Jean Franco

1924 - 2022
Jean Franco, a pioneering literary scholar who did much to shape Latin American studies in the late 1960s and '70s, examining the region's literature through feminist and political perspectives, died on Dec. 15 at her home in Manhattan. She was 98.

To read her New York Times obituary see: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/31/obituaries/jean-franco-dead.html

Professor Jean Franco was the first Professor of Latin American Literature in England. She was appointed Professor by the University of Essex in 1968 having previously taught at Queen Mary College and Kings College, London University. In 1972 she took up a position at Stanford University where she was later appointed to the Olive H. Palmer chair of Humanities. She taught at Columbia University from 1982, first in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and later in the Department of English and Comparative Literature, until her retirement and appointment as Professor Emerita.

She published widely on Latin American literature and culture. Her books include The Modern Culture of Latin America (1967), An Introduction to Latin American Literature (1969), Plotting Women: Gender and Representation in Mexico (1989), and Marcando diferencias: Cruzando Fronteras (1996). A selection of essays, Critical Passions, edited by Mary Louise Pratt and Kathleen Newman was published in October 1999 by Duke University Press. Her book, The Decline and Fall of the Lettered City: Latin America and the Cold War was published by Harvard University Press in 2001 and was translated into Spanish as Decadencia y caída de la ciudad letrada. The book was awarded the Bolton-Johnson Prize by the Conference of Latin American Historians for the best work in English on the History of Latin America published in 2003. Her last book, Cruel Modernity (Duke University Press, 2013), discussed the political use of cruelty by Latin American authoritarian governments.

Professor Franco was decorated by the governments of Mexico, Chile and Venezuela for her work on Latin American literature and has received awards from PEN and from the Latin American Studies Association for lifetime achievement. She has served as President of the Latin American Studies Association in Great Britain and of the Latin American Studies Association in the U.S.

Jean Swindells was born on March 31, 1924, in Dukinfield, a town east of Manchester, England. Her father, William Swindells, was a baker, and her mother, Ella (Newton) Swindells, was a homemaker. She studied art history at Manchester University, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1944 and a master's in 1946. In 1960 she received a second bachelor's degree, in Spanish literature, from the University of London and received her doctorate in 1964, before going on to a distinguished teaching career in Britain and the United States.

Along with her son, Alexis Parke, she is survived by her sister, Pauline Swindells.

A Secular Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, January 5th, 2023 at 3.00pm
at Plaza Jewish Community
630 Amsterdam Avenue
(Corner of Amsterdam Avenue and W91st St)

No flowers please.