OXFORD,
Miss. – Prominent writer Seymour Menton plans to discuss Charles
Darwin’s connection with Latin American literature Monday (Feb. 16) at
the University of Mississippi.
His lecture, titled “Charles
Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle and Contemporary Latin American Fiction:
An Exercise in Intellectual Honesty,” is slated for 5:30 p.m. in the
Tupelo Room in Barnard Observatory. The event is free and open to the
public.
The event marks Darwin’s 200th birthday and the 150th
anniversary of the publication of his famous book, “On the Origin of
Species.” (Darwin was born Feb. 12, 1809.)
The American public
tends to think of Darwin within the context of England, but his travels
took him to Latin America, the Galapagos Islands and Tierra del Fuego,
said Diane Marting, UM associate professor of Spanish who is
coordinating the lecture.
“Darwin wrote as a naturalist and made
the wonders of Latin America known to people in other places,” Marting
said. “His writings became an inspiration to Latin Americans.”
The literature that resulted from Darwin’s travels is one of the many areas Menton studies.
“Menton is a teacher and mentor for generations of college professors,” said Luanne Buchanan, assistant professor of Spanish. “This is someone who has been studying and writing about Latin America for a very long time.”
Menton taught at Dartmouth University, the University of Kansas and several Latin American universities. He is a professor and founding chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at the University of California at Irvine.
“We are pleased to have a scholar of Dr. Menton’s caliber speaking to our students and faculty,” said Donald Dyer, chair of the UM modern languages department. “His reputation precedes him, and we are very much looking forward to his timely lecture on Darwin and Latin American literature.”
The Department of Modern Languages is hosting the event, with sponsorship provided by the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and the departments of English and biology.
For more information contact Diane Marting at dmarting@olemiss.edu, or 662-915-7104 or 662-915-7298.