Dr. Rafael Miguel Montes

St. Thomas University

16401 NW 37th Ave.

Miami Gardens, FL 33054

305-628-6731

rmontes@stu.edu

Publications

All Our Types of Hoarding: “Casket,” “Mail,” “Broom,” “Gas Mask,” “Going Public” Sixfold

(Winter/Spring 2016).

“Happy” The Eildon Tree (Fall 2015).

Caboodle (Prole Books, 2015)

“Kicks” English Chicago Review 3 (Fall 2014).

“Domino” Agave 2.1 (Summer 2014).

“Cart”—“Barrio” Gris Gris (Spring 2014).

“Sandwiches”—“Coconuts” Prole 9 (Spring 2013).

“Parakeet” qarrtsiluni: Animals in the City (Spring 2013).

“Dismantling the Digital Dollhouse: Will Wright’s The Sims and Virtual Consumption” Co-written

with Dr. Andrea A. Campbell. Quarterly Review of Film and Video 30.1 (2013).

“Diorama” Ballard Street Journal (Winter 2012).

“Mylar” Criminal Class 8 (Winter 2012).

“Gamble” Reunion: The Dallas Review (Fall 2012).

“Keratin” Barely South Review (Fall 2012).

“Walk”—“Hips”—“Magic Eye” Northwind 3 (Summer 2012).

“Doppler” Indian River Review 1 (Summer 2012).

“Wonka (Havana)”—“Inglish” Kweli (Winter 2011).

“Talitha Koum” Paper Nautilus 1 (Winter 2011).

“Rolling Out the Red Carpet for Cuban Horror” Co-written with Eddy Bermudez. Diabolique 5. Ed.

Robert E. Simpson. (Summer 2011).

“Accidentally, A Poet” Magnapoets 8 (Summer 2011) Pushcart Nominee.

“Basmati”—“Menu” Prole 5 (Summer 2011). PK Poetry Award WINNER.

“Clock—3:14” OVS: Organs of Vision and Speech (Summer 2011).

“Cuba’s ‘Special Period’ and the New Horror” Diabolique 2. Ed. Robert E. Simpson. (Spring 2011).

“Barcode” Criminal Class 4 (Winter 2010).

“Envelopes” 491 Magazine 2 (Fall 2010).

“Daisy” The New York Quarterly (Fall 2010).

“Googling for Natives: Most of the Reasons Cuban Horror Cannot Exist” Horror Unlimited Volume I.

Ed. Robert E. Simpson. (Summer 2010).

“Origins” Caribbean Writer (University of the Virgin Islands) 24 (Summer 2010).

“Terminal” Tipton Poetry Journal 17 (Spring 2010).

“Jockeying for Position: Sexual Perils in Pedro Juan Gutiérrez’s Dirty Havana Trilogy” Critical

Perspectives on Caribbean Literature and Culture. Eds. Dorsia Smith, Tatiana Tatigrova, and Suzanna

Engman. (Cambridge Scholars Press 2010).

“Oyster” Prole—Prose and Poetry 1 (Spring 2010).

“Clumsy” Stone’s Throw Magazine (Spring 2010).

“Saint Ohio” Beggars and Cheeseburgers 1 (Spring 2010).

“Ephphatha” – “Declines” inscape (Spring 2010).

“Sunday Homework” Paradigm 11 (Winter 2009).

“Westland” Triggerfish Critical Review 3 (Winter 2009).

“Effort”--“Penchant”-- “Quiet” Mastodon Dentist 21 (Winter 2009).

“After the White Wedding” The Honey Land Review 2.1 (Winter 2009).

“Gymnauseum” CONCLAVE: A Journal of Character 2 (Fall 2009). Pushcart Nominee.

“Gathering Crumbs the Next Morning” Tattoo Highway 19 (Fall 2009).

“Yo Soy Godzilla—The Possibilities and Futilities of Cuban Horror” The Irish Journal of Gothic and

Horror Studies 6. Eds. Bernice Murphy and Elizabeth McCarthy. (July 2009).

