Travis Landry came to Kenyon College in 2008 after earning a Ph.D. in comparative literature (with degree certification in theory and criticism) from the University of Washington.
His first book, Subversive Seduction: Darwin, Sexual Selection, and the Spanish Novel (University of Washington Press and the Mellon Modern Language Initiative, 2012), is an interdisciplinary exploration of the reciprocity between science and literature in the nineteenth century. This study examines how the courtship plot sheds new light on Charles Darwin’s theories in The Descent of Man, and by extension, how the indeterminism of Darwin’s thought relates to the socio-political stakes of women’s self-determination at the time.
More recently, his research and teaching have focused on the legacy of Islam in Spanish literature since the Enlightenment. The approach uses today’s theorizing on world literature to reimagine hybrid examples of Spain’s multicultural past and present. In addition to a monograph study…
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Travis Landry came to Kenyon College in 2008 after earning a Ph.D. in comparative literature (with degree certification in theory and criticism) from the University of Washington.
His first book, Subversive Seduction: Darwin, Sexual Selection, and the Spanish Novel (University of Washington Press and the Mellon Modern Language Initiative, 2012), is an interdisciplinary exploration of the reciprocity between science and literature in the nineteenth century. This study examines how the courtship plot sheds new light on Charles Darwin’s theories in The Descent of Man, and by extension, how the indeterminism of Darwin’s thought relates to the socio-political stakes of women’s self-determination at the time.
More recently, his research and teaching have focused on the legacy of Islam in Spanish literature since the Enlightenment. The approach uses today’s theorizing on world literature to reimagine hybrid examples of Spain’s multicultural past and present. In addition to a monograph study of this subject (in preparation) and related publications, he has a forthcoming book, in collaboration with Abdulrahman al-Ruwaishan (translator), entitled The Fruits of the Struggle in Diplomacy and War: Moroccan Ambassador al-Ghazzāl and His Diplomatic Retinue in Eighteenth-Century Andalusia (Bucknell University Press, 2016). This first complete English translation of an eighteenth-century Muslim ambassador’s travelogue about Spain uncovers an early example of modern diplomacy and makes plain the significance of Andalusia for one who saw the region through its Islamic past and his own ancestry.
As editor and author of the introduction, Landry explains the history of the visit of al-Ghazzāl, draws connections to the Enlightenment context and reveals how the ambassador’s visit relates to the Cartas marruecas of José Cadalso.
In 1997, Landry received a B.A. with honors in comparative literature from Brown University and, in the four years following, taught and earned certification in secondary education (Spanish). He is trained in multiple national traditions and periods, as well as second language acquisition and regularly offers literature and language courses at Kenyon. Landry also contributed to the creation of the Comparative World Literature Concentration and in 2013 he was awarded a Whiting Fellowship, which recognizes outstanding teaching by junior faculty in the humanities.
Areas of Expertise
Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Spanish literature, science and literature, theory of the novel, Islam and Spain, world literature.
Education
2008 — Doctor of Philosophy from University of Washington
2003 — Master of Arts from University of Washington
1997 — Bachelor of Arts from Brown University
Courses Recently Taught
CWL 333
Reading World Literature
CWL 333
Literature is world literature when it is read for its truly global significance. To read literature as world literature is to discover its diversity. It is to see how fundamental questions inspire very different forms of literary creativity across the globe — to seek intersections across time and space and thereby to appreciate the many ways literary texts represent their cultures. This course explores what it means to read world literature by focusing on a single theme or problem common to many cultures but different for each. For example, the course might focus on the problem of migrations to see how global literary forms have found different ways to represent what happens when people move from place to place. Or the course might focus on the world's different ways of representing coming of age, or how the environment is figured across cultures. The course studies these themes through focus on texts from nations and cultures not routinely featured together in literature classes. At the same time, the course explores the theory of world literature, as well as the reasons to study it, which include broadening our sense of literature's possible forms and uses, appreciating the world's diversity through its literature and developing one basis for a sense of global citizenship. Offered every other year.
INDS 333
Reading World Literature
INDS 333
Literature is world literature when it is read for its truly global significance. To read literature as world literature is to discover its diversity. It is to see how fundamental questions inspire very different forms of literary creativity across the globe--to seek intersections across time and space and thereby to appreciate the many ways literary texts represent their cultures. This course explores what it means to read world literature by focusing on a single theme or problem common to many cultures but different for each. For example, the course might focus on the problem of migrations to see how global literary forms have found different ways to represent what happens when people move from place to place. Or the course might focus on the world's different ways of representing coming of age, or how the environment is figured across cultures. The course studies these themes through focus on texts including poems, plays, novels, stories, and other literary forms from nations and cultures not routinely featured together in literature classes. At the same time, the course explores the theory of world literature, as well as the reasons to study it, which include broadening our sense of literature's possible forms and uses, appreciating the world's diversity through its literature, and developing one basis for a sense of global citizenship. Offered every other year.
