Discover the main aspects of the different cultural and literary currents within 20th-century Latin American literature with Professor J. Monzón, PhD.

“Latin American literature” is a label that can be used to group together varying works in a uniform, singular genre without taking into account the various countries and cultures which comprise the region it references.

This presentation seeks to give readers of the general public an overview of the cultural and literary diversity of works written by Latin American authors from the 20th century. The talk will highlight three main approaches to 20th century Latin American literature to give the public a more informed view of the various cultural codes of the region.

Firstly, we will highlight the different cultures that make up the region by showing how Latin America can be grouped into various cultural areas which reflect the PreColumbian past as well as the independent national cultures. Secondly, the talk will feature excerpts (in English) from works written by Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel García Márquez, Juan Rulfo, among others, to showcase how each author’s work reflects the culture in which they wrote. Thirdly, these initial works will also be placed alongside works from the latter half of the 20th century and start of the 21st century from a younger generation of writers to show the transformations and development of the varying literary discourses of Latin America.

Jackson Monzón holds his Ph.D. in Spanish Language and Literature from the University of Maryland, College Park. He is an instructor of Spanish at Montgomery College, Rockville, and is an experienced Interpreter and Translator. He has lived, worked, and studied abroad in Argentina, Morocco, and Spain. He currently lives in Silver Spring  with his wife and two young children.