VI Humanities Book Fair 2024. A Space for Knowledge and Reflection

UNAM’s Institute of Philological Research (IIFL) hosted the VI Humanities Book Fair from October 7 to 11, 2024. This event has become an annual tradition which brings publishers, authors, students, and curious guests together in a series of activities focused on the dissemination of new publications, by the institute itself and by other academic entities, focusing on humanities, literature, and social science topics.

This fair provided an opportunity for gathering general public with knowledge lovers. The hallways were full of people exploring new publications; and the best were the special discounts for students and the general public so that no one left empty-handed.

Exploring Concepts and Critical Thinking
On the first day, Monday 7^th, the collection “Aproximación a la Patrística” (Approach to Patristic Studies), consisting in eight books, was presented. During this activity, conducted by María Alejandra Valdés García, the texts of the Church Fathers, as key figures in the development of Christian theology, were discussed from a historical perspective also addressing their relevance for modern thought.

The book Descolonizar la dialéctica (Decolonizing Dialectics), by Geo Maher (Mexico: Akal/Inter Pares, 2024), was a very interesting option for those interested in questioning power and its structures, as well as an option to think critically about colonialism and hegemony.

Literary and cultural experiments
On the second day, Tuesday 8^th, a digital facsimile edition of the Diccionario de Escritores Mexicanos, 1967 (Dictionary of Mexican Writers, 1967) was presented. Pilar Mandujano, María Esther Guzmán Gutiérrez, and Sergio Reyes Coria demonstrated the importance of these records and the place they occupy in the general literary panorama of the 20^th century in Mexico.

On Wednesday, literature and history are connected in the presentation of La llave del imperio (The Key of the Empire) by Carlos Conover Blancas. It was like a time-travel back into the 18^th century, in San Felipe Bacalar, an important piece in the European powers’ struggle for controlling the Caribbean. Here we had the chance to approach new windows to the past that made us think about how local stories also shape the great historical narrative.

The presentation of Cuando los pájaros cantan. Narraciones yucatecas y lacandonas (When Birds Sing. Tales from Yucatan and Lacandonia) was a highlight of the last day of the fair, Friday 11^th. It is a compilation of ancestral tales from the Southeastern region of Mexico, with Lacandon and Yucatecan stories. The publication was coordinated by Francisca Zalaquett, Alice Balsanelli, Rodrigo Petatillo Chan, and Fernando González García, to show the cultural diversity in Mexico and the richness of oral traditions. As a closure, this event led many of us to reflect on the value of indigenous languages and cultures.

The VI Humanities Book Fair 2024 was not only a place for sales and discounts, but a meeting point where everyone could debate, learn, and, above all, share the love of knowledge: students, professors, researchers, and curious. The participating publishers brought a great diversity of titles, from History and Philosophy classics to new publications on the most urgent problems our society faces.

It was an experience flooded with ideas and books proving lively lessons, and demonstrating once again that humanities continue to be an essential pillar for understanding the world we live in. The fair concluded by saying goodbye to visitors with new readings, ideas, and questions that will surely continue to grow.

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