WLLC Welcomes New Faculty, World Languages and Digital Humanities Studio Director

This year, the department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures welcomes two new Spanish Program faculty members: Dr. Lincoln Bain IV, teaching assistant professor of Spanish and digital humanities and director of the World Languages and Digital Humanities Studio, and Dr. Ricardo Martin Coloma, assistant professor of U.S. Latino/a literatures. 

Each brings a rich history of instruction, pedagogical studies, research interests and scholarship, as well as varied backgrounds and inspirations. Bain and Coloma shared information about themselves, including teaching styles, what drew them to the U of A and overall goals for their students. 

Bain, who joins U of A from a different U of A (University of Arizona), has a background in second language teaching and learning with a special focus on where language learning intersects with technology and digital humanities. Much of Bain's scholarship examines how people learn and participate in digital spaces, how those spaces shape identity and how digital games and gaming practices can be incorporated into language learning and teaching. 

Bain's experience with the field of digital humanities came somewhat indirectly with his scholarship in second language acquisition. "As I started working more with digital games, online communities, multimodal projects and digital identity, I realized that many of the questions I was asking were also digital humanities questions," Bain said. "We can ask questions about language, culture, identity, narrative and representation, but we can also experiment with how we study those things and respond to them. A student might build a digital exhibit, work with a map or archive, create a game or story, or make something we did not anticipate at the start." 

For Bain, teaching world languages and cultures integrated with digital humanities was a natural fit. "So much language and culture already happens in digital spaces," Bain said. "People communicate through games, social media, streaming, online communities, fan spaces and all kinds of multimodal environments. Those are real spaces where people use language, encounter culture and negotiate identity. Digital humanities give us ways to study those spaces, but it also gives students more ways to create." 

Coloma, who joins the U of A Spanish Program from the City University of New York (CUNY), where he studied and taught after living in New York for the past 12 years, has a varied background in teaching, research and scholarship as well. He taught courses in Latino/a literature and culture, Spanish language and heritage language education for more than six years at CUNY across several campuses in New York. Prior to entering academia, he worked in architectural design and urban planning research, which has significantly influenced the questions he asks about cities, urban displacement and cultural identity.  

"I was drawn to the University of Arkansas because of its strong commitment to student-centered learning and its emphasis on creating an inclusive environment where students learn collaboratively and engage meaningfully with [different] perspectives," Coloma said. "I was particularly excited by the opportunity to join the Department of World Languages, Literatures & Cultures and the Latin American and Latino Studies Program and contribute to conversations about Latino/a communities, migration, culture and global diasporas." 

While living in New York, Coloma gained invaluable insight into Caribbean and Latino/a communities by participating in community-based initiatives, including community gardens, which encouraged him to think critically about how people create a sense of belonging while facing displacement and inequality. He worked as a research assistant at Terreform ONE, an urban research and design think tank, and later gained experience with Curtis and Ginsberg Architects, an architectural design firm related to public housing. This work sparked interest in the relationship between built environment, social policy and the lives of communities that are often overlooked in discussions of urban development that continued into his literary studies. 

Coloma's teaching philosophy reflects his ability to engage and immerse himself in what his students are learning. 

"Students are not just recipients of knowledge but active participants in creating it," Coloma said. "I strive to make my classes collaborative, engaging and responsive to students' experiences and perspectives. My classes are highly interactive, and their voices matter. I encourage students to bring their experiences, interests and curiosities into our discussions. Many of my assignments connect classroom learning with communities, archives, museums, cultural organizations and everyday life beyond campus." 

Coloma hopes his students leave his classes with strong critical thinking skills, a deeper understanding of cultural literacy and the ability to connect literature, language and history to contemporary issues. "I want students to become more confident in their ability to ask questions, engage with different perspectives and contribute meaningfully to their communities," Coloma said. "I view the classroom as a shared space of discovery, and I am excited to learn alongside my students." 

Like Bain, Coloma also shares an interest in digital humanities.  

"As someone whose work combines literary and cultural studies with public humanities, archives, mapping and community engagement, I was especially excited about the possibilities offered by the World Languages and Digital Humanities Studio," Coloma said. "The opportunity to collaborate across disciplines and develop projects that connect research, technology and public-facing scholarship was a significant factor in my decision to come to Arkansas." 

Recent Publications and Scholarship

Bain's most recent publication, "Digital Games and Gaming in Language Learning and Teaching," co-authored with Dr. Jonathon Reinhardt (University of Arizona), is featured in the Language Teaching journal published through University of Cambridge Press. "This article brings together several areas at the center of my research: digital games, language learning and the ways that game-informed pedagogy can shape the second-language learning experience. I'm especially interested in moving beyond simply using games in the classroom to examine how games and gaming practices can support language learning, participation, identity and meaningful interaction." The article is available through open access online. 

Coloma's recent publications reflect his interests in urban displacement, community memory and Latino/a literary cultures. "One of my most recent peer-reviewed articles is 'On Activist Mothers and Gentrifying Lovers,' published in the Journal of American Studies, where I examine how contemporary Caribbean authors engage with the legacies of activism, assimilation and gentrification in New York City." 

He also published "Maria Hernandez: A Timely Archival Record at the Crossroads Between State Power, Community, and Territory in Bushwick, Brooklyn" in Pasados: Recovering Histories, Imagining Latinidad, which grew out of his work with community archives and public humanities initiatives.