“Spring Cleaning” DASH Literary Journal. California State University: Fullerton (2009).

“Manufacturing Casablanca: Cuban Miami in Popular Travel Literature.” Florida in the Popular

Imagination: Essays on the Cultural Landscape of the Sunshine State. Ed. Steve Glassman. McFarland

Press (2009).

“Fabricating Desires: The Transformation of the Quinces Tradition in Cuban Miami.” in Styling Texts:

Dress and Fashion in Literature. Eds. Cynthia Kuhn and Cindy Carlson. Cambria Press. (2007).

“Margarita Engle.” Biographical Entry for the Encyclopedia of Hispanic-American Literature and Culture. Ed. Luz Elena Ramirez. (2007).

Radio Interview for Radio Global on James Cameron’s documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus.

(February 21, 2007)

“Ghost Recon—Island Thunder: Cuba in the Virtual Battlescape.” in The Players’ Realm: Studies on

the Culture of Video Games and Gaming. Eds. J. Patrick Williams and Jonas Heide Smith. Jefferson,

NC: McFarland Press. (2007).

“Narrating the Tropical Animal: Pedro Juan Gutiérrez’s Dirty Havana Trilogy.” Ed. C.J.S. Picart.

Documenting Trauma, Documenting Terror. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.

(2007).

“From Pillar to Bridge: Adolescent Travel in Cristina García’s Dreaming in Cuban.” Eds. Judith

Bachay and Raul Fernandez-Calienes. Women Moving Forward—Volume Two: An Intersectional Lens

for a Tapestry of Diverse Voices. Cambridge Scholars Press. (2007).

“Treacherous Pilgrimages: Identity and Travel in Roberto G. Fernández’s ‘The Augustflower’” Ed.

Steve Glassman. Florida Studies: Proceedings of the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Florida College

English Association 2005. Cambridge Scholars Press. (2006).

Making Places/Haciendo Lugares: Generational Trauma in Contemporary Cuban-American

Literature. Edwin Mellen Press. (2006).

“The Forgotten Lesson: Another Perspective on the Life of Terri Schiavo.” St. Thomas University

Student Newspaper Editorial. (Spring 2005).

with Dr. Judith Bachay. “Death in the Cuban Exile Community: An Analysis of Generational

Expressions of Loss and Interventions that Promote Healing.” in VISTAS: Perspectives on Counseling

2004. Eds. Garry R. Walz and Richard Yep. (2004)

“There’s No Place like Home: Elián González and the Ideology of Family Values.” Encrucijada 1.1

(2002).

with Dr. Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr. “Exploring the Culture of Little Havana: A Learning Community

Project.” University of Miami School of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences. (1999).

http://www.education.miami.edu/ep/LittleHavana/index.html

Reviews and Editorial Work

“El nido de la serpiente de Pedro Juan Gutiérrez: autoficción y (sin)sentido.” External Review for

Letras Hispanas. (2017).

Marriage Preparation Policies. Editor. Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina. (2007).

Notes from the Underground: Writings on American Subcultures. (Peer Review). Pearson Education

Publishers, Inc. (2006)

Composing Off- and Online: A Rhetorical Reader. (Peer Review). Longman Academic Publishing.

(2005)

Patterns for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Guide. Ninth edition. Eds. Laurie G. Kirszner

and Stephen R. Mandell. (Peer Review). Bedford/St. Martin’s Press. (2005)

Conferences and Papers

2013

“Microracisms: The Privatization and Mobilization of the Digital Divide.” HTA: Humanities and

Technologies Association. Miami Gardens, FL. Nov. 8.

“The Death House: Haunted Houses in the American Cinematic Imagination.” Lecture Delivered at

St. Thomas University. Miami, Gardens, FL. Oct 31.

“Dread Island: Postcolonialism and Island Consciousness in Contemporary Videogames.” Latin-

American Studies Association International Conference. Washington, DC. May 30.

