1600 Woodland Road
Abington, PA 19001
Biography
Manuel Morales Fontanilla, a native of Bogotá, Colombia, has a rich background in bilingual teaching and research at public and private universities in Colombia and the United States. Outside academia, he enjoys outdoor activities like swimming, cycling, and playing soccer.
Research Interests
Manuel Morales Fontanilla’s research examines the interplay between sports, physical culture, and social inequalities in Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. He investigates how these areas have influenced daily life, shaped policies, and both challenged and upheld power structures in the region. His book manuscript, “Impossible Roads: A Cycling History of Colombia,” explores the evolution of competitive cycling in the country, from the earliest competitions to its development into a widespread cultural phenomenon, and currently has a pre-completion contract with the University of Nebraska Press.
Publications
Book Manuscript
In progress Impossible Roads: A Cycling History of Colombia. Under a pre-completion contract with the University of Nebraska Press.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
2026 “Teaching Latin American Sports History,” The History Teacher 59, no.2 (2026): 213–226.
2024 “A Contested Victory: Liberal Reformism and Women’s Physical Culture in Colombia, 1930–1946.” The International Journal of the History of Sport 41, no. 4 (2024): 300–316.
2020 “Sports Policy in Colombia.” International Journal of Sports Policy and Politics 12, no. 4 (2020): 717–729.
Book Chapters
2023 “The General’s Vuelta: Cycling and Dictatorship During Colombia’s La Violencia, 1953–1958.” In Sport and the Pursuit of War and Peace from the Nineteenth Century to the Present, edited by Martin Hurcombe and Phil Dine, Oxfordshire: Routledge.
2012 “El Deporte En Bogotá Y El Debate Intelectual De Los Años 20.” In Estudios Socioculturales Del Deporte. Desarrollos, Tránsitos y Miradas, edited by David Leonardo Quitian, Bogotá: Editorial Asciende.
Book Reviews
2020 Review of Gods, Games, & Globalization: New Perspectives on Religion and Sports (Mercer University Press, 2019), edited by Rebecca Alpert and Arthur Remillard. Journal of Sports History 47, no. 3 (2020): 296–297.
2014 Review of Gender, State, and Medicine in Highland Ecuador: Modernizing Women, Modernizing the State, 1895–1950 (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2012) by A. Kim Clark. Journal of Latin American Studies 46, no. 2 (2014): 401–402.
Public Scholarship
2009 “¿Y Si La Bomba Estalla? O Lo Que Creí Que Era El Embrión.” Revista Suma Cultural No. 9 (Enero–Junio).
2008 “El Deporte en la Bogotá de los 20.” Revista Suma Cultural No. 8 (Julio–Diciembre).
2008 “El Dorado: Una Época Inolvidable.” In Historia Del Fútbol Dorado, Revista Memoria Viva, Archivo de Bogotá (Agosto).
Education
2018 Ph.D. in History, University of California, San Diego.
2011 M.A. in History, Universidad de los Andes. Bogotá, Colombia.
2010 LL.B. Universidad Nacional de Colombia School of Law and Political Sciences, Bogotá, Colombia.
2005 B.A. in History, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá. Colombia.