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The Mitchell Distinguished Lecture at CLACS: Deep Within: Expressive Writing in the Neoliberal Prison
April 7, 2025 @ 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
This year’s Christopher Mitchell Distinguished Lecture explores the relationship between literature and incarceration. Prof. Adela Pineda Franco (UT Austin) will discuss her Mellon-funded project to establish a Spanish/bilingual creative writing program in a Texas women’s prison. Her lecture will explore how the experiences of confined, marginalized subjects yield new insights into reading and creative writing, particularly within the context of displacement, migration, and neoliberal spectrality. The event will be moderated by Aisha Khan, NYU professor of anthropology.
About the Speaker
Adela Pineda Franco is Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long Professor in Latin American Literary and Cultural Studies, and the Director of the Tereza Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS) at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining UT, she was Professor of Latin American Literature and Film at Boston University, where she also founded the Center of Latin American Studies. Her scholarly work situates the study of literary and cinematic phenomena within transnational contexts and interdisciplinary frameworks, addressing the relationships between culture, politics, and intellectual thought. Her book on American writer John Steinbeck revisits this author’s work through a Mexican and cross-border vantage point. She is also well-known for her research on the international significance of the cultures of the Mexican Revolution, in particular, her book The Mexican Revolution on the World Stage: Intellectuals and Film in the Twentieth Century (2019). She currently leads the Mellon-funded project, Pido la Palabra A Texas Prison Literature Project for Social Justice and the Literary Imagination.
Adela Pineda Franco is Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long Professor in Latin American Literary and Cultural Studies, and the Director of the Tereza Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS) at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining UT, she was Professor of Latin American Literature and Film at Boston University, where she also founded the Center of Latin American Studies. Her scholarly work situates the study of literary and cinematic phenomena within transnational contexts and interdisciplinary frameworks, addressing the relationships between culture, politics, and intellectual thought. Her book on American writer John Steinbeck revisits this author’s work through a Mexican and cross-border vantage point. She is also well-known for her research on the international significance of the cultures of the Mexican Revolution, in particular, her book The Mexican Revolution on the World Stage: Intellectuals and Film in the Twentieth Century (2019). She currently leads the Mellon-funded project, Pido la Palabra A Texas Prison Literature Project for Social Justice and the Literary Imagination.
About the Mitchell Distinguished Lecture Series
The family of Professor Emeritus Christopher Mitchell generously established an endowment in recognition of Professor Mitchell’s impactful contributions to Latin American studies, distinguishing himself as a teacher and scholar of political science and foreign policy. The Christopher Mitchell Distinguished Lecture Series, which brings a leading scholar of Latin American studies to CLACS to share their expertise and profound work. This annual lecture showcases a wide range of academic and intellectual perspectives on Latin America through prominent speakers.
The family of Professor Emeritus Christopher Mitchell generously established an endowment in recognition of Professor Mitchell’s impactful contributions to Latin American studies, distinguishing himself as a teacher and scholar of political science and foreign policy. The Christopher Mitchell Distinguished Lecture Series, which brings a leading scholar of Latin American studies to CLACS to share their expertise and profound work. This annual lecture showcases a wide range of academic and intellectual perspectives on Latin America through prominent speakers.