PERUVIAN-Spanish author Mario Vargas Llosa was named “honorary professor” by the University on Nov. 7 for being a “divinely gifted storyteller.”
The 80-year-old Vargas Llosa, who won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature, stressed on the role of literature in addressing contemporary social ills.
“Good literature is necessary for a society that wants to be free, that wants to be democratic,” Vargas Llosa said in Spanish during his lecture at the Grand Ballroom of the Buenaventura G. Paredes, O.P Building
“Literature has somehow contributed a grain of sand toward civilization and progress,” he added.
Vice Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P. lauded Vargas Llosa’s works, citing how the writer boldly tackled issues in Latin America such as revolution, dictatorship, racism, religious fanaticism and messianism.
“He is perhaps the most successful and certainly the most fearless novelist of the past 40 years,” Fr. Ang said.
Llosa received the honorary professor’s medallion and diploma from Fr. Ang, who was accompanied by Faculty of Arts and Letters (Artlets) Dean Michael Anthony Vasco and Artlets Regent Rev. Fr. Rodel Aligan, O.P.
“[The honorary professorship is given to] someone who is exceptional in his field of expertise and has made a mark of honor and contribution to the academic community in their lifetime,” Fr. Ang explained.
Former recipients of the honorary professorship include Mahathir Mohamad, former Malaysian prime minister; Yuan Tseh Lee, president of the International Council of Science and 1985 Nobel laureate in chemistry; and Msgr. Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Science.