2012

“Zombology: A Brief History of the Cinematic Undead.” Lecture Delivered at St. Thomas University.

Miami Gardens, FL. Oct 31.

“The Ever-Present Survival Instincts: Pre-Hunger Games Dystopian Fictions.” Lecture Delivered at St.

Thomas University Bobcat Reads Celebration. Miami Gardens, FL. May 6.

2009

“The Manufacture of Memories: Havana, Hialeah, and a Pair of Kardashians.” Lecture Delivered at St.

Thomas University Hispanic Heritage Celebration. Miami Gardens, FL. October 1.

2008

“Postcolonial Pedagogies: Teaching the Caribbean to the Caribbean.” Paper Presented at Virtual

Caribbeans: Representation, Diaspora and Performance in and on the Caribbean. Tulane University

(New Orleans, LA). Feb 28-Mar 1.

“Killer Clutter: The Pathology of Consumerism in Make-Over Television.” Paper Presented at

Southwest Texas Popular/American Culture Conference. Albuquerque, NM. Feb 13-16.

2007

“Deletions of the National Text: The Arbitrary Insertion of Mis Quince in Cosmo Girl.” Lecture

Delivered at ALAS Hispanic Heritage Celebration. St. Thomas University. Miami Gardens, FL.

October 10.

Chair of Women’s Participation in the Public Sphere. Academic Panel for Women Moving Forward:

International Conference on Gender and Migration. Miami Gardens, FL. March 31.

Faculty Sponsor and Editor of Vanessa Valdes’s “Eat the Rich: Cannibalism and Capitalism in Tobe

Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” for the STU 2007 Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Miami Gardens, FL. April 15.

2006

“Spirits of the Nation: Nostalgic Histories and the Chaotic Memories of Immigration.” Paper Presented

at 63rd Annual Meeting of the South Central Modern Language Association (SCMLA). Dallas, TX. Oct

26-28.

“Further Considerations on Generational Traumas in Contemporary Cuban-American Literature.”

Book Presentation at St. Thomas University. October 18.

“Dismantling the Digital Dollhouse: Will Wright’s The Sims and Virtual Consumption.” Paper

presented at St. Thomas University 5th Annual Faculty/Undergraduate Research Symposium. St.

Thomas University. April 11.

“Narrating the Tropical Animal: Sexual Perils in Pedro Juan Gutiérrez’s Dirty Havana Trilogy.” Paper

presented at Documenting Trauma, Documenting Terror. 31st Annual Conference on Literature and

Film. Florida State University. February 2-5.

2005

“From Pillar to Bridge: Adolescent Travel in Cristina García’s Dreaming in Cuban.” Paper presented

at Women Moving Forward: International Conference on Gender and Migration. St. Thomas

University. Dec 10.

“Treacherous Pilgrimages: Identity and Travel in Roberto G. Fernández’s ‘The Augustflower’.” Paper

presented at Florida Association of College English State Conference. Embry-Riddle University.

Daytona Beach, FL. November 3-4.

“Yo soy Godzilla!—The Possibilities and Futilities of Cuban Horror.” Paper presented at Blurring the

Boundaries—Transrealism and Other Movements: The 26th International Conference for the Fantastic

in the Arts. Florida Atlantic University. Mar 16-20.

“The Diamond Sands of Varadero Beach: Roberto Fernandez’s Tales of Cuban Paralysis.” Paper

presented at Trans/National Film and Literature: Cultural Production and the Claims of History.

Florida State University. Jan 27-29.

2004

with Dr. Judith Bachay. “Death in the Cuban Exile Community: An Analysis of Generational

Expressions of Loss and Interventions that Promote Healing.” Paper presented at the American

Counseling Association Annual Convention. Kansas City, MO. April 2-4.

“DraCuba: Cultural Transfusions and Political Contaminations in Juan Padrón’s Vampire Films.”

Paper presented at The Global Fantastic: The 25th International Conference for the Fantastic in the

Arts. Florida Atlantic University. Mar 24-28.

