On May 31st, Professor Mercedes Susana Giuffré, researcher at the Social Sciences Research Center of the National University of Mar del Plata in Argentina and executive member of the Argentine Council for International Relations, gave a lecture entitled “Victoria Ocampo (1890-1979) and Argentine Literature” to teachers and students of Nankai University. This lecture was hosted by the International Cooperation and Exchange Office of the University and undertaken by the Spanish Department of the College. Associate Professor Gong Yunjie presided over the lecture, and all teachers and students of Spanish majors and other NKU teachers and students who were interested in Spanish and Argentine culture participated in the activity.
In the lecture, Professor Giuffré mainly talked about Victoria Ocampo’s spirit of independence and freedom and her pioneering ideas in the early 20th century from Ocampo’s life experience. The lecture comprehensively demonstrated Ms. Ocampo’s creative fields: literary creation, architectural design, literary criticism, editor-in-chief of magazines, etc. The magazine titled “Sur”, which was founded by Victoria Ocampo, gathered a group of pioneering writers in the world at that time, such as Borges, Neruda, Márquez, Sartre, Cortazar and so on. This magazine was an important position for literary creation and communication and discussion and has become a phenomenal publication in Latin America.
Prof. Giuffré focused on Ms. Ocampo’s work and her literary status in Latin America. She also introduced Ocampo’s deep relationship with China and her works about China. The lecture also touched on Ocampo’s many efforts in fighting for women’s right of speech and women’s liberation.
This lecture was rich in content, explained in simple language and accompanied by pictures and texts, and vividly showed Ocampo’s elegant demeanour through precious videos and pictures. The good interaction between the lecturer and audience stimulated the strong interest of the teachers and students from the College of Foreign Languages in Latin American culture. From the perspective of the case study, it deepened teachers’ and students’ understanding of Latin American literature in the early 20th century and improved the literary and cultural literacy of Spanish language learners.
