Ryan Gomez earned his B.A. in Linguistics and French and an M.A. in French from the University of New Mexico. He earned his Ph.D. in French Language and Literature and a graduate certificate in Translation Studies from Washington University in St. Louis in 2026. His dissertation, “The Translator-Function: Transmedial Agency in the Circulation of Francophone Graphic Literature” develops the “translator-function” paradigm through an analysis of translations and adaptations of canonical French texts and bande dessinée from the eighteenth century onward, dismantling traditional hierarchies subordinating translation and adaptation to the status of secondary, derivative echoes of an absolute original. Ryan’s research interests include second language acquisition, comics and bande dessinée, translation and adaptation, the medical humanities, eighteenth-century literature and sensibilité, visual culture, graphic narrative pedagogy, and transnational circulation. Ryan is active in sharing his work on modern graphic representations of eighteenth-century literature, having presented his research at both regional and international conferences. Ryan is a member of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS), the Southeast American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (SEASECS), and the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA). 

As a graduate student at the University of New Mexico and Washington University, Ryan taught beginning, intermediate, and advanced French language classes, developed and delivered an advanced undergraduate French course on bande dessinée, and collaborated with faculty on an advanced undergraduate French translation course. He is excited about the pedagogical applications of translation and bande dessinée in the French language classroom, incorporating them in lessons and encouraging students to use translation and comics as a way of critically engaging with the language and cultures of the Francophone world. At The Ohio State University, Ryan teaches in the French Basic Language sequence and collaborates with directorship in coordinating the program. 

In 2017 and 2018, Ryan worked in France as a lecteur d’anglais teaching conversation, debate, and media analysis English courses at the Université de Rennes 2 and maintains strong ties to Brittany. Ryan also worked as a French medical interpreter in St. Louis-area hospitals and still performs both technical and literary translation work in addition to his teaching work. 

In his spare time, Ryan enjoys singing, violin performance with local community orchestras, road trips exploring the Midwest, architecture tours, crate digging at record stores, and playing with his cats Lucy and Rosie.