Researcher

Diana Arbaiza

Research Expertise:I specialize in modern Spanish literary and cultural studies (from the eighteenth century to contemporary cultural production). I particularly focus on postcolonial studies, and the interrelationship between literature, nationalism, and political economy. Applying this framework, I wrote "The Spirit of Hispanism," a book examining the cultural and commercial relationships between Spain and Latin America between 1875 and 1936. The goal of this book was to analyze a Spanish movement, Hispanism that tried to create a neocolonial relationship between Spain and its former colonies that still influences contemporary transatlantic exchanges. Following my interest examining how literature and culture shaped Spanish colonialism, I am currently studying the representations of Spain’s African colonies in the cultural production of the nineteenth and twentieth century. I was also trained in gender theory and I have published several articles about women writers in nineteenth century Spain. In these works I have explored the impact of modernity practices in gender roles, the entrance of women writers in the literary market and the participation of women writers in a transnational, European literary scene.

Keywords:SPANISH LITERATURE, Language and literature (incl. information, documentation, library and archive sciences)

Disciplines:Comparative literature studies, Literatures in Spanish, Postcolonial studies, Sociology of literary texts

Research techniques:I can perform this expertise in English and Spanish. I currently have a B2 level in Dutch and I am working to attain a C1.

Users of research expertise:My expertise is useful to the academic community in the field of Hispanic studies, postcolonial studies and New Economic criticism. It is also useful to the student community in Flanders who want to study Spanish and get familiar with Spanish and Latin American culture and history.