Central State English faculty member leads textbook-free initiative for interdisciplinary studies
Beginning in fall 2023, Central State University students majoring in interdisciplinary studies (IDS) will be able to complete all required major courses through a textbook-free pathway — in large part thanks to the efforts of Vincent Haddad, Ph.D., associate professor of English in the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (CHAS).
Haddad has taken the lead on the Open Educational Resources Project curriculum development, which eliminates the financial burden of purchasing textbooks, making the IDS program more accessible.
Haddad joined the faculty at Central State in 2017 after receiving his doctorate in literary and cultural studies from Wayne State University. His research focuses are American and African American literature since 1865, contemporary fiction, graphic novels, and comics.
As the coordinator for the Bachelor of Arts in Humanities, interdisciplinary studies, Haddad is leading the creation of four new certificates: legal studies, women and gender in society, approaches to antiracism, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. He is also spearheading the effort to develop a Master of Arts in Humanities.
“In addition to his work for the program, he is one of our strongest scholars,” said Amy Hobbs, Ph.D., dean of CHAS. “His book, ‘The Detroit Genre: Repping the D from the Great Rebellion to New Detroit’, is under contract with Lever Press. In 2022, he was awarded the Comics Studies Society Article Prize for ‘Detroit vs. Everybody (Including Superheroes).’”
This summer, Haddad’s article, "The Eager Arab Astronaut: Fantasies of (Superheroic) Flight in the Lebanese Diasporic Imagination," will be published in College Literature. Drawing on his interests in Detroit, Michigan, and superheroes, Haddad teaches an English course on representations of Detroit in popular and literary culture and a general education English course on Black superheroes.
Haddad is now working on his second book project, a narrative and cultural analysis of "Dragon Ball Z" for the "Mass Markets: Studies in Franchise Cultures" book series (University of Minnesota Press). He is also the series editor of "So You Think You Know...?" (University of Mississippi Press), a book series focused on the literary and cultural history of superheroes.
Haddad said of his favorite part about working at Central State: “Our students! I also love walking on campus and embracing the rich historical legacy of CSU.”
When he is not teaching or doing research, Haddad enjoys traveling, hiking, and getting ice cream with his wife, Melanie, and two toddlers, Colin and Miles.
