
I am a researcher and teacher working on the relationship between cultural institutions, political ideologies and aesthetic representation in literature, cinema, gastronomy and other forms of cultures. The particular focus of my work is Mexico, but I often branch out to the study of Latin American and global production.
I am based in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. I am the Jarvis Thurston and Mona van Duyn Professor in the Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis. I hold appointments in the Latin American Studies Program and the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, as well as a courtesy appointment in the Program of Film and Media Studies. I was born in Mexico City, and have lived in the United States since 2001.
I was appointed to be the Kluge Chair of the Cultures of the South at the Library of Congress in 2020, and served in the position in the summer of 2021.
Professionally, I have served in the Modern Language Association as member of the Executive Council, Trustee and president of the forums on Mexican Cultural Studies and Latin American Literature since 1900. I have also been the President of the Association for the Studies of the Arts of the Present, and Co-Chair of the Mexico Section of the Latin American Studies.
I am available for media and academic requests. Please click on “Contact” in the menu above.
Recent Blog Posts
- This blog has moved to Substack
- The Book Club as Pedagogical Tool
- An Exercise in Criticism and Reciprocity
- World Literature as State Project and Everyday Practice
- Personal Stories of Film Spectatorship
Latest Publications

Mexican Literature as World Literature. Bloomsbury. October 7, 2021.
“The Utopian Essay.” The Cambridge Companion to the Essay. Eds. Kara Wittman and Evan Kindley. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023. 141-53.
“Mexican Miracle Modernism.” Latin American Literature in Transition 1930-1980. Eds. Amanda Holmes and Par Kumaraswami. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023. 116-30.
“Imagining Popular Sovereignty.” Latin American Literature in Transition 1800-1870. Eds. Ana Peluffo and Ronald Briggs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023. 131-42.
“El escritor moderno y las encrucijadas de lo social. La obra crítica y ensayística de Pedro Ángel Palou.” Pedro Ángel Palou y la novela infinita. Ed. Héctor Jaimes. Raleigh: A contracorriente, 2023. 45-90.
“The Archives of an Exception to Come. Literature, Cinema and the World in Irmgard Emmelhainz’s El cielo está incompleto.” Latin American Literatures in Global Markets. Eds. Mabel Moraña and Ana Gallego Cuiñas. Leiden: Brill, 2023. 153-73.
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