Graduate Students
Current Students
Jacopo Aldrighetti
Jacopo holds a B.A. in Modern Languages, a dual M.A. in Postcolonial Studies from
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz (Austria) and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy),
and has been affiliated with the Université de Paris (France) to conduct research
in the area of environmental humanities. He has lived and worked in several countries
across Europe and South America and is interested in the interactions between humans
and the environment through the lens of indigeneity and comparative cultural studies.
He seeks to employ methods from disciplines such as geography, anthropology, and environmental
science (cultural and political ecology, ethnography, ethnobiology) to gain a deeper
understanding of the relationship between indigenous peoples in the Neotropics and
water, as well as how their culture cores are reflected in their respective oral literatures.
His research revolves around one central question: How can the study of the interactions
between surviving pre-industrial communities and the environment inform environmentalist
trends in contemporary industrial societies? His scholarly work on eco-poetics, derived
from his Master's thesis, has appeared in Interdisciplinary Literary Studies (Penn State University Press). His book of poetry Areia: per la forma della poesia che verrà is forthcoming, and currently he is working on a book on geo and eco-poetry.
Gabrielle Bologna
Gabrielle holds an M.Ed. in New and Digital Literacies from the University of Georgia
(2023) and a BA in English Literature from Louisiana State University (2015). As a
first-year Ph.D. student and graduate assistant, her work in Comparative centers around
the historicization of art forms and an exploration of the social, political, and
economic contexts in which such narratives are respectively situated. Her primary
areas of interest are the twentieth-century text, representations of crises, terror,
and man-made disasters, the functions of political and economic histories in shaping
the ethical codes and cultural norms adapted by contemporary Western societies. She
is also interested in how such discourses aid in a cross-national analysis of the
relationship between governing institutions and cultural values. Gabrielle is Vice
President of the Comparative Literature Graduate Association, and her currently-listed
section of Introduction to World Literature (CPLT/ENGL 2201), "Theories of Evil",
involves a wide-ranging examination of deviance across early literatures.
Marlon Andres Cáceres Delgado
Marlon Andres Cáceres Delgado holds a B.A. in Spanish and English Literature from the Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia in Bucaramanga and an M.A. in Spanish from the University of South Florida. His research interests include: Latin-American women writers (fiction and poetry), feminist studies on literature and cultural identity representation (cinema and theater).
As former President and Vice President of the Spanish Graduate Student Association at USF, he created and organized events such as: Latino and Hispanic writers in the US, Pido la palabra/ Mind Your Words (a bilingual poetry reading and discussion). He also organized conference tables about women literature and gender theories. He is the host of the Spotify podcast 1.21 GIGAWHAT!, in which he explores and analyzes recent sci-fi films, literature, and shows. Some of his poetry and fiction feauterd in "El callejón de los libros".
Marie-Gabrielle Delahoussaye
Gabrielle Delahoussaye received a B.A. in Comparative Literature (2022) from the University
of Dallas. She is a first-year P.h.D. student who is interested in the convergence
of spiritual and aesthetic experience. Her undergraduate research project centered
on the metaphysical search implicit in the poetry of John Keats. She is also interested
in the literary and philosophical movements that arose in France in the 20th century,
in the ideas of Camus, Weil, Bernanos, and Mauriac.
Christopher Miguel Flakus
Christopher Miguel Flakus is the published author of over sixty short stories, poems,
and essays as well as several chapbooks, most notably the novelette The Canonization
of Lourdes Venegas de Martinez by Odessa Collective Press and Big Country published
by Bottlecap Press. Christopher grew up in Mexico City and studies Latin American
literature and film. These interests lead to a broader curiosity and an "Empire Studies"
credit in postcolonial and decolonial literature. In addition Christopher has presented
colloquiums at the International World Literature Conference on the subjects: Cinema
and Evil as well as Neo-baroque/New world Baroque Literature and Cinema. Christopher
graduated with an MFA in fiction from the University of Houston and is the co-founder
and editor of Defunkt Magazine and former editor for The Bayou Review literary journals.
