José Manuel Losada facts for kids

Quick facts for kids José Manuel Losada
Born	(1962-05-31) 31 May 1962 (age 63) Zamora, Spain
Occupation	University professor, Literary theorist
Citizenship	Spanish
Education	University of Valladolid University of the Sorbonne

José Manuel Losada was born in Zamora, Spain in 1962. He is a university professor and an expert in literary theory. This means he studies how literature works and what it means. He specializes in two main areas: myth criticism and comparative literature. Myth criticism looks at how old stories (myths) appear in new books and art. Comparative literature compares books from different countries and languages. He has written many books in Spanish, French, and English about these topics.

Academic Career

José Manuel Losada has a special degree called a PhD from the Paris-Sorbonne University in France, which he earned in 1990. He also has another high-level degree from the Nancy 2 University.

He has taught and studied at many famous universities around the world. These include Harvard University and the University of Oxford in the UK. He has also given special talks at universities in places like Jerusalem, Munich, and Sofia. Since 2000, he has been a professor at Complutense University of Madrid in Spain. There, he teaches about French literature, comparing different literatures, and how literature connects with religion.

Professor Losada started and edits a well-known academic journal called Amaltea, Journal of Myth Criticism. This journal focuses on how ancient, medieval, and modern myths are used in today's art and books.

He also founded and leads Asteria, International Association for Myth Criticism. This is a non-profit group that helps people research myths in modern art and literature. He also created and directs Acis, a myth criticism research group. This group brings together many experts and students who want to study how myths are still important today, looking at them from different subjects (interdisciplinary means combining different fields of study).

Professor Losada also leads several research projects about myth criticism. With the help of his groups, he has organized many international meetings. He also created fun activities like "Mythological Walks" during the Madrid Science Week. He has even organized international art contests about myths.

He has written about twenty books and over two hundred articles for academic books and journals.

Main Works

Professor Losada has written and edited many important books and articles. Here are some of his main works:

Books

• 1993: Tirso, Molière, Pouchkine, Lenau. Analyses et synthèses sur un mythe littéraire. This book looks at a literary myth through the works of different authors.
• 1997: Bibliography of the Myth of Don Juan in Literary History. This book lists and describes works related to the famous story of Don Juan.
• 1999: Bibliographie critique de la littérature espagnole en France au XVIIe siècle. This book explores how Spanish literature was present and influenced France in the 17th century.
• 2010: Métamorphoses du roman français. Avatars d'un genre dévorateur. This book discusses how French novels have changed over time.
• 2010: Mito y mundo contemporáneo. La recepción de los mitos antiguos, medievales y modernos en la literatura contemporánea. This book is about how old, medieval, and modern myths are used in today's literature.
• 2012: Myth and Subversion in the Contemporary Novel. This book, co-edited with Marta Guirao, looks at how myths are challenged or changed in modern novels.
• 2013: Mito e interdisciplinariedad. Los mitos antiguos, medievales y modernos en la literatura y las artes contemporáneas. Co-edited with Antonella Lipscomb, this book explores myths in literature and art from different viewpoints.
• 2014: Abordajes. Mitos y reflexiones sobre el mar. This book contains myths and thoughts about the sea.
• 2014: Victor Hugo et l’Espagne. L’imaginaire hispanique dans l’œuvre poétique. This book, with André Labertit, explores how Spain influenced the poet Victor Hugo.
• 2015: Myths in Crisis: The Crisis of Myth. Co-edited with Antonella Lipscomb, this book discusses when myths face challenges.
• 2015: Nuevas formas del mito. This book explores new ways myths appear.
• 2016: Mitos de hoy. Ensayos de mitocrítica cultural. This book contains essays on cultural myth criticism today.
• 2017: Myth and Emotions. Co-edited with Antonella Lipscomb, this book looks at the connection between myths and feelings.
• 2019: Myth and Audiovisual Creation. Co-edited with Antonella Lipscomb, this book explores myths in movies and other visual media.
• 2021: Mito y ciencia ficción. Co-edited with Antonella Lipscomb, this book is about myths and science fiction.
• 2022: El Jardín de las Hespérides: del mito a la belleza. This book is about the myth of the Garden of the Hesperides.
• 2022: Mitocrítica cultural. Una definición del mito. This book offers a definition of cultural myth criticism.
• 2024: Mito: teorías de un concepto controvertido. Co-edited with Antonella Lipscomb, this book discusses different theories about what a myth is.
• 2024: Mythical Narratives in Comparative European Literature / Le récit mythique dans la littérature européenne comparée. This journal issue, co-directed with Asun López-Varela, focuses on mythical stories in European literature.

Articles

• 1989. “Calderón de la Barca: El laurel de Apolo”. This article is about a work by the Spanish writer Calderón de la Barca.
• 2004: "The Myth of the Fallen Angel. Its Theosophy in Scandinavian, English, and French Literature". This article discusses the myth of the fallen angel in different literatures.
• 2008: “Victor Hugo et le mythe de Don Juan”. This article explores Victor Hugo's connection to the Don Juan myth.
• 2009: “La nature mythique du Graal dans Le Conte du Graal de Chrétien de Troyes”. This article looks at the mythical nature of the Grail in an old French story.
• 2014: "Myth and Extraordinary Event". This article discusses how myths relate to unusual events. Link
• 2015: “Myth and Origins: Men Want to Know”. This article explores how myths relate to the beginnings of things.
• 2016: “El mundo de la fantasía y el mundo del mito. Los cuentos de hadas”. This article compares the world of fantasy and the world of myth, especially in fairy tales. Link
• 2017: “El «mito» de Don Quijote (2ª parte): ¿con o sin comillas? En busca de criterios pertinentes del mito”. This article discusses whether Don Quijote can be considered a myth.
• 2018: “Le personnage mythique”. This article is about mythical characters.
• 2019: “Preface: The Myth of the Eternal Return”. This is a preface about the idea of eternal return in myths. Link
• 2020: “Mito y antropogonía en la literatura hispanoamericana: Hombres de maíz, de Miguel Ángel Asturias”. This article looks at myth and the origin of humans in Latin American literature. Link
• 2020: “Cultural Myth Criticism and Today’s Challenges to Myth”. This article discusses how cultural myth criticism deals with modern challenges to myths. Link
• 2021: “La trascendencia de la ciencia ficción”. This article is about the importance of science fiction.
• 2024: “The Referential Function of Myth”. This article discusses how myths refer to real-world ideas or events.

See also

In Spanish: José Manuel Losada para niños