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Westminster professor to deliver Henderson Lecture

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Posted on Thursday, September 27, 2018

NEW WILMINGTON, PA – Dr. Jeffrey T. Bersett, Westminster College professor of Spanish and film studies, will present the 2018-2019 Henderson Lecture at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 3, in the Witherspoon Room of the McKelvey Campus Center.

“The Case of Antonio Muñoz Molina: Autobiography and Autofiction in the Contemporary Spanish Novel” examines Antonio Muñoz Molina’s contribution to Spain’s literary culture.

An award-winning Spanish author, Muñoz Molina published his first novel in 1986 and has continued to push the creative boundaries of writing. His most recent books have created entirely new ways of looking at the meaning of fiction and at the boundaries between truth and invention. A number of his works demonstrate the spectrum that runs from autobiography to autofiction.

Bersett, who joined the Westminster faculty in 2002, earned an undergraduate degree from Washington University and his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

Bersett’s scholarly work and teaching focus on the culture of Spain from the 18th century to the present, and his publications include studies of parody and satire in Spanish theater. In recent years he has begun work on contemporary authors, examining questions of genre, such as the connections between fiction and nonfiction, in Spanish narrative and journalism.

The Henderson Lecture was founded by the late Dr. Joseph R. Henderson and his wife, Elizabeth, to encourage and recognize original and continuing research and scholarship among Westminster College faculty, and to afford the opportunity for faculty to share their learning with the academic community.  Dr. Henderson was a professor of education emeritus at Westminster, having served as chair of the Department of Education and as director of the Graduate Program.

Each year, Westminster faculty members may nominate themselves or others to receive the lectureship, which includes a stipend to support a specific research project.  A faculty committee chooses the winner.

For more information, contact Bersett at 724-946-7259 or bersetjt@westminster.edu.