María Jesús Hernáez, University of La Rioja
One night, I dreamed of being a researcher, and today I’m…
#HumansofSTEAM
As far as I can remember, books have always been saving me from all the bad things: Solitude, sadness, impotence, disease, and my own smallness. Through them: novels, poetry, tales, history… One grows itself, is transported to other places, and meets those whom one would never get to now in his or her life. Reading literature makes you imagine the person you want to become in real life, outside of stereotypes presented by society. It also teaches you to be more tolerant with others when you don’t understand them at first.
Studying literature is to discover who and how we are and why. It is an antidote for mental monotony and lack of empathy. Dictatorial governments and organizations would rather people were not articulated, so we could only think within the limitations of their vocabulary.
Fiction is the most real thing we have; it teaches us to push inertia out of our lives, to question that which looks natural but deep down we know is unfair, and to act over that knowledge. If you have a book awaiting you, you have everything.
For me, seeing and analysing how writers explain life is a fascinating task, a privilege and a challenge.
Contact data:
Phone: 619 478614
Email: mariaj.hernaez@unirioja.es
Department and centre. Departamento de Filologías Modernas (University of La Rioja)
COMPARTE EN TUS REDES SOCIALES CON EL HASHTAG #NIGHTSPAIN