Dr Tilmann Altenberg

Publication

• Date
• Type
• Promoted

Research

Following the publication of a major critical edition in 2020 (see below for details), my current research focuses principally on the following areas:

• The Malvinas / Falklands War in Argentine culture
• Latin American national poets
• Adaptation of literature to comics

Malvinas / Falklands War

Over the last few years, I have been working on representations of the 1982 Malvinas / Falklands conflict, with a particular focus on Argentine comics. Initial findings were published as a co-authored article (open access) in 2019: 'Blending Fact and Fiction in Graphic War Narratives: A Diachronic Analysis of Argentine Falklands War Comics'. The next step in this research project approaches the armed conflict from the angle of iconic events in relation to the Argentine war trauma narrative. A large-scale conference in 2022 that I co-organised with colleagues in Buenos Aires brought together experts from the UK and Argentina to explore the heritage of the war 40 years on. Some of the findings are due to be published in 2025 or 2026.

Latin American national poets

My second large-scale research project considers the social processes by which the so-called national poets in Latin America have been elevated to glory. A first approach to the topic is through José María Heredia, whose rise to, and subsequent replacement from, the category of a national poet is being considered alongside that of José Martí and Nicolás Guillén.

Adaptation of literature to comics

My work on adaptations of Spanish-language literature to the comics medium brings together my expertise in Hispanic literature and my wider interest in comics. Having explored for several years adaptations of Don Quijote to the comics medium, my focus has widened to include other texts of the Spanish-language literary canon. I am currently writing a co-authored monograph that focuses on how the early modern period in Spanish history (including the American endeavour and some key literary texts) has been represented in graphic novels. The book is under contract with the University of Toronto Press.

Critical edition of José María Heredia

In 2020 I published the first rigorous critical edition of the complete poetry of Cuban-Mexican author José María Heredia (Iberoamericana / Vervuert; digital edition by de Gruyter). The edition of 1,121 pages culminates my work on this poet, which began with my well-received 2001 monograph Melancolía en la poesía de José María Heredia (also Iberoamericana / Vervuert; re-edited in 2011 by Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes).

Teaching

Since 1999 I have been teaching a wide range of modules to undergraduate and postgraduate students, and supervised research projects at MA, PhD, and post-doc level.

Contributions to team-taught modules (selection):

• 1968 student revolt in Latin America
• Understanding Hispanidad in a Global Context
• Magical Realism
• Intertextuality
• Close reading of poetry
• Narratology
• Study skills (MA)
• V for Vendetta: From Comic to Film to Social Movement (MA)

Modules I have devised and delivered:

• Introduction to the Study of Hispanic Literature
• The Spanish American novela testimonio (Ricardo Pozas, Miguel Barnet, Gabriel García Márquez)
• Slaveholder Societies in the 19th-Century Spanish American Novel (Cirilo Villaverde: Cecilia Valdés and Jorge Isaacs: María)
• Spanish Golden Age Poetry
• Fernando de Rojas: La Celestina
• Emilia Pardo Bazán: Los Pazos de Ulloa and La madre Naturaleza
• The Short Fiction of Leopoldo Alas «Clarín»
• Juan Valera: Pepita Jiménez and Genio y figura
• Editing Poetry: José María Heredia
• The Spanish American novela de la tierra and the Novel of the Mexican Revolution
• Textual and Visual Representations of the Mexican Revolution
• Inventing Latin America in Literature, Film, and Popular Culture
• The Falklands War in Argentine Culture
• Don Quijote: Novel and Films
• Spanish-American Poetry
• The Spanish-American Short Story
• Interlingual Subtitling (MA)

Enquiries from prospective research students are particularly welcome in the following topic areas:

• Falklands War / Guerra de Malvinas
• Mexican Revolution
• Spanish American poetry, in particular Nicanor Parra's antipoesía
• The picaresque novel
• 19th- and 20th-century Latin American literature
• Audiovisual translation involving Spanish
• Hispanic comics
• Comics narratology and aesthetics
• Comics translation
• Comics adaptation

Biography

Education and qualifications

• 2003: Postgraduate Diploma: Teaching in Higher Education – Universität Hamburg (Germany)
• 1999: Dr phil in Hispanic Literature – Universität Hamburg (Germany) (summa cum laude)
• 1995: State Exam for Teaching in Secondary Education: Spanish, German, Pedagogy – Universität Hamburg (Germany)
• 1991: University Diploma: Teaching German as a Second Language – Universität Bonn (Germany)
• 1989–1995: Undergraduate studies at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität Bonn (Germany), Universidad de Chile (Santiago de Chile), Universidade de Coimbra (Portugal), and Universität Hamburg (Germany)

