From Beaches to Bars: Library Author Talks Spark Big Conversations Across Campus
The University Library recently welcomed two faculty scholars whose books encourage students, faculty, and staff to think more deeply about culture, identity, and how we make meaning of the world around us.
Paradise Transformed
First up was Dr. William “Bill” Nichols, whose talk centered on his recent book The Paradox of Paradise: Creative Destruction and the Rise of Urban Coastal Tourism in Contemporary Spanish Culture. Nichols guided attendees through the evolution of beach towns like Benidorm and Torremolinos, revealing how these vacation hotspots were not just tourist destinations, but stages for cultural and economic reinvention. This talk highlighted how marketing to attract mass tourism reshaped Spain’s urban identity and what that transformation says about paradise itself.
A Message Behind the Music
A week later, the conversation shifted to music with an engaging presentation by Dr. Veronica Newton, co-author of The Sociology of Cardi B: A Trap Feminist Approach. Newton explored how Cardi B’s persona, music, and social commentary open doors for academic inquiry around race, gender, class, and power. A professor of Latin American studies brought an entire class to the event, noting how the talk offered glimpse into topics the students were exploring in their coursework.
University Library staff and faculty also attended both events. One staff member said she came to the Cardi B talk “just because I’m a fan,” but left with much more than entertainment:
“I didn’t expect to walk away rethinking what it means for artists like Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion to use their platforms the way they do. I’m now seeing them through a whole new lens and understand that it’s not about being “ratchet” for the sake of it. It’s really about expression and ideas about feminism, motherhood, race, and identity.”
By hosting events like these, the University Library continues to serve as a hub for curiosity and connection, where pop culture and philosophy, history and hip-hop, scholarship and storytelling can all live side by side. These author talks remind us that learning doesn’t only happen in the classroom, but all around campus.