Danny Mendez

Danny Mendez is an Associate Professor of Spanish at the Department of Romance and Classical Studies in the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University. His research critically examines Dominican diasporic narratives in the United States and Puerto Rico, challenging traditional frameworks of Latin American literature and Latino Studies.

• Education: Ph.D. in Caribbean Literatures from the University of Texas at Austin.

His scholarly work spans themes of migration, identity, gender, and cultural hybridity. Key focus areas include Latinx conservatism in media, queer narratives in Dominican literature, and the intersection of Blackness and diasporic memory.

Recent publications analyze televisual representation, transnational stardom, and literary responses to violence. His research often engages with postcolonial theory, feminist critique, and Caribbean cultural studies.

He is affiliated with the Program of Global Studies in Arts and Humanities, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to diasporic and transnational literature.