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 second book, a critical edition and translation of al-Ghazzāl, Aḥmad ibn al-Mahdī, 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 the 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 120
What in the World is World Literature?
CWL 120
This course is designed for first-year students with two aims in mind: 1) an exploration of literary texts from around the world, and 2) an introduction to the discipline of World Literature. “What in the World is World Literature?” is at the forefront of literary study as it brings global perspectives to Kenyon. It emphasizes the study of literature as a way of crossing linguistic, national, and cultural borders. The course draws attention to language by placing novels, poems, plays and short stories written in different languages and translated into English in conversation with each other. It questions the boundedness of the nation by showing how the writing, publishing and reading of literary texts is already a transnational activity. Finally, it reveals how local and global cultures are intertwined in the literary text. Course readings may include Murasaki Shikibu’s “The Tale of Genji,” Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” Salman Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children,” Zadie Smith’s “White Teeth,” Luigi Pirandello’s “One, No One & One Hundred” and Yaa Gyasi’s “Homegoing.” The theme and texts taught in the course will vary each year and students are encouraged to contact the course instructor to find out the specific reading list for a given year. This course counts toward the core course requirement for the concentration. Only open to first-year students. This course paired with any CWL course counts towards the Humanities diversification requirement. These courses must be taken at Kenyon. No prerequisite. Offered every fall.
MLL 120
What in the World is World Literature?
MLL 120
This course is designed for first-year students with two aims in mind: 1) an exploration of literary texts from around the world, and 2) an introduction to the discipline of World Literature. “What in the World is World Literature?” is at the forefront of literary study as it brings global perspectives to Kenyon. It emphasizes the study of literature as a way of crossing linguistic, national and cultural borders. The course draws attention to language by placing novels, poems, plays and short stories written in different languages and translated into English in conversation with each other. It questions the boundedness of the nation by showing how the writing, publishing and reading of literary texts is already a transnational activity. Finally, it reveals how local and global cultures are intertwined in the literary text. Course readings may include Ahmed Saadawi’s "Frankenstein in Baghdad," Eileen Chang’s Love in a Fallen City, Luigi Pirandello’s One, No One, and One Hundred Thousand, Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice, Haruki Marukami’s “The Elephant Vanishes,” Virginia Woolf’s "The Waves," and Gabriela Mistral’s "Poem of Chile." The theme and texts taught in the course will vary each year and students are encouraged to contact the course instructor to find out the specific reading list for a given year. This course counts toward major requirements in MLL (Tracks I, II, III) or toward any minor offered in MLL. Only open to first-year students. This course paired with any other course taught in the MLL Department counts towards the Humanities diversification requirement. These courses must be taken at Kenyon. No prerequisite. Offered every fall.
MLL 191
ST:(De)Colonization of Culture
MLL 191
MLL 498
Senior Honors
MLL 498
This course offers independent study for senior candidates for honors under the direction of the honors supervisor. 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. Permission of instructor and department chair required.
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 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. This course includes required practice sessions with an apprentice teacher (AT), which will be scheduled at the beginning of the semester. Students enrolled in this course will be automatically added to SPAN 112Y for the spring semester. 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 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. This course includes required practice sessions with an apprentice teacher (AT), which will be scheduled at the beginning of the semester. 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. This course includes required practice sessions with an apprentice teacher (AT), which will be scheduled at the beginning of the semester. Students enrolled in this course will automatically be added to SPAN 214Y for the spring semester. 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 builds on the concepts and skills addressed in the first semester, with a continued focus on language and culture for students who are interested in developing their ability to speak, read, write and understand Spanish. Students will be exposed to more complex Spanish grammar, while also expanding their vocabulary in context, using authentic materials similar to those of the first semester (including short novels, stories, essays, newspaper articles, films, television series, and songs). Students will produce more advanced analytic and creative writing assignments, and will be asked to actively discuss a range of challenging topics in class with increased proficiency (compared to fall semester). Like SPAN 213Y, this course includes required practice sessions with an apprentice teacher (AT), though the days and times for these may be different from the fall semester. 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 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 19th century, 5) to Modernist poetry and works by Federico García Lorca, and 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. This course counts toward the literature requirement for the major. 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.
Academic & Scholarly Achievements
Manuscript in Preparation
Strait Indirection: New Narratives of Islam in Spanish Literature since the Enlightenment.
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).]
Forthcoming
Federico García Lorca and the Diván del Tamarit (in progress)
World Literature (under review)
José Ortega y Gasset (bibliography entry with Oxford UP online, forthcoming)
2019
Rev. of Colonial al-Andalus: Spain and the Making of Modern Moroccan Culture, Eric Calderwood, Bulletin of Spanish Studies 96:6 (2019): 1053-1054.
2018
Rev. of The Spanish Resurgence, 1713-1748, Christopher Storrs. Hispania 101.1 (2018): 155-56.
2017
Rev. of Gender in Hispanic Literature and Visual Arts, Ed. Patricia Bolaños-Fabres, Tania Gómez, and Christina Mougoyanni Hennessy. Hispania 100.1 (2017): 138-40.
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.
2016
Rev. of Galdós and Medicine, Michael Stannard. Anales Galdosianos 50 (2015): 99-100.
2015
Rev. 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
2019
Mellon Language Colloquium, Ohio State University, 2019
“Flipping the Classroom” [Non-Presenter Participant]
2019
American Comparative Literature Association, Georgetown U, 2019
Seminar Co-Organizer: “Seeing the World”
Paper: “Memories of World Literature”
2018
Mellon Language Colloquium, Oberlin College, 2018
“Exploring New Horizons Together” [Non-Presenter Participant]
2018
Kentucky Foreign Language Conference (KFLC), Lexington, 2018
Paper [Panel Chair]: “A World Literature Approach to Lorca’s Diván del Tamarit”
2017
World Languages Conference (GLCA), Hope College, 2017
“From Crisis Management to Innovation: Reimagining the Role of World Languages in the 21st Century” [Team Leader for Kenyon College Participants from MLL]
2017
World Literature Symposium (GLCA / Mellon), Ann Arbor, 2017 [Co-organizer]
Roundtable: “Cosmopolitanism,” Mariano Siskind, Harvard U [Facilitator]
Position Paper Presented: “Crossing the Strait”
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.”