Contact Information
707 S. Mathews Ave. | MC-176
Urbana, IL 61801
Office Hours
Office Hours: 11:00-12:30 pm Tuesdays & Thursdays Fall 2025
Biography
Ray holds a diverse academic background encompassing Literature, Creative Writing, Theater and Performance and a Gender & Women Studies Minor. His research interests lies in the intersection of representation, gender and crossdressing within Literature, Theater and Latin American Cinema. He is currently pursuing his doctoral dissertation, which investigates the construction of the representation of the female crossdresser, exploring how this figure is reflected in the works of authors and film makers of postcolonial Latin America and the Caribbean in the 20th & 21st centuries. Prior to his doctoral studies, Ray dedicated fourteen years to the theater and performance world in Puerto Rico, where his work concentrated on the investigation and exposure of non-normative bodies in performance spaces and their impact on gender performance.
Research Interests
- 20th-21st Century Latin American & Caribbean Film & Literature
- Crossdressing in Film & Literature
- Monster Theory
- Performance Theory and Practices
- 16th & 17th Century Iberian Theater
Education
- Ph.D. in Spanish Literature & Culture, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Campus (PhD Candidate-ABD- In Progress)
- M.A. in Spanish, Ohio University, Athens Campus
- M.A. in Creative Writing in Spanish, University of Sacred Heart of Puerto Rico, Metropolitan Campus
- B.A. in Humanities/Theater-Drama, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus
Grants
- Department of Spanish & Portuguese Summer Research Scholarship 2024
- HRI Interseminar Graduate Fellowship / Andrew Mellon Foundation 2022-23 (First Cohort)
- SPI Pre-doctoral Summer Program 2021
Courses Taught
- SPAN 248 Latin American and Latinx Film (Spring 2024, Spring 2025) UIUC
- SPAN 228 Composition (Spring 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Fall 2025) UIUC
- SPAN 200 Reading Hispanic Texts (Fall 2024) UIUC
- SPAN 142 Spanish in the Professions (Fall 2025) UIUC
- SPAN 130 Intermediate Spanish (Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2025) UIUC
- SPAN 1120 Elementary Spanish (Spring 2021) Master's Ohio University, Athens Campus
- SPAN 1110 Elementary Spanish (Fall 2019- Spring & Fall 2020) Master's Ohio University, Athens Campus
Additional Campus Affiliations
- Inner Voices Theater Group of University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Gender and Women Studies (Graduate Minor)
- HRI Graduate Advisory Committee Member (Fall 2025)
External Links
Highlighted Publications
(2023) Martínez, Ramón E. (Ray). et. Imagine Otherwise: Speculation in the Americas. Excerpt of novel Vacío. Chapters 1 and 2. Book Collaboration, Sept., pp. 197-212.
(2020) Martínez, Ramón E. Fuego Cruzado: Antología Épica, Crossfire: Epic Anthology. Edited by Dr. Amado Lascar. Translation of poems: “El poeta” by Samuel Gregoire (Haití, 1983) “A propósito de los 4 Sonetos del Apocalipsis” “Infinito Periódico” “Poética” “Canto de Guerrero” “Kiñe Troy” “Río de Cisnes” by Paulo Huirimilla (Chile, 1973), Published. Sept.
(2020) Martínez Ramón E. (Ray) “La Madelón como ejemplificación del fracaso de la Transición Española en Una mala noche la tiene cualquiera de Eduardo Mendicutti” Revista Phrónesis, Vol. 1, Oct–Dic. pp.34-41.