2003

“Memory and Terror: Images of Cuba in Contemporary Espionage Fiction.” Paper presented at The

Nation Transnational: The 5th Cuban Research Institute Conference on Cuban and Cuban-American

Studies. Florida International University. Oct 29-Nov 1.

2000

“Yemayá Se Fue Pa’ Yá: Santería and Root Magic in Cristina García’s Dreaming in Cuban.” Paper

presented at 3rd Annual Cuban Research Institute Conference on Cuban and Cuban-American Studies.

Florida International University. Oct 21-23.

Panel Chair for “The Resurgence of Afro-Cuban Religions and Cultures.” 3rd Annual Cuban Research

Institute Conference on Cuban and Cuban-American Studies. Florida International University. Oct 21-

23.

“There’s No Place Like Home: Elían González and the Ideology of Family Values.” Paper presented at

Latinos 2000: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Millennium. Dartmouth University. Feb 3-6.

1999

with Dr. Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr. “Learning Communities and Online Communities.” Conference on

Creating and Sustaining Learning Communities. University of South Florida. Mar 11-13.

with Dr. Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr. “Learning Communities, Online Communities, Local Communities

and Residential College Communities: Making Connections.” Conference on Excellence in Higher

Education. University of Miami. Jan. 16-18.

1997

“Grasping for Guano: Absence, Exile, and La Nada Literaria in Zoé Valdés’s Yocandra in the

Paradise of Nada.” Paper presented at the 3rd Annual Symposium on Contemporary Literature in

French, Spanish, and Portuguese. University of Miami. Nov 7-8.

“Broken by Waves: Virgil Suarez’s Going Under and the Process of Dissimilation.” Paper presented at

the 1st Cuban Research Institute Conference on Cuban and Cuban-American Studies. Florida

International University. Oct 9-11.

“Razing Cane: The Politics and Excesses of León Ichaso’s Bitter Sugar.” Paper presented at

Representations: Voices and Visions: The 16th Annual West Indian Literature Conference. University

of Miami. Apr 1-4.

1994

“A Boy’s Farewell to his Araby: Joyce’s Fictions of Cross-Cultural Space.” Paper presented at

Transcultural Joyce: XIV International James Joyce Symposium. Universidad de Sevilla (Spain). Jun

12-18.

1993

“Pumps and Circumstance: Clothing and the Construction of Fetish in Joyce’s Ulysses.” Paper

presented at Joyce and Culture: California Joyce. University of California at Irvine. Jun 27-Jul 2.

Employment History

2008-Present Professor. St. Thomas University. Department of English and Humanities.

2006-2008 Associate Professor. St. Thomas University, Department of English and Communication

Arts. Miami, FL.

2003-2006 Assistant Professor. St. Thomas University, Department of English and Communication

Arts. Miami, FL

1999-2003 Lecturer. St. Thomas University, Department of English and Communication Arts. Miami,

FL

1997-1998 Adjunct Instructor. St. Thomas University, Department of English and Communication

Arts. Miami, FL

1996-1998 Adjunct Instructor. Miami-Dade Community College (North Campus), Department of

English. Miami, FL

1991-1999 Graduate Assistant/Semester Lecturer. University of Miami, Department of English.

Coral Gables, FL

Degrees

Ph. D. English, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 2003

M.A. English, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 1993

B.A. English/Spanish, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, 1990

University Committees and Social Service

2013

M.A. Thesis Committee Member (Mercedes Lardizabal—Building Social Capital through Arts and

Culture: A Plan for the Filipino American Community of South Florida)

M.A. Thesis Committee Member (Kingman Arias—Radio as an Evangelizing Tool of the Catholic

Church for Hispanics in the United States)

M.A. Thesis Committee Member (Jorge Tavarez—The Role of Video Games in Elementary School

Education)

2012

Third-Year Program Director (Department of English and Humanities)

Coordinator of Teaching Assistantship—Santiago Borges

Second-Year Member of the Academic Freedom, Contracts and Tenure Committee.

