Biography
“Real education should consist of drawing the goodness and the best out of our own students.” ― César Chávez
José Adrián Badillo Carlos is a doctoral candidate in the Hispanic Cultural Studies in the Romance and Classical Studies Department. He received his B.A. in 2012 and M.A. in 2014, both in Spanish Language and Literature from Northern Illinois University. While at NIU, he also got a Graduate Certificate in Spanish-English Translation and a Graduate Concentration in Latino and Latin American Studies (LLAS). José will complete his doctoral program next semester.
José’s dissertation analyzes the representations of violence and corruption in contemporary Mexican cultural productions. His first chapter I analyze the role of state violence in literary works about the Tlatelolco Massacre of 1968. The next chapter is about the continuity of state violence, oppression towards students and the broad development of drug trafficking in Mexico in the 1970s. The third chapter analyzes the censorship of the narcocorrido (drug ballad) and the cultural hegemony and disqualification imposed by the Mexican Government. The last chapter, explores the satirical representations of the Mexican democracy in Luis Estrada’s movie trilogy.
While at Michigan State University, José worked for two years as the Research Assistant for the office of Undergraduate Education, Diversity, and Inclusion at the College of Arts & Letters, focusing his research on the representation of Chicano and Latino students in higher education, as well as the representation of Latinos in media. This research allowed him to co-teach a Chicano/Latino Literature class. Within the Romance and Classical Studies Department, José has been co-chair of the Graduate Student Association and co-editor of TROPOS journal. He has also taught courses ranging from novice to intermediate Spanish, to Cultural Readings and Composition. He has also worked as the copy editor for Revista de Estudios de Género y Sexualidad (REGS). Currently, José is working with as advisor for French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Classics minors.
José’s research, teaching and service has also been honored by the Department of Romance and Classical Studies on several occasions. He has been awarded the Outstanding Contributor Award (2017), Dr. Johannes Sachse Memorial Award (2018), Scholarship for Romance and Classical Languages in C.A.L. (2018), Summer Support Fellowships (2017,2018, 2020, 2021), and Dissertation Completion Fellowship (2019).
EDUCATION
ABD. in Hispanic Cultural Studies, Romance and Classical Studies, Michigan State University
MA – Spanish Language and Literature, Certification in Translation Studies and Concentration in Latino and Latin American Studies (LLAS). Northern Illinois University (2014)
BA – Spanish Language and Literature, Northern Illinois University (May 2012)
Languages
Spanish (native speaker)
English (near-native proficiency)
Portuguese (reading proficiency)