MLL 498
Senior Honors
MLL 498
This course offers independent study for senior candidates for honors, under the direction of the honors supervisor. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Normally offered in the spring semester, this course may be offered in the fall with the approval of the student's honors supervisor and the chair of modern languages and literature.
SPAN 111Y
Self and Society: Intensive Introductory Spanish
SPAN 111Y
This first half of a yearlong course is focused on the self in a broader social context for students who are beginning the study of Spanish or who have had minimal exposure to the language. The course offers the equivalent of conventional beginning and intermediate language study. The first semester's work comprises an introduction to Spanish as a spoken and written language. The work includes practice — in both master teacher classes and scheduled sessions with an apprentice teacher — in understanding and using the spoken language. Written exercises and reading materials serve to reinforce communicative skills, build vocabulary and enhance discussion of the individual and community. No prerequisite. Offered every year.
SPAN 112Y
Self and Society: Intensive Introductory Spanish
SPAN 112Y
This second half of a yearlong course is a continuation of SPAN 111Y. The second semester consists of and continued study of the fundamentals of Spanish, while incorporating literary and cultural materials to develop techniques of reading, cultural awareness, and mastery of the spoken and written language. The work includes practice, in both master teacher classes and scheduled sessions with an apprentice teacher, in understanding and using the spoken language. Written exercises and reading materials serve to reinforce communicative skills, build vocabulary and enhance discussion of the individual and community. Prerequisite: SPAN 111Y or equivalent. Offered every year.
SPAN 213Y
Language and Culture: Intermediate Spanish
SPAN 213Y
This first half of the yearlong intermediate-level language course is focused on language and culture for students who are interested in developing their ability to speak, read, write and understand Spanish. In addition to a comprehensive grammar review, the primary texts chosen for the course serve as a general introduction to Hispanic culture and literature. Other materials include short essays, newspaper articles, films, television series and songs, which together will provide a point of departure for discussions on a range of issues. One additional 50-minute practice session per week, conducted by a language teaching assistant, will be required. Prerequisite: SPAN 111Y–112Y or equivalent. Offered every year.
SPAN 214Y
Language and Culture: Intermediate Spanish
SPAN 214Y
This second half of the yearlong intermediate-level language course is focused on language and culture for students who are interested in developing their ability to speak, read, write and understand Spanish. In addition to a comprehensive grammar review, the primary texts chosen for the course serve as a general introduction to Hispanic culture and literature. Other materials include short essays, newspaper articles, films, television series and songs, which together will provide a point of departure for discussions on a range of issues. One additional 50-minute practice session per week, conducted by a language teaching assistant, will be required. Prerequisite: SPAN 213Y or equivalent. Offered every year.
SPAN 321
Literature and Film: Advanced Writing in Spanish
SPAN 321
This course uses literature and film to give advanced students the opportunity to strengthen their ability to write analytically and creatively in Spanish. The course will also have strong emphasis on speaking and reading in Spanish. Works from various literary genres and selected Spanish-language films are among the materials on which class discussion and writing assignments will be centered. To deploy this content, we will use digital technology that supports the acquisition of advanced vocabulary, the development of reading comprehension and writing. A grammar review, focused mainly on typical areas of difficulty, may also be included. Prerequisite: SPAN 213Y–214 or equivalent. Offered every year.
SPAN 321Y
Advanced Grammar, Conversation, and Composition
SPAN 321Y
This course is designed to give advanced students the opportunity to refine and increase their abilities to write, read, and speak Spanish. The course will have a strong emphasis on oral proficiency. Cultural and literary readings, writing software, and selected Spanish-language films are among the materials on which class discussion and assignments may be centered. A grammar review, focused mainly on typical areas of difficulty, will be included. Prerequisite: SPAN 213Y-214Y or equivalent. Offered every year.
SPAN 322Y
Advanced Grammar, Conversation, and Composition
SPAN 322Y
This course is a continuation of Advanced Grammar, Conversation and Composition. Please see the description for SPAN 321Y. Prerequisite: SPAN 213Y-214Y or equivalent. Offered every year.
