Casas Tomadas: Monsters and Metaphors on the Periphery of Latin American Literature and Media

González, Carlos A.: - Carlos A. González is a PhD candidate in the Romance Languages and Literatures Department at Harvard University, specializing in horror, the Weird, and speculative fiction in Spanish and French literature. With a focus on Latin American and Francophone Weird narratives, González's research examines how monstrosity, marginality, and ethics converge to challenge the reader. They have published and presented on topics including Latin American women's neo-Gothic literature, heterotopic French fiction, and Queer and Crip criticism within both contemporary and medieval monster narratives in literature and film. González's dissertation-in-progress investigates the figure of the monster across historical periods in Weird literature, arguing that literary monstrosity offers insights into interpersonal relationships through the ethical philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas. Their work draws on interdisciplinary training in critical theory and comparative literature to highlight how Gothic and Weird genres uniquely challenge ethical and social norms. González lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with their partner, shih tzu, and the creature living under their bed.