Isidro Rivera

Isidro Rivera
  • Associate Professor

Contact Info

Office Phone:
785-864-0297
Wescoe Hall, room #2636

Research —

My principal area of research and teaching is the literature of medieval Iberia. I am currently preparing a study of the intersection of print culture and devotional reading during the reign of Isabel de Castilla. My publications have appeared in Journal of Hispanic Philology, Modern Language Notes, Celestinesca, Revista Hispánica Moderna, Essays in Medieval Studies, University of Toronto Quarterly, and Hispanic Review. I am the Managing Editor of La corónica: A Journal of Medieval Spanish Language, Literature, and Cultural Studies and serve on the Editorial Boards of The Medieval and Early Modern Iberian World (Brill), Companion to Medieval Philology (Brill), and Project Muse (Johns Hopkins Press).

My areas of research are:
Ficción sentimental and related works of fifteenth-century Spain; Celestina
Devotional Reading in fifteenth-century Castile; Passion imagery in late medieval Iberia;
The Library of Isabel de Castilla;
Reading practices in Late Medieval Castile;
Strategies of Publisher Self-identification in the Early Imprints; Book History
Print Culture in Late Medieval Castile;
The Structures of Devotion in Late Medieval Iberia;
Visual Sources of the Cromberger 1526 edition of the Historia de la doncella Teodor;
Paratextual Narrativization in La vida e hystoria del rey Apolonio (Zaragoza [?], 1489[?]);
Critical Approaches to Medieval Literature

Research interests:

  • Iberian
  • Middle Ages
  • Castilian
  • Book Culture
  • Book History
  • <i>Celestina</i>
  • Late Medieval Culture

Teaching —

My principal area of research and teaching is the literature of medieval Iberia. I am currently preparing a study of the intersection of print culture and devotional reading during the reign of Isabel de Castilla. My publications have appeared in Journal of Hispanic Philology,Modern Language Notes, Celestinesca, Revista Hispánica Moderna, Essays in Medieval Studies, University of Toronto Quarterly, and Hispanic Review. I am the Managing Editor of La corónica: A Journal of Medieval Spanish Language, Literature, and Cultural Studies and serve on the Editorial Boards of The Medieval and Early Modern Iberian World (Brill), Companion to Medieval Philology (Brill), and Project Muse (Johns Hopkins Press).

For more information about my activities, see http://www.people.ku.edu/~ijrivera/

Teaching interests:

  • Spanish Literature
  • History of the Book
  • Fifteenth-century Castile
  • Library of Isabel de Castilla
  • Reading practices of late medieval Castile
  • Muslim-Jew-Christian interactions
  • Print Culture
  • Race in Medieval Iberia

Selected Publications —

Rivera, I. (2021). Visual Structures and Verbal Representation in the Comedia de Calisto y Melibea (Burgos, 1499?). Celestinesca - Issue 1-2 | Volume 19. https://doi.org/10.7203/CELESTINESCA.19.19864.
Rivera, I. (2021). Performance and Prelection in the Early Printed Editions of Celestina. Celestinesca - Issue 2 | Volume 22. https://doi.org/10.7203/CELESTINESCA.22.19914.
Rivera, I. (2020). "Devotional Reading and the Visual Dynamics of La passion del eterno principe (Burgos, 1493?)". HISPANIC REVIEW - Issue 4 | Volume 88. https://doi.org/10.1353/hir.2020.0030.
Rivera, I. (2018). The Task of the Cleric: Cartography, Translation, and Economics in Thirteenth-Century Iberia by Simone Pinet (review). University of Toronto Quartertly - Issue 3 | Volume 87.
Rivera, I. (2017). "En palonbar criadas": Monastic Environment and Religious Identity in the Poema de Santa Oria. Essays in Medieval Studies - Issue 1 | Volume 33. https://doi.org/10.1353/EMS.2017.0003.
Rivera, I. (2014). Visualizing the Passion in Andrés de Li’s Summa de paciencia. Revista Hispánica Moderna - Issue 1 | Volume 67. https://doi.org/10.1353/RHM.2014.0008.
Rivera, I., Nance, K. (2003). Aprendizaje: A Course in Spanish Composition. Houghton-Mifflin.
Rivera, I., Rogers, D., . (2000). Historia de la Doncella Teodor: Edition and Study. Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies.
Rivera, I. (1997). The Historia de la linda Melosina and the Construction of Romance in Late Medieval Castile. MLN - Volume 112.
Rivera, I., Commire, A., Klezmer, D. (1994). Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, 'El Cid'. A. Commire, D. Klezmer (Eds.). Historic World Leaders. (pp. 332-35). Gale Research.
Rivera, I. (1993). Marriage and the Exchange of Power in the Poema de Mio Cid. Journal of Hispanic Philology - Volume 17.
Rivera, I. (1991). Duplicity and the Mediation of Desire in Petrus Alfonsi's De canicula lacrimante. Estudios alfonsinos y otros escritos. En homenaje a John Esten Keller y a Aníbal Biglieri. (pp. 189-95). National Hispanic Foundation for the Humanities.
Rivera, I. (1991). Strengleikar," "Brother Robert," "Queen Eufemia," and "King Hákon Hákonarson. The New Arthurian Encyclopedia. (pp. 433-34, 56, 147, 219-20). Garland Press.

