Wright State faculty member Damaris Serrano wins Panamanian literary award

Damaris Serrano, professor of Spanish, received the prestigious Pedro Correa Vázquez Literary Criticism Essay Award from Panama’s Ministry of Culture for her book “Voices in Global Times.”

Damaris Serrano, professor of Spanish at Wright State University, was recently honored by her native Panama for her scholarly contributions to literary criticism.

She received the prestigious 2025 Pedro Correa Vázquez Literary Criticism Essay Award for her book “Voices in Global Times.”

Presented by Panama’s Ministry of Culture, the Pedro Correa Vásquez Literary Prize annually recognizes excellence in literary criticism and other literary categories. It honors the legacy of Pedro Correa Vázquez, a prize-winning poet, researcher and educator.

Serrano’s book was selected by a jury of international scholars, who praised the work for its maturity in criticism and essay writing and its original contributions to Latin American, Panamanian and global literary studies. The jury said the book offers a holistic vision of literature as a tool for reflection, creativity and cultural analysis.

“Voices in Global Times,” or “Voces en los tiempos globales,” examines Latin American literature through a global framework, with Panama as a central point of reference. The book highlights how writers use literature to challenge power structures, assert cultural identity and respond to social change, with particular attention to the work of women writers and marginalized voices.

“Panamanian literature spreads culture due to its strategic position and the multiculturalism of its writers and artists,” Serrano said. “Panamanian writers have left an exceptional literary legacy and are closely linked to the literature of the Central, the Caribbean and the Latin American regions.”

The award recognizes Serrano’s scholarly contributions and underscores Wright State’s commitment to global research and humanities scholarship.

Serrano is widely recognized in her native Panama for her scholarship and writing. She has received the country’s highest literary honor — the Ricardo Miró Award — four times in the literary essay category, most recently in 2023, and has twice earned honorable mention in the sociological essay category.

Serrano is a professor in Wright State’s College of Liberal Arts whose research focuses on Latin American literature, literary criticism and cultural studies.

As a lecturer and researcher in Hispanic cultural studies in Latin America and the Caribbean, Serrano prides herself on being a teacher who wants to share Latin American culture with her students.

She received her Ph.D. in Hispanic cultural studies and her master’s degree in comparative literature from Michigan State University and her bachelor’s degree in humanities, with a specialization in Spanish, from the University of Panama.