Michael H. Handelsman (Weehawken, New Jersey, United States, May 11, 1948) is an American university professor, scholar, literary critic, and writer. He is professor emeritus of Latin American literature at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he has been teaching since 1976. He has directed the university’s Latin American Studies and Global Studies programs. His principal area of specialization is Ecuadorian literature and culture. Some of his books include: “Amazonas y artistas: Un estudio de la prosa de la mujer Ecuatoriana” (1978), “Lo afro y la plurinacionalidad: el caso ecuatoriano visto desde su literatura” (1999), and “Leyendo la globalización desde la mitad del mundo: identidad y resistencias en el Ecuador” (2005) which received the Isabel Tobar Guarderas award in Quito and the A.B. Thomas award in the U.S. He’s also written extensively on Benjamín Carrión, including: “En torno al verdadero Benjamín Carrión” (1989), “El ideario de Benjamín Carrión” (1992) and “Benjamín Carrión: el pensamiento fundamental” (2007). He’s been a visiting professor at the University of Kentucky, the Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil (UCSG), and the Simon Bolivar Andean University of Quito. Since November 12, 2012, he’s been a foreign corresponding member of Ecuador’s National Academy of Language.
Education
- AB, Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) College, 1970 (Magna cum laude)
- Master of Arts, University Florida, 1973
- Doctor of Philosophy, University Florida, 1976. Read his dissertation, “Amazons and Artists: A Study of Ecuadorian Women’s Prose,” for free here.
Family
Michael Handelsman was born to Jay and Betty (Feinstein) Handelsman on May 11, 1948. He married Maria Victoria Suarez on June 18, 1971. They had two children, Leah, Alysa.
Videos
Michael Handelsman interview (with Fernando Iturburu)
Michael Handelsman interview (Simon Bolivar Andean University)
Michael Handelsman interview, Critic of Ecuadorian Literature
Works
- Amazonas y artistas: un estudio de la prosa de la mujer ecuatoriana (1978)
- El modernismo en las revistas literarias del Ecuador: 1895-1930 (1981)
- En torno al verdadero Benjamín Carrión (1989)
- Lo afro y la plurinacionalidad: el caso ecuatoriano visto desde su literatura (1999)
- Culture and Customs of Ecuador (2000)
- Género, raza y nación en la literatura ecuatoriana. Hacia una lectura decolonial (2011)
- Guayaquil y sus autores. Un homenaje a algunos clásicos que no se van (2017)
- Representaciones de lo afro y su recepción en el Ecuador. Encuentros y desencuentros en tensión (por salir 2019).
- El ideario de Benjamín Carrión (1992)
- Benjamín Carrión: el pensamiento fundamental (2007)