Dr. John Giblin is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture. Dr. Giblin joins us at K-State this fall from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is new to Kansas State University and Manhattan, Kansas for this upcoming academic year (2022-23). If you see him around campus make sure to say hello, introduce yourself, and welcome him to our #KStateSpanish community.
This year, Dr. Giblin will teach several courses, including Hispanic Readings & Media (Span 550), Transatlantic Art–Visual Cultures of Spain & Mexico (Span 567), and topics courses in Picaresque Literature, and Early Modern Spain (the 1500s-1600s). He especially looks forward to exploring what exactly constitutes picaresque literature and the social and cultural questions that it poses. Keep an eye out for some exciting courses in early modern literature and culture in the spring!
Dr. Giblin’s research focuses on Early Modern Spanish Narrative, Cervantes and the Picaresque, intersections between prose, verse, and theater, and modern adaptations. He became interested in these topics while studying abroad in Alcalá de Henares, Spain and completing his Undergraduate thesis on Lazarillo de Tormes. He pursued these interests during his MA and Ph.D. While living in Spain — in both Córdoba and Madrid — he navigated seventeenth century literary works and traveled the country. His research helps him to make early modern literary works accessible to undergraduate students by bringing them to life in the classroom.
He has recently published an article on the topic of historia (history/story) in Ginés Pérez de Hita’s Guerras civiles de Granada in Hispanic Review, titled “Suspending Disbelief: (Un)civil Conflict in Ginés Pérez de Hita’s Guerras civiles de Granada (primera parte)”. One of the objectives this article is to examine how authentic historias reveal frictions between early modern conceptions of the epic or historiography with respect to verisimilitude (or realistic depictions in art and literature).
Dr. Giblin grew up in Central Florida and has moved to many places in the US, including Colorado, Wisconsin, and now Kansas…. and abroad, having lived in Spain and the Dominican Republic. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, reading literature, watching movies, exploring historical sites, visiting museums, and traveling, especially to Spain.
If you’re interested in taking courses or working on a research project with Dr. Giblin, send an email [jgiblin] or stop by his office in Eisenhower Hall 005. He would be more than happy to chat with you about a Spanish major, study abroad, or how fun Medieval and Early Modern Literature can be.
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