Gustavo A Vargas
Contact Me
varga181@umn.edu
625-2015
Spanish and Portuguese Studies .
9 Pleasant St SE
304A Folwell Hall
Affiliations
My academic work deals with intersections of medical humanities, sexuality, bioethics and literature. Interested in topics related to health disparities and the historiography of LGBTI movements in Latin America, I completed a doctoral dissertation titled "Building a Community of Affects: A Cartography of HIV/AIDS Narratives in Latin America (1982-2018)." I currently teach courses of Intermediate and Advanced Medical Spanish in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies. These courses aim to provide students interested in healthcare professions a better understanding of health disparities in Latinx communities in the US. We also analyze the challenges and opportunities of equitable health access and preventive medicine in Latin America and migrant communities in the United States. Students delve into the fascinating study of alternative manifestations of healing, medicine and disease in Hispanic cultures such as curanderismo and culture-bound syndromes.