Didier Franco, assistant professor of Spanish Language/Culture, and Téofilo Espada-Brignoni, visiting assistant professor of Psychology, both presented at the 39th Cincinnati Conference on Romance and Arabic Languages and Literatures, held in Cincinnati, OH, April 5-6, 2019.

Didier Franco and Teófilo Espada-Brignoni at the 39th Cincinnati Conference on Romance & Arabic Languages & Literatures in April 2019. 

Franco’s presentation, “Horacio Quiroga: Life and work during his stay in Misiones, Argentina,” focused on Horacio Quiroga, considered in the literary canon as one of the masters of short stories. In his abstract, Franco states, “This Uruguayan writer lived a prolific life despite the tribulations he experienced as a human, as a friend, and as a writer. Perhaps, most of his literary creations occurred during his stay in the province of Misiones.” In the jungle of Misiones, Quiroga wrote a compilation of stories dealing with rural terror and death and madness within the constraints between nature and humans. Franco’s essay explores the complexity of Quiroga’s work and his time spent in Misiones through the lens of his writing.

Espada-Brignoni  presented, “Medicine, Anthropology, Psychology and Compassion in XIX-Century Puerto Rico: The Case of Isidora Gual,” with Ashley Rosa-Jiménez. Their work focuses on Isadora Gual, a 15- or 16-year-old who strangled her 8-month-old son. Her case drew the attention of physicians and reporters, who attempted to understand why she had killed her son. This particular case revealed new and complex relations between medicine, anthropology, psychology, and culture in 19th-century Puerto Rico.