SPAN 324
Introduction to Spanish Literature
SPAN 324
This foundational course explores the trajectory of Spanish literature 1) beginning with ballads that reflect the confluence of Christian, Jewish and Arab cultures of the Early Modern Period, 2) through the Golden Age short stories of Cervantes and the theater of Calderón de la Barca, 3) to the Romantics and their explorations of new forms of subjectivity in verse and deeply psychological prose, 4) to Realist depictions of social change in the late nineteenth century, 5) to Modernist poetry and works by Federico García Lorca, 6) concluding with post-Civil War and post-Franco writings, including a contemporary novel about a journalist who discovers the untold history of his father while researching a story on a leader of the Fascist regime. Among the films included is a documentary about the participation of American volunteers who defied the US government and joined the International Brigades to combat Franco during the Spanish Civil War, and in addition to the course anthology and shorter pieces, we will also read original editions of select primary texts. This is an excellent course for students who have taken SPAN 321 because it serves as a bridge course for more advanced literature classes. However, it is also ideal for students who have done more advanced courses, given that it provides an important understanding of Spanish literature (and its relationship to Latin American literature). Finally, it is a great opportunity for students with interest in theater, since we stage two of the plays we read. Other aims center on building skills for analytic writing in Spanish and building the vocabulary useful for interpretation and discussion of film and literary works in Spanish. Finally, SPAN 324 can satisfy a requirement for the MLL major in Spanish literature and should be taken early by students considering such a major track. Prerequisite: SPAN 321 or equivalent. Generally offered every other year.
SPAN 347
Sex, Science and the Realist Novel in Spain
SPAN 347
Literature and science have enjoyed a fluid relationship for centuries, but in the particular case of the 19th century, the novel became a laboratory for understanding both the individual and society. In Spain, writers sought to capture and critique "reality" with new knowledge about the laws governing behavior, and in the process they came to reveal unanticipated truths about the nature of scientific discovery. In particular, sex was on the mind, and in this course we will attempt to understand how and why. Across Europe, groundbreaking, often disquieting schools of thought fueled the popular imagination, from evolutionism to criminology, experimental medicine and psychoanalysis. Together, in Spanish translation, these writings and related essays on sex will frame our discussions of novels from several of the greatest Spanish realists, including Benito Pérez Galdós, Emilia Pardo Bazán, Jacinto Octavio Picón, and Leopoldo Alas (Clarín). Their representations both disturb and entertain, feeling more like fun-house mirrors than objective reflections of reality and thus we will no doubt question the science of such reflections. Our last author will be Miguel de Unamuno, as we look at how this wayward realist and his later novel Niebla (1914) managed to turn the entire enterprise on its head. Prerequisite: SPAN 321 or equivalent. Generally offered every three years.
SPAN 363
Spanish Romanticism — Transgressions of Self in Romantic Spain
SPAN 363
From the historical shadows of birthright, religious oppression and absolutism emerge the makings of Promethean individualism in Spain at the dawn of the nineteenth century, with fire stolen through profanations, infidelities, perversions of desire, erotic sentiment, secret fellowships, unbound interiority and political censure. Indeed, in its various manifestations, transgression as a creative force drives new configurations of the self in opposition to established literary norms and cultural conservatism at this watershed moment in the nation's history. Structured around distinct, often mixed genres of the period (theater, poetry, prose), our discussions will address how to define Romanticism; what role specific writers of the period have had in shaping literary history in Spain and beyond; why cultural production, namely literature, and nation building occur in tandem; and where gender factors in the equation. Prerequisite: SPAN 321 or equivalent. Generally offered every three years.
SPAN 365
The Legacy of Islam in Spanish Literature since the Enlightenment
SPAN 365
This course explores the representation of cultural exchange in Spanish literature from a perspective framed by the legacy of Islam in narratives of exile, travel, immigration, conflict, nationalism and spiritual awakening. Though attention will be given to important contextual issues and historical shifts across periods, much of the focus will be on the relationship between Spain and Morocco from the eighteenth century to the present. The Strait of Gibraltar will figure in our discussions as a symbolic point of crossing for the coexistence and challenges of neighboring cultures. In addition to several films and critical studies, the primary readings might include: (a) contemporary fiction from Juan Goytisolo, an iconic expatriate living in Marrakech, and Najat El-Hachmi, whose award-winning novel in Spanish translation "El ultimo patriarca" (2008), provides a singular account of the trials of assimilation for a young Moroccan girl; (b) depictions of the regional wars and colonial tensions, like Ramon J. Senders' "Iman" (1930), from the early 20th century; (c) the modernist Maghreb aesthetic of fin de siglo writers from Andalusia;(d) the journal of Domingo Badía (Ali Bey) whose undercover pilgrimage to Mecca from 1804 to 1807 disguised as a Muslim gives an unprecedented view of North Africa and the sacred site; and (e) the humanistic pluralism of the "Cartas marruecas" (1789) by Jose Cadalso. From these selections our discussions will address issues of religious difference, geography and identity. Prerequisite: SPAN 321 or equivalent. Generally offered every three years.
