Monday, November 3, 2025
4 PM
IMRC Center, room 104
University of Maine, Orono, ME
In this talk, Nora Benedict examines McGraw-Hill’s strategic expansion into the Latin American publishing market during the mid-twentieth century, focusing on its translation and distribution of technical and scientific books. Framed by U.S. cultural diplomacy efforts following World War II, including government-sponsored programs such as the Book Translation Program and support from the Department of State and Science Service, McGraw-Hill leveraged public funds and international goodwill to distribute educational materials throughout Latin America. In an effort to highlight these initiatives, Benedict traces the firm’s first joint venture with Argentina’s Arbó Editores as a pioneering model of collaborative transnational publishing. Benedict also considers the role of Walter Bara, McGraw-Hill’s foreign rights director, in orchestrating this endeavor and expanding the firm’s reach across the region. Ultimately, Benedict reveals how McGraw-Hill’s “experiment in publishing” not only responded to regional demand for technical knowledge, but also illustrates the intersection of private enterprise, public diplomacy, and knowledge exchange during the Cold War.
Nora Benedict is Associate Professor of Spanish at the University of Georgia. Benedict is the author of Borges and the Literary Marketplace (Yale University Press, 2021) and co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Jorge Luis Borges.
This event is part of the McGillicuddy Humanities Center 2025-2026 Annual Symposium Hard Copy: The Material Culture of Reading and Writing.
For more information, contact mhc@maine.edu.