I am an Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State University where I have taught all levels of Spanish and conducted research on Medieval Iberian Literature since 2009.
My research is Alfonsine historiography and particularly the role of language and textual interpretation in the development of a hegemonic Castilian identity. I engage theories of historical narrative as well as theories of textual commentary. The texts of the Alfonsine scriptorium are among the first vernacular writing of such scope produced in Iberia, and indeed, all of Europe. I study the development of historical theory in the Latin commentaries in the 12th century, the development and definition of Castilian vis-à-vis Latin and other languages in the 13th century, as well as historical interpretations of Ovid’s Metamorphoses and the Bible in the General estoria by Alfonso X.
For anyone who might be looking for me, I grew up in Chico, California and graduated from Chico High School. I majored in Spanish at the University of California Santa Cruz, and was a member of Kresge College. I did a junior year abroad with the University of California and University of Illinois program in Barcelona. After graduating, I taught English for a year at the Oxford English Academy in Molins de Rei and Sant Feliu de Llobregat outside Barcelona. I did a Ph. D. in Spanish Literature at University of Michigan. I have taught at Drew University, SUNY New Paltz and at Michigan State University.
If I’m the person you’re looking for or if you really want to get to know me, you can email me at erik.g.ekman@gmail.com.