SPAN 391
SPAN 493
Individual Study
SPAN 493
This course offers an opportunity to study on an individual basis an area of special interest — literary, cultural or linguistic — under the regular supervision of a faculty member. It is offered primarily to candidates for honors, to majors and, under special circumstances, to potential majors and minors. Individual study is intended to supplement, not to take place of, regular courses in the curriculum of each language program. Staff limitations restrict this offering to a very few students. To enroll in an individual study, a student must identify a member of the MLL department willing to direct the project, and in consultation with them, write up a one page proposal for the IS which must be approved by the department chair before the individual study can go forward. The proposal should specify the schedule of reading and/or writing assignments and the schedule of meeting periods. The amount of work in an IS should approximate that required on average in regular courses of corresponding levels. It is suggested that students begin their planning of an IS well in advance, so that they can devise a proposal and seek departmental approval before the registrar's deadline. Typically, an IS will earn the student 0.25 or 0.50 units of credit. At a minimum, the department expects the student to meet with the instructor one hour per week. Because students must enroll for individual studies by the end of the seventh class day of each semester, they should begin discussion of the proposed individual study preferably the semester before, so that there is time to devise the proposal and seek departmental approval before the registrar’s deadline.
Academic & Scholarly Achievements
Manuscript in Preparation
Strait Indirection: New Narratives of Islam in Spanish Literature since the Enlightenment.
2016
al-Ghazzāl, Aḥmad ibn al-Mahdī. The Fruits of the Struggle in Diplomacy and War: Moroccan Ambassador al-Ghazzāl and His Diplomatic Retinue in Eighteenth-Century Andalusia. Ed. and intro. Travis Landry. Trans. Abdulrahman al-Ruwaishan. Lewisburg, PA: Bucknell UP, 2016.
2012
Subversive Seduction: Darwin, Sexual Selection, and the Spanish Novel. McLellan Endowed Series. Seattle: University of Washington Press and the Andrew Mellon Foundation Modern Language Initiative, 2012. [Reviews: Jerry Hoeg, Bulletin of Hispanic Studies 90:7 (2013); Jesús Torrecilla, Hispanic Review 82:3 (2014); Adriana Novoa, Isis 105:1 (2014); Óscar Iván Useche, Cuadernos de Literatura 36 (2014); Miguel Ángel Martín-Hervás Jiménez, Anales Galdosianos 49 (2014); Sonsoles Hernández Barbosa, Revista de Literatura del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas 77.154 (2015).
2016
“The Artful Science of Ali Bey.” Fringe Discourses: Modernity and Epistemology in Nineteenth-Century Spain. Ed. Alicia Cerezo Paredes and Ryan Davis. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2016. [Forthcoming]
2016
Rev. of Galdós and Medicine, Michael Stannard. Anales Galdosianos 50 (2015): 99-100.
2015
[Review of] Bonafoux, Luis. El avispero (novela corta). Ed. Luis Álvarez -Castro. Hispania 98.2 (2015): 375-76.
2015
[Co-authored with Jesse Matz] “Small College, World Literature.” Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture 15.2 (Spring 2015).
2014
“The Curious Translations of Darwinian Sexual Selection in Spain.” The Literary and Cultural Reception of Charles Darwin in Europe. Ed. Thomas Glick and Elinor Shaffer. London: Bloomsbury, 2014. 621-647.
2013
[Review of] Marginal Subjects: Gender and Deviance in Fin-de- siècle Spain, Akiko Tsuchiya. Bulletin of Spanish Studies 90.3 (2013): 416-18.
2012
"Exchange in and beyond the Cartas marruecas of José Cadalso." Modern Language Notes 127 (March 2012): 248-264.
2011
[Review of] Literature, Analytically Speaking: Explorations in the Theory of Interpretation, Analytic Aesthetics, and Evolution, Peter Swirski. Midwest Modern Language Association 44.2 (Fall 2011): 143-46.
2011
[Review of] Alejandro Sawa: luces de bohemia, Amelina Correa Ramón. Hispania 94.2 (2011): 367-68.
