TOUR LECTURERS
Ignacio Navarrete
Ignacio Navarrete is Professor Emeritus of Spanish and Portuguese. Cuban by birth, he grew up in New York City and has taught at Cal since 1987. His special field is medieval and early modern literature. He has published two books, one on the influence of (and resistance to) Petrarch as a model poet in Spanish Renaissance poetry and poetic theory, and one on early printed editions of medieval narratives in Spain, and why they are important to understanding Don Quixote and the early modern novel. His current project is on writing about everyday life, from Cervantes to the 20th century. He has published numerous articles and presented many lectures related to his research topics. He has lived for extended periods in Mexico, Spain, and France, and done research in several other countries as well, including of course Portugal.
During his time at Berkeley, Navarrete was very active in several multidisciplinary programs, including Romance Languages and Literatures, Medieval Studies, Renaissance and Early
Modern Studies, and European Studies. He chaired two departments (Spanish and Portuguese, and Italian Studies), as well as several committees of the Academic Senate. Of these, the most interesting was the committee that set undergraduate admissions policies for the entire campus.
Throughout his career, in his research and his teaching, he has made it a point to balance inward-facing, academic research with outward-facing presentations on humanistic topics to general
audiences. These included a course on “Baseball Spanish” and most recently, a lecture on Cervantes to the audience of the San Francisco Ballet’s production of Don Quixote. Cervantes’s novel is his favorite book: He has taught it nearly 20 times and he made sure it would be the topic of his last undergraduate course.
Ignacio is married to Hester Bradbury. They have two grown sons, who live in Los Angeles and in Oakland, and two grandchildren.
Stay Connected to Berkeley for Life
Local or global, far or wide—wherever you roam, keep a piece of Berkeley with you.
Travel Resources
Our Tour Lecturers
Meet the enrichment lecturers who accompany many of our tours and offer fascinating educational details to take your vacation to the next level.
Contact Us
Our Partners
