August 03, 2012

Professor co-edits new foreign language literary journal

A new literary journal co-edited by Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies Juan C. Toledano Redondo explores scholarly research and criticism in the fields of science fiction and fantasy originally composed in Spanish or Portuguese.

Subject matter for science fiction literature is boundless, and so too are the languages in which it is published. A new literary journal, Alambique, explores scholarly research and criticism in the fields of science fiction and fantasy originally composed in Spanish or Portuguese. Though a seemingly narrow subject, research like that showcased in Alambique is a growing field in the United States and around the world.

“It is not a niche any longer,” said Alambique co-editor and Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies Juan C. Toledano Redondo. “Today, prestigious academic publishers count on this research for their primary collections. The International Association for the Fantastic in Arts has a section dedicated to international science fiction, and those in Spanish and Portuguese grow each year.”

The journal, conceived by Toledano and Miguel Ángel Fernández Delgado, a colleague from El Colegio de México, accepts submissions from around the world and will be published annually through the University of South Florida at Tampa Library.

Toledano hopes that this project will benefit his students at Lewis & Clark.

“Once the journal receives [submissions], the material will be invaluable for teaching,” he said. “I currently offer a course on science fiction written in Spanish—it has been my most successful course. Having scholarly researched papers in Spanish will add to my class.”

Toledano also hopes that the Lewis & Clark community at large will benefit from this project.

“[I hope it will] prove that belonging to a small liberal arts college in the United States is not an impediment for developing great projects,” he said. “I am positive that Lewis & Clark will gain recognition around the world from this. As Alambique launches, many scholars, authors, and interested people will look at the journal for their own research and teaching.”

The journal takes its name from a process that ancient alchemists used to turn base metals into gold. The journal’s mission is not far from this idea: it aims to act as a distiller of “(im)possible” dreams of science fiction and fantasy.” The first issue will be published in August of 2013.

Zibby Pillote ’14 contributed to this story.

 

Hispanic Studies Program