Christopher González
Christopher González is a scholar and Chair of English at Southern Methodist University. At SMU, he holds the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Endowed Chair in the Department of English, specializing in U.S. Latinx literature and culture across narrative media forms. With broader expertise in 20th-century American literature, multiethnic literatures of the US, film, comics, and narrative theory, Christopher is the author, co-author, and editor of eight books, including the award-winning Reel Latinxs: Representation in U.S. Film and TV and Permissible Narratives: The Promise of Latino/a Literature, awarded Honorable Mention for the 2019 Perkins Prize for the most significant contribution to narrative studies. In 2024, he published his memoir, Big Scary Brown Guy.
In a nation that still struggles to see beyond harmful stereotypes, Christopher González is the embodiment of the Big Scary Brown Guy. As a Latino intellectual who speaks truth to power, he navigates the pitfalls of a society designed to keep people like him on the fringes. In this powerful memoir, González reveals the painful and humorous moments that shaped his life and offers a nuanced understanding of the Latinx experience in the United States. Through a blend of elegant and sardonic prose, González interrogates the racist and inequitable underpinnings of the U.S., as they manifest in his own embodied experiences within a troubled family in Texas. From pop cultural allusions to literary references, he weaves a rich tapestry of stories that illuminate the Gen X Latinx experience with keen precision and heartbreaking wit. Big Scary Brown Guy is a testament to the enduring resilience of the Latinx community, especially those who have been in the U.S. for many generations yet are often marginalized in the public discourse. González's voice is a vital addition to the ongoing conversation around race, identity, and belonging in America.