Pelumi Folajimi
Pelumi Folajimi earned a BA in Dramatic Arts (2008) and MA in English (2015) from
Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria. In 2017, he earned a second MA in African Languages
and Literature from the Dept of African Cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Since 2017, he has been a Fellow and Artistic Director in Residence at African Theatre
in America, Chicago. He was a visiting scholar at the Department of Theatre and Dance
of the University of Hawaii-Manoa (Spring 2019), a candidate of English Language Program
at Seton Hall University (Summer 2019), and a Fellow of the National African Language
Resource Center at Indiana University-Bloomington (Summer 2019). His papers have appeared
in Research in African Literatures, African Literature Today, Journal of the African
Literature Association, Ife Journal of the Humanities and Social Studies, and Matatu:
Journal for African Culture and Society. He wishes to pursue a dissertation in ‘‘The
Global Travels of the Western Classic: Postcolonial and Holocaust Transformations
of Sophocles’ Antigone.’’
Salma Helal
Selma Helal was educated in her native country, Tunisia. She earned her BA (with a
concentration in Literature) from the Ecole Normale Supérieure and the Faculty of
Human and Social Sciences, University of Tunis, and the Agrégation, in English, from
the Faculty of Letters, Arts, and Humanities, University of Manouba. She participated
in the ENS Summer School in Tunis with Fellow Normalien(ne)s from Paris and Lyon,
and in the ENS Exchange Program in Lyon. She took part in workshops and international
conferences by the London Center for Interdisciplinary Research, where oral history,
(dis)placement, and borders/boundaries have influenced her perception of time and
literature. Her research interests center on the interactions of literature and philosophy.
Meghan Hodges
Meghan Hodges is a candidate (ABD) of LSU's PhD in Comparative Literature (to be conferred
2025). Meghan currently holds a BA in English (2019) and a MA in Hispanic Studies
(2022). Meghan's forthcoming dissertation is tentatively titled "Literature and Geography:
Philippines, Louisiana, and Spain as Contact Zones". Other research interests include
media and intermedia studies, translation theory, Caribbean studies, and global Hispanism(s).
During her time at LSU, Meghan has served as a voting member of the College Council,
President of the Comparative Literature Graduate Association, Organizer of the Annual
Languages and Literatures Conference, and Editor in Chief of Comparative Woman, LSU's
graduate journal in comparative literature. Meghan has held teaching and research
appointments in Spanish, Comparative Literature, and Screen Arts, and her teaching
record has been recognized with the Outstanding Graduate Student of the Award (2020-2021)
and nomination for Outstanding Teaching by Graduate Student in the College of Humanities
and Social Sciences Award (TBA 2024). Meghan maintains an active presence in the LSU
community through her mentorship of undergraduate students and graduate peers.
Guilliermo (Guy) Londono
Guillermo (Guy) Londono is an engineer, an economist, and a writer. He is a member
of the society of Authors and Composers of Venezuela. Before entering the PhD Comparative
Literature Program at LSU, he developed a passion for literature, cultural studies,
and languages through both his academic research and travels in Venezuela, Colombia,
The Netherlands, Canada, and the United States. He also believes in the advancement
of the human race through a new emphasis on eclectic humanism, without neglecting
the Divine.
Nkosilathi Moyo
Nkosilathi Moyo graduated with a BA ‘honours’ in English and Communication from Midlands
State University (Zimbabwe) in 2015. He went on to pursue a master’s degree in Britain
at Coventry University where he graduated with a Master of Arts in Communication,
Culture and Media in 2018. In the past (just after high school and briefly after his
master’s degree) he taught Literature in English as a Temporary Teacher. Presently,
he is studying for a PhD in Comparative Literature at LSU with research interests
in decolonial theories, Global Hip Hop and African Diaspora Cultures.
Vrixton Phillips
Vrixton Phillips holds a BA in English from Nicholls State University, in Thibodaux,
Louisiana, with a double specialization in Literature and Rhetoric/Writing, where
he was awarded the 2021 COLA Award for Outstanding Graduate in Rhetoric and Writing.
