Rate My Professor Alana Reid

Alana Reid, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Spanish and Associate Director of the School of Language and Literature at the University of Central Arkansas, where she also serves as Director of the Latin American and Latino Studies program. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 2009 with a dissertation titled "The Pirated Body: Mapping Gender and National Identity in Latin American Film." Reid joined the UCA faculty in 2009 and has taught a wide range of courses, from elementary Spanish language to graduate-level Latin American literature. She also offers English-language classes such as Latinos in the U.S., Latin American Film, and Latin American Women Writers. Her pedagogical approach emphasizes interactive and creative learning, featuring culminating projects like live performances, student-created films, and collaborative service projects.

Reid's research centers on gender and sexuality in 20th- and 21st-century Hispanic culture, with additional interests in Caribbean literatures and cultures, 20th- and 21st-century Latin American narrative, gender studies, globalization, transatlantic studies, nationalisms, and film studies. She has published articles in journals such as Letras Femeninas, Hispania, and Hispanófila. Notable publications include "Sexuality Uncensored: Subversion and Morality in the Poetry of Jaime Gil de Biedma" (2016), "Gender Transformations and Colonial Displacements in Laura Antillano’s 'Tuna de mar'" (2015), "The Erotic Union of Marxist and Feminist Thought in Gioconda Belli’s La mujer habitada" (2010), and "Piracy, Globalization and Marginal Identities: Navigating Gender and Nationality in Contemporary Hispanic Fiction" (2009). She is currently developing a book manuscript on representations of cross-dressing pirates in Latin American fiction. Reid was named a service-learning faculty fellow for 2019-2020.