Selected Presentations —

“Breaking Rules, Making Texts: the Toledo editions of Retablo de la vida de Christo and the shift in devotional printing in mid-sixteenth-century Toledo” - SAMLA, 92th Annual Conference of the South Atlantic Modern Language Association, Virtual Conference, November 13, 2020. Refereed Activity. Location: Virtual Conference. (11-13-2020).
“Mapping Race in in the Historia de la linda Melosina (Toulouse, 1489)” - Movement and Mobility in the Medieval Mediterranean (6th – 15th Centuries) Conference, Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Barcelona, Catalunya, July 8-12, 2019. Location: BARCELONA, CATALUNYA. (7-09-2019).
“Translating Race in the Historia de la linda Melosina (Toulouse, 1489)" - 65th Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America, March 19, 2019. Location: TORONTO, CANADA. (3-19-2019).
Developing New Materials and Pedagogical Approaches to Introduce the Rich Variety of Medieval Iberian Cultures - 52nd International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 11–14, 2017, Medieval Institute, Western Michigan University. Location: Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5432. (5-14-2017).
“Talavera’s ‘Avisación’ and Women’s Reading in Fifteenth–century Castile” - Paper presented at the Renaissance Society of America Annual Convention. Location: Chicago, Illinois. (3-30-2017).
“‘En palonbar criadas’: Monastic environment and religious identity in the Poema de Santa Oria” - Illinois Medieval Association. Location: Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. (2-25-2017).
“Sixteenth-Century Visual Culture and Padilla’s El retablo de la vida de Christo (1500)” - Sixteenth Century Society Conference. Location: Bruges, Belgium. (8-19-2016).
“The Figuration of Desire in the Poema de Santa Oria” - Fourth Annual Symposium Medieval & Renaissance Studies. Location: St Louis University, St Louis, MO. (6-23-2016).
“La coronica’s Project Muse Commons as a Venue for Collaboration and Development of Materials for Hispano-Medieval Studies” - 51th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University. Location: Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI. (5-14-2016).
“Moviósse la palomba començó de volar” and the Figuration of Desire in the Poema de Santa Oria - The Cleric's Craft: Crossroad of Medieval Spanish Literature and Modern Critique. Location: University of Texas, El Paso. (10-22-2015).
“The Carta de Léntulo and the narrative of the passion in La passion del eterno principe (Burgos 1493)” - Illinois Medieval Association, St Louis University, St Louis, MO, February 21, 2015. Location: ST. LOUIS, MO, USA. (2-21-2015).
“Reexamining the Boston Exemplar of La passion del eterno principe (Burgos, 1493)” - Paper presented at the Medieval Association of the Midwest Conference, St. Louis University, Madrid Campus, Madrid, Spain, January 23, 2015. Refereed Activity. Location: Madrid, Spain. (1-23-2015).
“The Readers’ Visualization of the (Tragi)comedia de Calisto y Melibea” - Paper presented at the 56th Annual Convention of the Midwest Modern Language Association, Detroit, Michigan, Nov. 15, 2014. Refereed Activity. Location: Detroit, Michigan. (11-15-2014).
“Reassessing the Retablo de la vida de Christo (Toledo, Juan de Ayala, 1545)” - Paper presented at the Mid-America Conference on Hispanic Literature, University of Wisconsin, Madison, October 10, 2014. Refereed Activity. Location: Madison, Wisconsin. (10-10-2014).
“Reassessing the Passion in La passion del eterno principe (Burgos 1493) ” - Paper presented at the 49th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University. Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan. (5-09-2014).
“El retablo de la vida de Christo (1500) and Sixteenth-Century Visual Culture” - Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America Meeting. Location: New York, NY. (3-27-2014).
“Reassessing the Devotional Function of La passion del eterno principe (Burgos 1493)” - Paper presented at the Mid-America Conference on Hispanic Literature, University of Missouri, Columbia, November 22, 2013. Refereed Activity. Location: Columbia, MO. (11-22-2013).
“Reading the Imago pietatis in Li’s Summa de Paciencia (Zaragoza, 1505)” - Paper presented at the Sixteenth Century Society Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico, October 16, 2013. Refereed Activity. Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico. (10-16-2013).
“The Devotional Dynamic of La passion del eterno principe (Burgos 1493)” - Paper presented at the Annual Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, Mo, 19 June 2013. Refereed Activity. Location: Saint Louis, MO. (6-19-2013).
“Devotional Practices and Visual Culture in La passion del eterno principe (Burgos 1493)” - Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Illinois Medieval Association, Newberry Library, Chicago, 16 February 2013. Refereed Activity. Location: Chicago, Illinois. (2-16-2013).
“Migration and Early Printed Texts: Juan Parix and the European International Book Trade in Castile during the Incunabular Period” - Paper presented at the Mid-America Conference on Hispanic Literature, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, October 14, 2012. Refereed Activity. Location: Lincoln, Nebraska. (10-12-2012).
'Arma Christi' and the Performance of Devotion in Andrés de Li´s Summa de paciencia (Zaragoza, Jorge Coci, 1505) - Paper presented at the 55th Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference, Wake Forest University. Location: Winston-Salem, NC. (10-15-2005).
'El dicho yo lo apruebo; el propósito no entiendo': Medieval Spanish Literature and the Post-Canonical Age - Paper presented at the Modern Language Association Convention. Location: San Diego. (12-30-2003).
'Leyendo a Calisto mover los oyentes': Group Reading and the Early Printed Editions of Celestina - Presentation given at the 1996 Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference. Location: Wilmington, NC. (10-12-1996).

