Hospitable Imaginations with Christopher González

Chris Gonzalez

Storytelling speaks to the heart of who we are, but how does it work? Why are some works of narrative so compelling and engaging? In this podcast, professor of literature and scholar of narrative Christopher González delves into examples across media to uncover what it is about storytelling that fascinates and, at times, frustrates us.

Episodes

  1. 06/15/2020 ·  Bonus

    Book Review: Talking #browntv: Latinas and Latinos on the Screen

    Chris reviews Talking #browntv: Latinas and Latinos on the Screen by Frederick Luis Aldama and William Anthony Nericcio. Listen to why this book is one of the necessary reads in order to better understand how systemic racism affects the Latinx community as represented on screen.

    Book Review: Talking #browntv: Latinas and Latinos on the Screen

  2. 06/07/2020

    Episode 4: In the Midst of Protest

    Chris interrupts the regularly scheduled podcast with a necessary reflection on the killings of members of our Black community such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many others that have ignited outrage and protests both in the United States and around the world. This, too, has very much to do with storytelling. Chris discusses how now, more than ever, it is imperative that we read stories by and about less privileged identity positions than our own.

  3. 05/30/2020

    Episode 3: No Words Necessary

    In Episode 3 of Hospitable Imaginations, Christopher takes a look at three films that not only open with a bang, but they do so without the use of a single word. Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, 2001: A Space Odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick, and Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, give us a glimpse of how great stories can have impeccable openings with nary a word--and these openings are all-time greats.

  4. 05/24/2020

    Episode 2: There are openings...

    In this episode of Hospitable Imaginations, Christopher continues to explore how timeless story openings work. The openings of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, and The Color Purple by Alice Walker, reveal a depth of understanding of how the opening lines of a story can establish everything that follows it. And how does the game of chess relate to the ideas behind narrative?

  5. 05/17/2020 ·  Bonus

    Book Review: The Mountains Sing

    In this Hospitable Imaginations book review, Christopher discusses the luminous novel by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’, The Mountains Sing, and why it is likely one of the best novels of 2020.

  6. 05/15/2020

    Episode 1: Loomings

    In this inaugural episode of Hospitable Imaginations, Christopher González begins to explore the openings of works of classic literature. Why do some story beginnings seem so electric? He examines why the openings of Moby-Dick, David Copperfield, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Beloved work so well. Along the way, Christopher brings in a small dose of research and technical terminology.

  • 6 Episodes

About

Storytelling speaks to the heart of who we are, but how does it work? Why are some works of narrative so compelling and engaging? In this podcast, professor of literature and scholar of narrative Christopher González delves into examples across media to uncover what it is about storytelling that fascinates and, at times, frustrates us.

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