Tec participates in award recognizing writer Donna Haraway

Donna Haraway has received the Nuevo León Alfonso Reyes Prize, this year coordinated by Tec de Monterrey, for her philosophy and vision at the intersection of biology, economics, politics, culture, science fiction, feminism, and climate change.

The American writer, who won the 2020 prize awarded by the government and universities of the Mexican state of Nuevo León, pointed out that it motivates her to continue promoting her ideas.

“My work has explored the rich connections between biology, literature, the arts, and social and political action for more than 40 years,” she said at the virtual ceremony held on the afternoon of March 23.

“This is so we can care for each other and create justice and care around the world,” added the author of the “Cyborg Manifesto”.

The essay, published in 1985, criticizes the traditional notion of feminism and explains that modern human beings have become merged with machines.

At the award ceremony, Ricardo Marcos, director of the Nuevo León Council for Culture and the Arts (CONARTE), Juan Pablo Murra, Rector of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies at Tec de Monterrey, and rectors and representatives of the UANL, UDEM, and U-ERRE, presented the prize to the author symbolically.

Tec de Monterrey was the host university for this year’s award, and the ceremony was broadcast from the state’s Government Palace.

Feminist and humanist

Haraway is known for being at the forefront of philosophical thought, said Murra in the message he gave at the award ceremony.

“Her depth and elasticity of thought invites us to create new stories, new narratives to find new ways of living and dying on Earth,” he said.

The winner could not visit the city of Monterrey to receive her award because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Rector of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies said it was hoped that she could come later.

Haraway’s passionate and provocative style, added to the originality of her ideas, has made her an icon of feminist thought, said Judith Ruiz Godoy, professor at the Tec’s School of Humanities and Education. 

“However, feminism spills into other areas, begging the question of how we connect with other non-human entities and exploring the implications of this otherness,” she said.

The teacher also explained the Cthulhucene, Haraway’s definition of the era in which humanity finds itself. 

“It’s a term that also reveals the influence of science fiction in her work: Cthulhu is the nucleus of the mythological universe created by the writer Howard Philip Lovecraft.

“It’s a spacetime in which regeneration and social healing is tentacularly possible; the tentacles in Haraway are committed to creating co-responsibilities in response to a world we need but which doesn’t need us,” she said.

In addition, Haraway emphasized the need to rebuild connections as we work to repair a suffering world.

“Our world, its rivers, mountains, deserts, nature havens, its indigenous societies and peoples, farms, ranches and territories, is full of rich relationships and deep stories of people interacting with other beings.

“There is violence on the borders around the world because of extradition and extraction processes. Our job is to rebuild and repair these living networks despite violent clashes and difficult conditions,” she said.

The Nuevo León Alfonso Reyes Prize

The Nuevo León Alfonso Reyes Prize promotes the cultivation of intelligence by recognizing the legacy that artists, academics, and intellectuals provide to literature and the humanities.

“Their works, proposals, and reflections enrich our gaze and allow us to take on enormous challenges with hope and creativity,” said Ana Laura Santamaría, director of the Alfonso Reyes Chair at Tec de Monterrey.

“And they drive us to imagine and build a better and fairer planet for all the beings that populate our world,” she added.

Organized by the state government since 2019, the annual prize is awarded by the Executive Branch of the State of Nuevo León through Conarte.

The Autonomous University of Nuevo León, the University of Monterrey, the Regiomontana University, and Tecnológico de Monterrey are also involved.

The award bears the name of Monterrey’s leading citizen, whose humanism transcended borders.

This is the second time the prize has been awarded. Last year it was given to Mexican writer Margo Glantz.

This year, Haraway gave a keynote speech and there was an academic discussion with the author.

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