Vincent Barletta is an author and tenured professor of Comparative Literature and Iberian and Latin American Cultures at Stanford University. He is also a research associate at Stanford's Europe Center and associated faculty in the Center for African Studies, the Center for Latin American studies, and the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies.Barletta's primary areas of research and teaching include medieval and early modern Iberian literature, Iberian Islam, Portuguese literature, literature and linguistic anthropology, and literature and philosophy. He also writes on technology and cultural issues in various online platforms.Barletta has written several books. His latest is Rhythm: Form and Dispossession (Chicago, 2020). The book discusses rhythm as a philosophical concept from Ancient Greece through to 20th-century African thought and to the present. He is also the author of Death in Babylon: Alexander the Great and Iberian Empire in the Muslim Orient (Chicago, 2010) and Covert Gestures, Crypto-Islamic Literature as Cultural Practice in Early Modern Spain (Univ of Minnesota, 2005), for which he won the 2007 La corónica book prize.Vincent Barletta is the recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (2021). He has also served as Visiting Professor at Sapienza University, Rome (2023) and was the 2019-20 recipient of the Kay Philips Award for Outstanding Adult Ally at Youth Community Service. Vincent has also has won numerous research and teaching collaboration grants.
Before coming to Stanford University, Professor Barletta worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Colorado at Boulder from 2001-2006. Prior to that, he conducted two years of post-doctoral study in Linguistic Anthropology at the University of California at Los Angeles, where he earned a PhD in Hispanic Languages and Literatures in 1998. While at UCLA, he also became deeply involved in web design and digital technology, serving as a Graduate Technology Consultant for faculty in the Humanities.From 1989-90, Vincent served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco, teaching English as a Second Language to speakers of Moroccan Arabic and French. He obtained his BA in English with honors from St. Mary's College of California in 1989. A first-generation college graduate from a working-class family, Prof. Barletta never expected to become an academic, and numerous opportunities as well as many difficult hurdles have marked his path.
With a love for languages, Vincent Barletta has superior proficiency in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. The grandson of Azorean and Italian immigrants, he is passionate about the languages and literatures of the Mediterranean, and he also has developed advanced proficiency in French and Italian. As part of his research in medieval and early modern Iberia, Prof. Barletta has also undertaken years of study in Hebrew, Latin, Classical Greek, and Arabic. He has also published work on Kikongo, the official language of the early modern Kingdom of Kongo.As a university professor, Vincent Barletta brings extensive experience, dedication, and professionalism to his work as a researcher, teacher, and mentor. He strongly believes in advocating for first-generation college students and underrepresented minorities. Vincent is also committed to developing links between the humanities (especially the study of literature) and the everyday world in which we live. A committed pragmatist, he strives to balance the work of theorists with the practical experience of working people.
When he's not in the classroom, Vincent Barletta devotes his time almost entirely to his family. As a devoted husband and father, he believes that his first obligation is to his wife and children. A committed Roman Catholic, he also believes that service is the most noble path one can choose. This service can take many forms, and it can often place the individual at risk. Nonetheless, Vincent believes that it is the best, most effective path to a meaningful life, insofar as it requires one to be humble, faithful, and persistent.Vincent is also a longtime jazz enthusiast who shares his love for the art form with others (provided they ask). His book Rhythm: Form and Dispossession feature analyses of different jazz compositions, especially John Coltrane's collaboration with Thelonious Monk. Vincent is also a devoted fan of Bernardo Sassetti, a Portuguese jazz pianist and photographer whose life tragically ended far too soon.Vincent Barletta is a mentor, professor, and prolific writer. His work spans decades and can be found worldwide on a wide range of topics. His contributions to the academic world of linguistics and literature are expansive and published in many languages. Barletta is connected to his community, and he is always looking for ways to connect others to literature and the world around them.