In his senior year, the Nicholls’ Regional Undergraduate Journal, Chênière, published
his article “A Clear and Present Danger: Robespierre’s ‘On the Trial of the King’”
and after graduating, he went on to work with one of his former professors as a qualitative
data coder for the Nicholls/BOEM Gulf Database Project. His research interests are
in tragic poetry and drama throughout history, particularly that of Ancient Greece,
Renaissance England, and Neoclassical France. He is also fascinated by contemporary
and 20th century continental philosophy and their possible applications to ancient
literature and the history of literature.
Alexander Schmid
Alexander Schmid studied philosophy at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for his B.A. He then earned an M.A.L.A. from St. John's College in Annapolis' Graduate Institute. He then earned a California Teaching Credential while developing a "Great Books" style curriculum and teaching it in northern San Diego for seven years. Alexander's primary research interests are Medieval Italian Poetry, Ancient Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy, Dante’s Poetics and Metaphysics, Interreligious Dialogue, Comparative Literature, the History of the Transmission of Philosophy, Medieval Jewish and Arabic Aristotelianism, Ancient and Medieval Epic Poetry. He currently works with the English, Ancient Greek, Latin, Classical Arabic, Spanish, German, French, and Italian Languages.
Midhat Shah
Midhat Shah holds a BA and an MA in English literature and a minor in Persian Language
and Literature from the University of Kashmir, India. She earned her second Masters
in Linguistics with a minor in Language documentation from the University of North
Texas. She has a broad range of research interests, underscoring an interdisciplinary
approach to literature and linguistics. Her research focal points encompass Comparative
Romanticism, Mysticism, Postcolonial literature, History of Criticism, Poetry and
Poetics, Aesthetics in South Asia and the Middle East, and Translation. Currently
she is working on her first literary translation of Rasul Mir’s poetry, a prominent
Romantic poet of Kashmir.
Stacy Stingle
Stacy Stingle holds a BA in English, History, Philosophy, and Psychology, with a minor
in Creative Writing - University Wisconsin-Oshkosh, an MA in English with a concentration
in Literature and Cultural Theory from the University Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a MA
in Philosophy, with a minor in Political Science from Louisiana State University.
She works in English, Spanish, and French languages and literatures. Stacy's current
research is focused on continental philosophy and literary modernism, looking at representations
of time, trauma, memory, and fractured consciousness. She examines modern society
under surveillance and the way that artists and writers have used their works to examine,
resist, and defy oppressive regimes and their power structures.
Yuxin Tian
Yuxin holds a B.A. in English Language and Literature from Dalian University of Foreign Languages in China, and an M.A. in World Cultures and Literatures from the University of Houston. Her research centers around the interconnectedness between disciplines such as cinematography, psychology, and philosophy, all within the realm of cinema. Specifically, she delves into Hitchcock's films, aiming to bridge the gap in research between Chinese scholars and their foreign counterparts. Yuxin's approach involves translating and introducing contemporary studies in this field to China, aiming to enhance the understanding and appreciation of Hitchcock's films in her home country. Additionally, she maintains a strong interest in the theory and practice of translation, both between Chinese and English languages.
Bertha Vazquez
Betty Vasquez is a US Army Veteran who is beginning her first year at LSU working towards her PhD. in Comparative Literature. Among her academic achievements she counts: a BFA from Cameron University in English Literature with a minor in French, an MFA from the University of Houston Clear Lake in English Literature with a thesis in creative writing. Currently she is studying Spanish Linguistics at the University of Houston.Throughout her academic career she has focused on linguistics, short stories, poetry, film studies, and pedagogy.
Recent Graduates
Jaime Elizabeth (Liz) Johnston-Dupre
“Death, Dreaming, and Diaspora: Achieving Orientation Through Afro-Spirituality” (2024).
Committee Chair: Dr. Katherine Henninger
Negar Basiri
"Cosmopolitanism as Anonymous Vulnerability, a Re-examination of Contemporary Persian, French, American Novels" (2023).