Chair of the QEP Steering Committee’s Best Practices Sub-Committee

Member of the QEP Steering Committee’s Writing Sub-Committee

Developer of Three New Literature Courses in the Department: POP, Horror, and Lit Crit II

2011

Second-Year Program Director (Department of English and Humanities)

Second-Year Financial Aid Appeals Committee Member

First-Year Member of the Academic Freedom, Contracts and Tenure Committee.

Coordinator of Teaching Assistantship—Eddy Bermudez

Coordinator of Teaching Assistantship—Aryanne Schommer

2010

Program Director (Department of English and Humanities)

Financial Aid Appeals Committee Member

Title V Transformational Leader—Advisement and Retention Initiative

Language Arts Coordinator for Westview Middle Goes to College Community Outreach Program

Peer Reviewer for Plenum—The South Carolina State University Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

Coordination of Teaching Assistantship—Leo Brown

MA Thesis Committee Member (Andrea Castillo—The Use of Modern Technologies for Hispanic

Marketing)

MA Thesis Committee Member (Ana Maria Matiz—Dora the Explorer: The Hispanic and Feminist

Icon)

2009

Second-Year Member of Academic Freedom, Contracts, and Tenure Committee

Member of the Department of History Faculty Search Committee

MA Thesis Coordinator (Priscilla E. Romero—Hurban Changes: Contemporary Evolution of Urban

Culture through Hispanic Influences)

Member of the Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards (Washington, D.C.) Selection Committee

Biscayne College Awards Selection Committee

2008

Faculty Representative for PROJECT SUCCESS

Second-Year Member of Academic Technology Taskforce—University Committee

First-Year Member of Academic Freedom, Contracts, and Tenure Committee

MA Thesis Committee Member (Atarah Samaroo—The Body Everybody Wants: A Textual Analysis

of the Migration of Thinness from America to the Caribbean)

MA Thesis Committee Member (Andreea Correndea—Objectivity versus Propaganda in Romanian

News: An Analysis of News Program Before and After the Fall of Communism)

Honors College Advisory Board (Chair: Dr. Frank Sicius)

Member of the Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards (Washington, D.C.) Selection Committee

Driftwood Literary Magazine—Selection Committee

Committee Member of the Professional Writing Track Program for the English Department (ENC)

2007

President’s Ad Hoc Policy Committee for Administrators with Faculty Rank

Academic Technology Taskforce—University Committee

Member of the Financial Aid Appeals Committee

Faculty Advisor/Executive Editor—St. Thomas Tribune

Driftwood Literary Magazine—Selection Committee

Member of the Financial Aid Scholarship Committee (2007-2008)

Planning Committee for Fernández Programs (LEAD NOW and Fernández Fellows)

Appointment to STU Rank and Tenure Committee (2006-2007)

Member of the Writing Center Director Search Committee (Chair: Dean Huang)

Judge for MUSE: Marking Undergraduate Student Excellence (Writing Center Essay Contest)

Voluntary Tutor at the St. Thomas University Writing Center

Judge for the Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards for Academic Excellence from The Hispanic Heritage

Foundation (Washington, D. C.)

2006

Interviewee for Interview with a Professor, a Communication Arts project by Wanda Petit-Louis.

Faculty Advisor for Association of Latin American Students (ALAS)

Faculty Presenter/Speaker at the Hispanic Heritage Film Festival (October 11)

Third Year Member of the Rank, Compensation, and Welfare Committee

Member of the STU Academic Journal Ad Hoc Committee

Thesis Coordinator and Advisor for Masters in Communication Arts with Hispanic Media

Specialization.

Assistant Coordinator and Speaker at English, Humanities and Communication Arts Presentation for

Academic Recruitment.

Development Committee Member for the Masters in Communication Arts (Electronic Media

Specialization).

2005

Participant in the Presidential Committee for Catholic Cuban-American Relations.

