McNair Scholar
University of California, Berkeley
Specialty Areas:
- Ethnic Studies: US Latinx Studies
- Graphic Narrative (Comics)
- Post-1945 American Literature
- Comparative Media
- US Latinx Literature and Popular Culture
- Gender Studies
- Cognitive Literary Studies
- Neuroaesthetics and Visual Culture
- Intermediality
"Confronting Recidivism with Comics." San Diego Comic-Con. Invited Panelist. San Diego, CA. 27 July, 2024.
"Comics Serving Communities Through Education." San Diego Comic-Con. Invited Panelist. San Diego, CA. 25 July, 2024.
"Comics Under Attack: Navigating Book Bans and Censorship." WonderCon. Invited Panelist. Anaheim, CA. 30 March, 2024.
"Bridging the Digital Gap Between Comics Publishers and Libraries." San Diego Comic-Con. Invited Panelist. San Diego, CA. 20 July, 2023.
"Forging New Pathways for Comics in Academia." San Diego Comic-Con. Invited Panelist. San Diego, CA. 21 July, 2022.
"Calls to Action: A Conversation on Comix, Social Justice, and Mutual Aid." Graphic Medicine Annual Conference. Plenary Speaker. Chicago, CA. 15 July, 2022.
"Graphic Medicine: Building Empathy Through Storytelling." Fanbase Press' Celebrating Fandoms Week. Invited panelist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUgzYRl41pg&t=2971s. Online. 17 July, 2021.
"Narrative as Empathy Training." Extending Empathy Colloquium for Illinois State University. Invited lecturer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8LT8oHwisE. Online. 4 May, 2021.
"Midnight Angels: Aneko, Ayo, and the Struggle for LGBT Identity." ReggieCon at Illinois State University. Invited panelist. Online. 29 October, 2020.
“Integrating Comics into the Classroom.” Online seminar for Fanbase Press. 26 July, 2020.
“Latinx and Native American Storytelling.” Comic-Con@Home. Comic-Con International. Invited panelist. https://www.comic-con.org/cciathome/2020/video/vfcm80arrsq. Online. 25 July 2020.
“Uniting Schools, Libraries, and Indie Comics.” Invited panel. WonderCon Anaheim. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvksMZZ_Xf0&feature=youtu.be. Online. 20 May, 2020.
“Real Super, Real Heroes: Creators of Color, Innovation, and the Classroom Experience.” Invited talk for Carnegie Arts Center. Turlock, CA. 12 January 2020.
“Johnny Legs and the Biblical Piñata of Locusts: John Leguizamo’s Ghetto Klown as Graphic Pathography” in Resisting the Boundaries of Autobiography: Counter-Narration in Novels, Comics, and Stand-Up Comedy panel. 2018 International Conference on Narrative. Montreal, Québec, Canada. 20 April 2018.
“Delivered, Read 2:25 AM: Narrating Love, Sex, and Dating in The Secret Loves of Geek Girls” in Mediated Sexuality: Manifestations in Prose, Comics, and the Internet panel. International Conference on Narrative. Amsterdam, Netherlands. 17 June 2016.
“Private Stories, Public Canvas: Religious and Spiritual Iconography and Televisual Tattooing.” Invited Lecture. Universität Zürich. Oberassistentin Center for Religion, Economics and Politics. Zurich, Switzerland. Skype. 17 May 2016.
“Inked Cultura: Latin@ Canvases in Twenty-first Century Popular Culture.” Invited lecture. Department of Spanish. Amherst College. Amherst, MA. 15 October 2015.
“Gender in Brown & Black Comics.” Invited panelist. SOL-Con: The Brown & Black Comix Expo. The Ohio State University. Columbus, OH. 3 October 2015.
“Wilfred Santiago: In My Darkest Hour.” Invited lecture. Latino Studies Course: “Writing Latino Chicago.” University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Skype. 11 March 2015.
“Illuminated Bodies: Kat Von D, LA Ink, and the Borderlands of Tattoo Culture.” Invited lecture. Comparative Media Studies & Writing Thursday Colloquium Series. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cambridge, MA. 19 February 2015.
“Lenguajes del Puente: Televisually Recreated Border Subjects in FX’s The Bridge.” Invited lecture. Global Studies and Languages Course 21F.735: “Media, Culture, and Technology in 20th/21st Century Hispanic Literature and Film/Cultura, tecnología, ye medios en el mundo hispano, siglos XX y XXI.” Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cambridge, MA. 29 October 2014.