2010
[Review] “La verdad de la ensayística de Gregorio Marañón” of Y no con el lenguaje preciso de la ciencia, Dagmar Vandebosch. Confluencia 25.2 (Spring 2010): 182-84.
2009
"Darwin, Sexual Selection, and the Spanish Novel in the Late Nineteenth Century." Interdisciplinary Essays on Darwinism in Hispanic Literature and Film: The Intersection of Science and the Humanities. Ed. Jerry Hoeg and Kevin Larsen. New York: Mellen, 2009. 77-99.
2008
"The Moral Sense of Suitors and Selectors in Jacinto Octavio Picón." Ometeca 12 (2008): 137-151.
2006
[Review] “The Taming of The Literary Animal” of The Literary Animal: Evolution and the Nature of Narrative, ed. Jonathan Gottschall and David Sloan Wilson. Evolutionary Psychology 4 (2006): 49-56. 16 April 2006 evp.sagepub.com/content/4/1/147470490600400103.full
2016
Modern Languages Association (MLA), Austin, 2016. Paper: "The Diplomacy of Artifice in the Travelogue of a Moroccan Ambassador" [Session included in the Convention Presidential Theme selection].
2015
History of Science Society (HSS), San Francisco, 2015. Paper: "Spanish Literature and the Conscience of Sexual Selection."
2015
Society for Literature, Science and the Arts (SLSA), Rice U, 2015. Pape: "Biopolitics in the Travelogue of an 18th-Century Moroccan Ambassador."
2015
American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA), U of Washington, 2015 Seminar Organizer: “Comparative Approaches to Federico García Lorca” Paper: “The Gazelle in Lorca’s Garden.”
2014
The Kentucky Foreign Language Conference (KFLC), U of Kentucky, 2014 Paper: “Cadalso’s Cartas marruecas and the Travels of al-Ghazal.”
2013
American Comparative Literature Association: ACL(x) – A conference of invited speakers for discussions on the ACLA decennial Report on the State of the Discipline, Penn State University, 2013 Paper: “The Elsewhere of Comparative Literature at Tomorrow’s Small College.”
2013
American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS), Cleveland, 2013 Paper: “The Scientific Self in Domingo Badía’s Artful Journey to Meaning.”
2013
American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, Cleveland, 2013. Paper (accepted): “The Scientific Self in Domingo Badía’s Artful Journey to Meaning.”
2012
Midwest Modern Language Association, Cincinnati, 2012. Session Organizer: “The Legacy of Islam in Spanish Literature since the Enlightenment.” Paper: “The Veiled Meaning of Sufi Masks in the Writings of Isaac Muñoz.”
2012
American Association of Comparative Literature, Brown University, 2012. Paper: “Remembering Medusa and the Strange Verses of Heavy Forgetting.”
2012
Modern Language Association, Seattle, 2012
Paper: “Darwinian Errors of Collective Understanding in Galdós’s Fortunata y Jacinta”
[Featured panel of the International Association of Galdós Scholars, Presided over by Distinguished Professor Emerita Diane Urey]
2011
Cleveland State University: IV Crossing Over Symposium, Cleveland, 2011. Paper: “‘For the Love of Science’ and All Things Romantic about Ali Bey.”
2011
Beyond Don Juan: Rethinking Iberian Masculinities, New York University, 2011. Paper: “Sab, the Mulatto Made Slave to Love, While Beloved for His Enslavement.”
2011
Modern Language Association, Los Angeles, 2011. Paper: “Getting Perspective on the Most Delicate Affair in the World: José Cadalso and the Spanish (Trans)Nationalism of Cartas marruecas.”
2010
Darwin Colloquium of Contributors, Cambridge University, 2010. Paper: “Selection in Relation to Sex and the Spanish Literary Imagination.”
2009
Midwest Modern Languages Association, St. Louis, MO, 2009. Paper: “The Science of (Con)Science and the Tomorrow of Moral Poets and Mammoth Unrest.”
2009
American Comparative Literature Association, Harvard University, 2009. Seminar Organizer: “Science and Religion as (Foreign) Languages of Literature.” Paper: “Selection in Relation to Sex, Salvation, and the Spanish Novel.”
2008
Modern Language Association, San Francisco, 2008. Paper: “Sexual Selection, Ritual, and the Ethical Irony of Leopoldo Alas (Clarín).”
2008
Great Lakes Colleges Association, Kenyon College, 2008. Panel Chair: “Global/Local Tensions in Hispanic Modernities.” Paper: “Emilia Pardo Bazán and the Reproductive Labor behind Modern Spanish Womanhood.”