Raúl Rubio is Assistant Professor of Foreign Languages and Literatures at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York.  A Hispanist and cultural studies scholar, Rubio specializes in Cuban and Cuban-American literary, film, and popular culture studies.  His research also spans other arenas: ethnic humor as cultural catharsis, specifically in the stand-up comedy genre; and carnal and cultural cannibalism as social justice in Latin American cultural production. Professor Rubio’s publications have appeared in numerous academic journals including: Studies in Latin American Popular Culture (U. of Texas Press), Letras Hispanas, CiberLetras, and in the book Cuba: Idea of a Nation Displaced (SUNY Press). He is currently working on a book manuscript titled, Havana and the Aesthetics of Revolution, based on his research in the field of material cultural studies. Rubio received a doctorate in Latin American Literature and Cultural Studies from Tulane University in New Orleans and earned a Master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College of Vermont.  He has lectured widely on Cuba and Cuban-Americans and has been an evaluator and reviewer for academic journals and publishing presses including: MELUS, Portal, Hispanic Review, Revista de crítica literaria latinoamericana, and Rutgers University Press.