Maria Soledad Paz-MacKay

Maria Soledad Paz-MacKay is an Associate Professor in the Department of Modern Languages at St. Francis Xavier University. She specializes in 20th- and 21st-century Latin American literature and cinema, with a focus on Argentina, exploring intersections of human rights, memory, identity, and cultural production of the children of the disappeared.

• Ph.D. in Spanish (Contemporary Latin American Literature), University of Ottawa (2012)
• M.A. in Spanish, University of Ottawa

Her research examines how literature and cinema address historical trauma, particularly Argentina’s last dictatorship, and the roles of memory, identity, and affect in post-dictatorship narratives. She has published extensively on films like Crímenes de Familia and El Premio, analyzing their portrayal of gender violence, state crimes, and emotional landscapes.

Her recent publications highlight trends in Latin American cinema, emphasizing rural landscapes, transnational identities, and affective theories. She co-edited volumes on 21st-century Argentinean and Mexican cinema, focusing on emerging identities and sensory environments in films.

• Insight Development Grant (SSHRC) for 'Rediscovering Rural Landscape and Visualizing Emerging Identities in 21st Century Argentinean and Mexican Cinema'

As part of a multidisciplinary research team, she collaborates with Dr. Argelia Gonzalez Hurtado and others on projects funded by SSHRC. Her work has been presented at major conferences like LASA and the Canadian Association of Hispanists.