Assistant Professor of Spanish
Rubén Varona is a Latin Americanist whose research and creative writing explore the intersection between literature and social justice. His research uses modern conceptions of justice to study the literary representation of social problems (e.g., gender inequality, corruption, terrorism), specifically in novels that hybridize crime and history. Varona concentrates on authors with an international reputation like García Márquez and Paco Ignacio Taibo II and others with less prominence, but with a growing readership in the Spanish-speaking world, like Bernardo Esquinca.
His creative work portrays social conflicts through the moral dilemmas of his characters. He has published four novels: Espérame desnuda entre los alacranes, El sastre de las sombras, La hora del cheesecake, and La secta de los asesinos (a finalist for the Premio Iberoamericano Planeta-Casa de América award 2012).
At Lycoming, he offers courses throughout the Spanish curriculum on language, literature, and culture that focus on fostering awareness and appreciation of Hispanic culture, lifestyles, and accomplishments.
To learn more about Rubén Varona, please visit his website.