Member of the St. Thomas University Writing Across the Curriculum and English Composition

Assessment Committee.

Member of the Communication Arts and English MFA Search Committee.

Participant Reviewer for Notes from the Underground: Writings on American Subcultures, a

forthcoming title from Pearson Education, Inc.

Second Year Member of the Rank, Compensation and Welfare Committee.

First-Year Member of the Graduate Faculty.

Participated as Judge for the Mr. and Miss St. Thomas University Pageant.

Assistant Organizer and Faculty Consultant for the St. Thomas University Videogaming Competition

and Academic Conference.

2003-2004

Participant in the E-Portfolio Fall 2004 cohort, a university program designed to further integrate

technology in the classroom.

Participant Reviewer for Composing Off- and Online: A Rhetorical Reader, a forthcoming

composition reader for Longman Academic Publishing.

Wrote the English Department’s Report on the State of the Major and Minor, a comprehensive look

at the study of English Composition and Literature at STU and other local universities.

Development Committee Member of the Master of Arts in Communication Arts with a Hispanic Media

Specialization.

Member of the Steering Committee for the development of Voices of Memory: The Cuban Oral

History Project at St. Thomas University.

First-Year Member of the Rank, Compensation, and Welfare Committee.

First-Year Member of the President’s Task Force on Student Diversity at STU.

Participant in the Faculty Development Seminar on Cultural Diversity led by Dr. Judith Bachay.

2001-2002

Received Outstanding Service Award for excellence in teaching and student advising.

Member of Herencia Cultural Cubana, a historical and cultural preservation society founded by Cuban-

American exiles in Miami, FL.

Re-Elected Secretary of the Faculty Forum, the academic governing body at St. Thomas University.

Development Committee Member of The Freshman Experience colloquium at STU.

Member of the Freshman Retention Project led by Dr. Daniel Berman.

2000

Participant in PT3: Technology in the Classroom.

Elected Secretary of the Faculty Forum.

Organizer of A Night of Cuban-American Poetry.

Organizer and Faculty Advisor for CASA: The Cuban-American Students Association.

Coordinator for the creation of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at STU.

Received Dade Community Project grant to fund South Florida premiere of Alex Anton’s

documentary, Cubans in America.

Coordinator of the Cuban Oral History Project at St. Thomas University.

1999

Chairperson of the Faculty Forum Social Committee.

Organizer and Moderator of “Cuban American Women Authors: Contemporary Voices” panel at St.

Thomas University.

Organizer and Moderator of “Creative Writers at STU: Student Readings of Original Fiction and

Poetry.”

Assistant Coordinator of the Annual St. Thomas University Student Essay Contest.

Assistant Faculty Advisor for the Political Action Club.

1995-1998 (University of Miami)

Designer of a year-long collaborative learning community with Dr. Eugene F. Provenzo on the history

of education and the role of teachers in the classroom and in works of fiction.

Designer of a year-long collaborative learning community on the history of film and theories of film

reception with Dr. Paul Lazarus.

Faculty Participant/Speaker in Dr. Ronald Newman’s workshop, “The Implementation of Learning

Communities: Strategies and Procedures.”

Participant/Volunteer in the Caribbean Writers Summer Institute.

Designated Master Teacher in the Composition Mentor Program by Dr. Ronald Newman.

Awards and Distinctions

Recipient of the 2007-2008 St. Thomas University Faculty Scholarship Award

Promotion to Associate Professor of English

Recipient of the 2005 St. Thomas University Professional Development Award

Recipient of the 2001 Outstanding Student Service Faculty Award

Professional Organizations

FLACEA—Florida College English Association

Modern Language Association (MLA)

IAFA—International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts

Academy of American Poets

HCC—Herencia Cultural Cubana

ICCAS (Institute of Cuban and Cuban American Studies)—University of Miami

CRI (Cuban Research Institute)—Florida International University

SCMLA—South Central Modern Language Association

Kate Chopin International Society (North American Scholars)