The Annika Rodriguez Scholars Program and the Association of Latin American Students will host Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Diaz as part of the sixth annual Symposium on Latino Contributions Thursday, Feb. 18, in Tisch Commons at the Danforth University Center.
The symposium’s focus is to provide grounds for discourse on the intellectual contributions by and for Latinos. The symposium will take place from 6-9 p.m., with Diaz speaking at 7 p.m.
Works at the symposium will encompass any issues relevant to the constantly evolving Latino community, both within the United States and Latin America. This symposium is a campus-wide collaboration with exhibits from students throughout the university. Past works have included everything from performance art to fiction, artwork, photography and research about Latino or Latin American topics.
Diaz, a native of the Dominican Republic and professor of creative writing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2008 for his novel “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.” His writings explore issues of identity and cultural understanding.
The Annika Rodriguez Scholars Program is a nationally pre-eminent program intended to foster a richly diverse educational atmosphere at WUSTL and to enhance the overall quality and diversity of the Washington University student body.
The program is based on the pillars of academic excellence, leadership, service to the community and bringing diverse groups together. It is named after 1996 WUSTL alumna Annika Rodriguez. Rodriguez joined the Peace Corps following graduation and, in October 1996, was killed in a flash flood while serving the Peace Corps in Honduras. Rodriguez Scholars carry on her legacy of service and diversity.
For more information on the symposium, e-mail Julia Macias Garcia at julia.macias@wustl.edu.