Dr. Díaz-Basteris is an interdisciplinary scholar in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the Center for Ethnic Studies (Latinx Studies). She is also an affiliated faculty member in the Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and the Center for Latin American Studies.

Please list your educational history including degrees earned and universities attended. 

• PhD. University of California Davis, 2019
• MA. University of Cincinnati, 2013
• BA. Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, 2009

Please describe your current research/creative activity or area(s) of interest. 

Dr. Díaz-Basteris is an interdisciplinary scholar who has dedicated her research and teaching practice to understanding U.S. Caribbean/Latinx cultural forms of resistance to displacement, coloniality and racial capitalism through literature, popular art and comics from the mid-20th to 21st centuries. Her current research is looking at visual representations of topics, such as Femicide in Puerto Rico, the undocumented American life experience, the social-political crisis of disasters’ aftermath, and the communal digital storytelling of forced displacement.

What/who influenced you to select your area(s) of study and how has that impacted your career? 

I grew up on the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, in Mérida.  My parents gave me books and music from a very young age. I knew I wanted to be a professor since I was 8 years old. During my undergrad education in the Yucatan, I became more and more interested in the contradictions of my Mexican citizenship and my tropical ethnicity; I was curious about the differences between my local multiethnic culture and the rest of Mexico. 

At the Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan I was introduced to Caribbean Studies, I was fascinated by the multiethnic multilingual communities in the Gran Caribe, the cartography goes from Florida to Venezuela. I wrote a dissertation about essays and short stories dealing with the colonial dynamic between Puerto Rico and the U.S. I later kept writing about this during my master's and PhD. In the middle of my PhD program, I won a couple of awards to go and explore visual products and independent art about resistance in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. I did a couple of visits to San Juan, Puerto Rico and started to learn about the vibrant comics community there. Since 2014 I have maintained direct communication with the comic art collectives I write about, and I have participated in several public events in collaboration with Dias Comics collective. 

What undergraduate classes do you teach? 

My position is in Latinx New Media and Ethnic Studies. I teach Latinx Cinema, Latinx Literature, Intro to Latinx Studies (undergrad GE and the graduate seminar), Caribbean Narratives, and Latinx Comics. 

Why do you think a student should take these classes and why would they be of interest to students majoring in other disciplines?

My classes are hella cool, I'm passionate about teaching and I give it my all in the classroom. I really try to be available for students and walk with them through this underrepresented field of study. At Ohio State we have created a caring, committed and joyful community I'm proud to be part of. Latinx studies was born out of student protests: in the 1960s, racialized students in California demanded higher education institutions to incorporate brown and Black histories in the academic curriculum. Thanks to those kids and their profs, we can academically discuss, read and write about Latinx issues today. If you would like to learn the non-white history of this country, we invite you to join our courses. 

What aspects of your teaching give you the most satisfaction?

Teaching is learning. Every group of students teaches me new things I didn't know before. Sharing space with brilliant young minds keeps me going. 

If there are opportunities for undergraduates to connect with you for research or creative activity, please share what this would be and how students should reach out to you.

My research field is Latinx Comics and disaster; I look at comics from Puerto Rico and Latinx communities in California and Texas. I'm also in love with screen printing and Xicanx visual products. I'm obsessed with film, especially contemporary independent racialized filmmakers. Please reach out if you would like any advice on Latinx New Media and Caribbean Studies!

What book/movie would you recommend or what music do you enjoy? 

I love Bad Bunny, Tego Calderon, Ivy Queen, Ana Macho, Julieta Venegas, Natalia Lafourcade, Lila Downs, Cafe Tacvba, IMS, PJ Suela, Kumbia Queers, etc... 

What is the most interesting place you have visited? 

No doubt I love all places in Puerto Rico and the south of Mexico. When I was a graduate student, I wanted to explore the other side of the world so I went on a solo backpacking trip to Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. All these countries have the exact same weather as the Yucatan, and I saw very similar trees and flowers. 

What is the best advice you have received?

My market value is not my worth. Female presenting, racialized humanities professors are underpaid and overworked. However, that should not discourage us from advocating for closing the gender pay gap. Our work matters and it is important to continue vocalizing our needs if we want our fields to exist in the academic future. 

What advice would you give to undergraduate students? 

Reclaim your power and independence. Never doubt that your life has meaning and worth. 

Feel free to stop by my office hours. 

I love to talk about music, non-fiction comics, local restaurants and places to hike!

Would you like to share a fun/interesting fact about yourself?

I have a little female dog; her name is Pitaya (dragon fruit). She is a 5-year-old Jack Russell and she travels the world with me in her little backpack. We can't be away from each other. 

Learn more about Professor Díaz-Basteris’ work, email and office location on her department page and Linktree.