Honours and awards

• 2019: Inaugural Award for Outstanding Journal Reviewers (Liverpool University Press)
• 2016: Nomination for ‘Most Inspiring Teacher’ award (School of Modern Languages)

Professional memberships

• Since 2016: Comics Studies Society (Founding Member)
• Since 2015: Asociación Cultural Tebeosfera (ACT)
• Since 2014: European Society for Periodical Research (ESPRit)
• Since 2007: Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland (AHGBI)
• 2009 - 2015: Society for Latin American Studies (SLAS)
• 1998 - 2017: Modern Language Association (MLA)
• 1998 - 2016: German Association of Hispanists (DHV)

Academic positions

• 2017–present: Reader in Hispanic Studies, Cardiff University
• 200–2017: Senior Lecturer in Hispanic Studies, Cardiff University
• 2006–2008: Lecturer in Hispanic Studies, Cardiff University
• 1999–2005: Assistant Professor of Hispanic Literature, Universität Hamburg (Germany)
• 1996–1999: Research and Teaching Assistant, Universität Hamburg (Germany)

Speaking engagements

Selection of academic speaking engagements

• Apr. 2024: Don Quijote in Comics: From Classics Illustrated to Manga
  Conference paper – Don Quijote cabalga de nuevo: Cómics, filmes, novelas y más sobre la obra cervantina (University of Wyoming, Laramie)
• Apr. 2023: “Nuestro gran poeta nacional”: Remarks on the Alchemy of Latin American National Poets
  Keynote – Postgraduate Symposium in Latin American Studies, Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (University of Manchester)
• Feb. 2021: José María Heredia: El hacer y deshacer de un poeta nacional
  Guest lecture – Centre de Recherches Interdisciplinaires sur les Mondes Ibériques Contemporains CRIMIC (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris)
• Dez. 2020: Aspekte der Transtextualität des Buscón (Francisco de Quevedo)
  Guest lecture (Universität Salzburg)
• Mai 2019: Language Death and the Biosphere in Sueño en otro idioma (Ernesto Contreras, 2017)
  Conference paper – Research Across Boundaries: Green Hispanisms (Swansea University)
• Jun. 2017: Constructions of War Heroism in Times of Peace
  Guest lecture (Swansea University)
• Apr. 2017: Argentine Comics of the Falklands War
  Conference paper – Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland (Cardiff University)
• Apr. 2016: Justicia poética by Pablo de Santis and Frank Arbelo: Revenge as Art and Therapy
  Conference paper – Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland (Northumbria University)

Committees and reviewing

Peer reviewing

I have been a peer reviewer for the following academic journals:

• Bulletin of Hispanic Studies
• Bulletin of Spanish Studies
• La Colmena (Mexico)
• ES Review: Spanish Journal of English Studies (Spain)
• European Comic Art
• Journal of Adaptation in Film and Performance
• Journal of Romance Studies
• Journal of Languages, Texts and Society
• Lexis: Revista de Lingüística y Literatura (Peru)
• Modern Languages Open
• Nueva Revista de Filología Hispánica (Mexico)

External committees

• 2014–2016: Member of the Board of Trustess of the Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland
• 2012–2016: Member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland (Treasurer)

Appointments as External Examiner

• 2023: External PhD Examiner – Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris
• 2020: External PhD Examiner – Swansea University
• 2018: External PhD Examiner – Swansea University
• 2015–2019: BA Latin American and Hispanic Studies & MRes Hispanic Studies – University of Liverpool
• 2014–2019: BA Spanish & MA Translation – Swansea University

Supervisions

Enquiries from prospective research students are particularly welcome in the following topic areas:

• Falklands War / Guerra de Malvinas
• Mexican Revolution
• Spanish American poetry, in particular Nicanor Parra's antipoesía
• Picaresque novel
• 19th- and 20th-century Latin American literature
• Audiovisual translation involving Spanish
• Hispanic comics
• Comics narratology and aesthetics
• Comics translation
• Comics adaptation

Past projects

• Subtitling of Humour (PhD, awarded)
• Subtitling from English into Chinese (PhD, awarded)
• Sociological Study of Fansubbing (PhD, award pending)
• Redubbing of Disney Animated Films (PhD, ongoing)