Monica-Ramon Rios

Mónica-Ramón Ríos is a bilingual writer and scholar from Chile. They hold a Ph.D. in Spanish and Cinema Studies and an M.A. in Literary Theory. Ríos is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Humanities and Media Studies at Pratt Institute, where they teach courses in creative writing, film theory, and gender and sexuality studies. They previously served as faculty in the Department of Social Sciences and Cultural Studies.

Ríos is the author of seven books, including the essay Látigo versus luma (2022), the short story collection Autos que se queman (2022; Cars on Fire, 2020), and the novels Alias el Rucio (2015; English translation forthcoming) and Segundos (2010). Their writing has been published across the Americas in venues such as Hyperallergic, LitHub, Palabra Pública, Granta en español, and La Tempestad. Their creative work explores questions of displacement, identity, memory, and survival through experimental and speculative narrative forms.

Their scholarly research focuses on film history, archival studies, and Latin American cinema, with particular attention to how marginalized filmmakers have used aesthetic practices and emerging technologies to build networks of collaboration and cultural exchange. Their forthcoming book, The Spectral Archive, examines early Chilean women filmmakers and reconstructs the production and circulation of now-lost films through interdisciplinary archival methodologies. Engaging film history, literary analysis, and cultural theory, the project develops innovative approaches to archival research and historical interpretation. This work builds on Ríos’s doctoral research and ongoing collaboration with feminist scholars in Chile.

Ríos’s academic publications also address trans and queer film studies, migrant cinemas, and contemporary media practices. Their research has been presented internationally and supported by competitive fellowships and grants, including awards from the Mellon Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, and Chile’s national research agencies.

Alongside their scholarly work, Ríos maintains an active creative practice. They are currently developing Máquina Espía (Spy Machine), a multimedia novel that integrates literary fiction, performance, and digital media to explore authorship, surveillance, and narrative form. They are also writing their first novel in English, Journey to the Land of Men, which reimagines migration from Latin America through an epic narrative framework.

Ríos has extensive experience as an editor, organizer, and mentor. They co-founded Sangría Editora, an independent publishing collective active from 2008 to 2023, and have organized literary events and cross-cultural exchanges connecting Latin American and U.S. writers. Their work includes co-hosting The Letter, a podcast focused on Latin American and Latine cultural production in the United States.

Ríos’s teaching emphasizes writing, research, intermediality, and critical analysis within interdisciplinary and creative contexts.

They are listed in the Pratt course catalog as Monica Rios Vasquez.