Committee Chair: Dr. Francois Raffoul.
Aparajita Dutta
Aparajita’s dissertation title: “Decolonial Queer Poetic” (2023).
Committee Chair: Dr. Deborah Goldgaber.
Emma Gist
"Responsible Classrooms: Unfinalizability, Responsibility, and Participatory Literacy in Secondary English Language Arts" (2022).
Committee Chair: Dr. Susan Weinstein.
Ikea Johnson
"The Underground of History: Spirituality as Reflected Through Movement, Community, and the Chaos of Formlessness in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man" (2022).
Committee Chair: Dr. Fahima Ife.
Anwita Ray
"Dissident Voices of South Asia: New Representations of Marginalization in Twenty-First Century Literature and Cinema" (2022).
Committee Chair: Dr. Touria Khannous.
Hussam Amujalli
"The Function of Poetry in the Maqamat al-Hariri" (2020).
Committee Chair: Dr. Greg Stone.
Benjamin Howland
"The Exemplary Spartacus: Reception, Adaptation, and Reconstruction" (2020).
Committee Chair: Dr. Greg Stone.
José F. Rojas
"Transatlantic Perspectives of Deviant and Criminal Women in European, Latin American, and American Narratives" (2020).
Committee Chair: Dr. Dorota Heneghan.
Thana Al-Shakhs
"Multiple Voices in the Poetry of Transculturation: Reading Contemporary Ex-Phonic Poetry through Muwaššah: Ryoko Sekiguchi, Etel Adnan, and Suheir Hammad" (2019).
Committee Chair: Dr. Solimar Otero.
Agnès Dengreville
"Le Grotesque: Balbutiements et Modernités. De La Création D'Une Catégorie Esthétique a Son Renouvellement dans le théâtre du Vingtième Siècle " (2019).
Committee Chair: Dr. Adelaide Russo.
Emily O'Dell
"The Child Ethnographer in the Field: Examples from English, Spanish, and French Caribbean Literature" (2019).
Committee Chair: Dr. Solimar Otero.
Vida Owusu-Boateng
"Translocating the Greeks: A Comparative Study of Medea and Electra in Cuba and South Africa" (2019).
Committee Chair: Dr. Solimar Otero.
Anna Ciamparella
"Development of a Literary Dispositif: Convening Diasporan, Blues, and Cosmopolitan Lines of Inquiry to Reveal the Cultural Dialogue Among Giuseppe Ungaretti, Langston Hughes, and Antonio D’Alfonso" (2018).
Committee Chair: Dr. William Boelhower.
Amy Lynne Catania
"Flirt, Fight, or Flight: Spatial and Power Dynamics in Three Courtship Motifs in Modern European, American, and Latin American Literary Works and Musicals" (2017).
Committee Chair: Dr. Dorota Heneghan.
Kristina Gibby
"Ghost (Hi)stories: Fiction as Alternative History in Brodber, Valdés, Cisneros, and Condé" (2017).
Committee Chair: Dr. Andrea Morris.
Pengyi Huang
"Immigration, Ethnicity, and Citizenship: The Words and Faces of the Chinese of North America" (2017).
Committee Chair: Dr. William Boelhower.
Jingyuan Liu
"Poetics of Integration and the Making of Modern Chinese Drama: Cao Yu amongst Playwrights" (2017).
Committee Chair: Dr. Qiancheng Li.
Lázara Bolton
"(Re)Writing History in Maryse Condé, Femi Euba, and Reinaldo Arenas" (2016).
Committee Chair: Dr. Solimar Otero.
Guillermo Severiche
"The Politics of Sensations: Body and Texture in Contemporary Cinema and Literature (Argentina - Cuba - Ireland)" (2016).
Committee Chair: Dr. Laura Martins.
Jacqueline Zimmer
"Re-examining and Redefining the Concepts of Community, Justice, and Masculinity in the Works of René Depestre, Carlos Fuentes, and Ernest Gaines" (2016).
Committee Chair: Dr. Adelaide Russo.