Visual Culture FIG Instructor and Assistant

I am an Associate Professor of Comparative Literature and Cinema Studies at the University of Oregon, where I also serve as editor-in-chief of the field’s flagship journal, Comparative Literature. Trained as a comparatist in French, Arabic, and English, I bring postcolonial theory, visual culture, and comparative media into dialogue to examine the social and technological infrastructures that shape aesthetic experience. I am the author of In the Shadow of World Literature (Princeton, 2016) and Cinema before the World (Fordham, 2026), and the co-editor, with Zeina G. Halabi, of the forthcoming Cambridge Companion to Modern Arabic Literature (Cambridge, 2026). At the heart of my scholarship and teaching is a commitment to art and the humanities as a space for critical, creative, experimental, and transformative inquiry. 

Email: mallan@uoregon.edu

Hi! My name is Helen. I grew up here in Eugene, Oregon so I’d say I know the area pretty well. If you want recommendations for places to visit I can definitely offer those. I’m looking to be part of the Comics Minor as well as the Game Studies minor here at U of O, and a major in Art and Technology. I love to create digital drawings, character designs, and animations in my own time, so let me know if you have any interest in that field or similar areas! I also love video games and listening to music, and I’m always up for song or game recommendations. I have been in two art-related FYEs, both of which gave me the kick-start I needed to adapt to college life quickly. I’m excited to meet everyone this fall, and to learn what aspects of the Comics and Visual Cultures FIG you all are looking forward to, or are interested in!

Want to connect with your FA? Email figs@uoregon.edu to get connected!