Awards & Honors —

<div class="fp-award fp-container"><div class="aca-award">Travel Research Grant, University of Kansas Office of International Programs. University of Kansas Office of International Programs. Received: 5-15-2015.</div><div class="aca-award">IDS Course Redesign Grant and Colloquium, University of Kansas. IDS, University of Kansas. Received: 5-15-2005.</div><div class="aca-award">Newberry Library Travel Grant, Hall Center for the Humanities, University of Kansas, 2010. Hall Center for the Humanities. Received: 12-31-2010.</div><div class="aca-award">2005 CTE Best Practices Grant, University of Kansas. CTE, University of Kansas. Received: 6-30-2005.</div><div class="aca-award">Cramer Award, in recognition of excellence in teaching. College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Kansas. Received: 12-31-2002.</div><div class="aca-award">NEH Summer Institute Fellow, Alfonsine Contributions to Medieval Spanish Literature and Culture, University of Kentucky. NEH. Received: 7-31-1990.</div><div class="aca-award">IBM EXCEL Grant/Seminar conducted by Brian Dutton. University of Illinois. Received: 12-31-1985.</div><div class="aca-award">Graduate College Scholar's Travel Grant. University of Illinois. Received: 12-31-1984.</div><div class="aca-award">University Fellow. University of Illinois. Received: 12-31-1980.</div></div>