José Manuel Losada


José Manuel Losada is a professor and literary theorist with a specialization in the fields of myth criticism and comparative literature. Within these fields he has published several books in Spanish, French and English.

Academic career

José Manuel Losada holds a PhD from the University of the Sorbonne and a habilitation as Research Director from the University of Nancy II. He has been Visiting Scholar at Harvard University and the University of Montreal, is a member of the SCR at Oxford University, and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Navarre. Since 1992 he has been a lecturer at Complutense University of Madrid, where he teaches courses on French literature, comparative literature, and literature and religion. Losada is the principal investigator in several R&D projects related to myth criticism.
J.M. Losada is the founder and editor of Amaltea, Journal of Myth Criticism , a prestigious academic journal with a focus on analyzing the reception of ancient, medieval and modern myths in contemporary arts and literature. He is also founder and president of Asteria, International Association for Myth Criticism,
a nonprofit cultural association with an aim to promote research on myth in contemporary arts and literature. Furthermore, he is the founder and director of Acis, a Myth Criticism Research Group, a group which brings together numerous academics and doctoral researchers with an interest in analyzing the contemporary relevance of myth from an interdisciplinary perspective. With the support of the members of these groups, Losada has coordinated many international conferences, outreach activities, and international art competitions on the subject of myth.
His academic production includes some twenty books and over two hundred articles published in academic books and journals.

Cultural Myth Criticism

Losada defines myth thus:
This syncretic, expansive concept of myth allows the critic to embark on innovative analysis and synthesis of mythical narratives and their diverse processes. Myth criticism –a term coined by Gilbert Durand– is the study of myth; Losada's main contribution to literary theory is related to the updating of these studies into what he calls "cultural myth criticism". While still keeping an eye on the historical development of the field, this "new myth criticism" must develop an epistemology that enables the comprehension and elucidation of a global and imaginary reality, with an aim to better understand contemporary culture. This discipline develops out of the main hermeneutic principles embraced by J.M. Losada:
  1. It is only possible to undertake real myth criticism by leaving behind ideological prejudice.
  2. Myth criticism requires a previous assumption of a definition of myth in every specific instance.
  3. Myth criticism is alienated by senseless erudition and speculation which is unrelated to the text.
  4. Coherent definition is guaranteed by cataloguing each myth within a myth-critical typology.
  5. The study of myths must necessarily be interdisciplinary in nature.
Consequently, with the last point, myth criticism is seen to apply to all forms of cultural expression, though not abandoning the analysis of the symbolic imaginary. This new myth criticism looks at mythical representations in such diverse fields as literature, film and television, drama, sculpture, painting, videogames, music, dance, journalism, the Internet and all other media of artistic and cultural expression:
Cultural myth criticism has proved to be particularly useful in the analysis of contemporary myths, the study of which necessarily differs considerably from previous work. Losada posits three distinct main factors or "logics" that must be taken into account in order to properly analyze myth in contemporary culture: the logic of globalization, the logic of immanence, and the logic of consumerism. These three factors modify myth's traditional character, and must be carefully considered in order to understand both the current mythical epiphany and contemporary culture.

Social Globalization

–particularly the logic of globalization, without which it is impossible to conceive our world– has tremendously impacted mythology. That is why cultural myth criticism must start out from two unquestionable realities: in the first place, that new technological platforms are now widely available to the general public; secondly, that traditional myths evolve, and therefore require new perspectives for analysis.
Adaptations and rewriting of traditional myths, as well as the creation of new myths, compel researchers to widen their approach in order to adapt to the globalized realities of today. Myth criticism must take into account that information technologies are nowadays the source of a new cosmovision, and are strongly involved in the production of ideologies that reconfigure both the perception and the creation of art and literature.

Logic of Immanence

Traditionally, all religions have contained myths which, in the same way as their message and doctrine, were related to the concept of transcendence. Myth was a vehicle for cultural, social, political and ethical values. One of the objectives of myth criticism is to articulate adequate analytical tools to understand the transcendent element of each myth.
Cultural context has changed tremendously, especially from the 20th century onwards. According to Losada, at the moment "the immanent cosmovision –the unspoken acceptance of a non-transcendental horizon in the social and individual imaginary– is prevalent in contemporary Western culture." 
It is a job for cultural myth criticism to explore all the ideological perspectives that contemporary immanence projects onto traditional transcendence. The concept of immanence must be taken into account in order to analyze new forms of myth. In accordance with this change in ideological paradigm, mythical rewritings are mostly subversive.

Logic of Consumerism

The link between consumer society and its impact on mythical themes stems from one fact: myth has become a consumer good, even a basic and generic product, subject to commercial transactions and the supply and demand model. Losada explains that advertisers try to generate associations between their products and cultural myths that convey desirable values.
An inherent aspect of consumer society is the ephemeral nature of those celebrities and objects that undergo a mythification process and are turned into "new myths". This is remarkably significant in the case of film stars or musicians, who are often invested with a halo of exceptionality which they then lose as quickly as they acquired it.

Main Works

Books