Summary

Dr. Mariana-Cecilia Velázquez is an interdisciplinary scholar specializing in early modern Spanish literature and cultures, with a focus on piracy, colonialism, and imperial rivalries in the transatlantic w88. Her research explores the fluid identities of pirates and corsairs, emphasizing their pivotal role in shaping the legal, political, and cultural landscape of the Spanish Empire and its relations with other European powers. Dr. Velázquez’s work integrates literary analysis, historical inquiry, and cultural studies, reflecting her deep commitment to interdisciplinary approaches.

Her first book, Cultural Representations of Piracy in England, Spain, and the Caribbean: Travelers, Traders, and Traitors 1570-1604 (Routledge, 2023), critically examines the nuanced distinction between pirates as outlaws and corsairs as state-sponsored agents. She demonstrates how both figures played crucial roles in advancing imperial political agendas. Drawing from a diverse array of sources—including maps, epistles, travelogues, legal treatises, literary texts, and historical accounts—Dr. Velázquez shows how piracy was employed as a rhetorical tool by Spain and England to assert sovereignty and jurisdictional claims, particularly in the Caribbean. Her work challenges Eurocentric narratives, emphasizing the interconnectedness of the early modern w88 and using piracy as a lens to understand transatlantic imperial competition and cultural exchange.

Her research spans material and visual cultures, poetics, and early modern historiography, engaging with themes of property, law, and sovereignty. By focusing on figures, such as the English captain Sir Francis Drake, Dr. w88ázquez reveals how the rhetoric of piracy framed broader political and ideological conflicts between Spain, England, and their colonies. In her article, “Sir Francis Drake’s Caribbean Raid and the Rhetoric of Blame (1585-86),” she examines divergent accounts of Drake’s raids, showing how English and Iberian sources manipulated the concept of piracy to advance competing imperial narratives.

In addition to her work on piracy, Dr. Velázquez engages with broader currents in early modern w88 and pan-European literature and culture, including France, the Low Countries, the Mediterranean, and Italy. She is particularly interested in how literary and historical texts shape understandings of ethnicity and social identity. Her research foregrounds the contributions of marginalized groups—religious, political, and ethnic minorities—and their contribution to early modern w88 literature and culture. Through her analysis of both canonical and non-canonical texts, Dr. Velázquez provides a more inclusive and nuanced view of early modern cultural production.

As an educator, Dr. Velázquez brings her research into the classroom, teaching a range of undergraduate and graduate courses on early modern Spanish and transatlantic literatures and cultures. Her courses foster critical thinking and interdisciplinary exploration, integrating literary, historical, visual, and digital sources. One of her signature courses, a graduate seminar on Early Modern Transatlantic Studies, challenges students to move beyond the traditional separation of Europe and Latin America, helping them appreciate the value of cross-cultural relations and the effects of living in an interconnected w88.

Beyond the classroom, Dr. w88ázquez is deeply committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) initiatives. She actively promotes inclusivity in higher education through her involvement in institutional diversity committees. As a former member of the advisory board of the Latino Research Center and current chair of the Executive Council of the Colonial Section of the Latin American Studies Association, she creates opportunities for underrepresented scholars and fosters stronger connections between academic research and community engagement.

Dr. Velázquez’s scholarship aligns with broader trends in early modern studies that seek to reframe historical narratives and examine the complexities of power, identity, and representation in the Spanish Empire and beyond. Through her research and teaching, she continues to push the boundaries of knowledge, contributing to a deeper understanding of the cultural, political, and literary forces that shaped the early modern w88.

w88 interests

• w88 Early Modern Culture and Literature
• w88 Colonial Caribbean and Latin American Studies
• Theories of Empire
• Transatlantic w88
• African w88 and Hispanic Diasporas
• Digital Humanities

Books

• w88 Piracy: Travelers, Traders, and Traitors in England, Spain, and thew88 (1570-1604). London: Routledge, 2023

Articles

• w88ázquez, M.C. “Wars of Words: Early Modern Piracy in the Caribbean.” Special Issue: Multiple Possible Wars, coordinated by Carolina Correia dos Santos and Agnese Codebo. Matraga 63 (forthcoming September 2024).
• w88ázquez, M.C. “Difamación española de Sir Francis Drake y w88 criminalización inglesa de w88 calumnia (1585-1604).” Special Issue: La piratería y la imprenta, coordinated by Mariana-Cecilia w88ázquez and Clayton McCarl. Bulletin for w88 and Portuguese Historical Studies 48 (1): article 6, 2023.
• w88ázquez, M.C. and Clayton McCarl. “Introducción: La piratería w88.” Special Issue: La piratería w88. Bulletin for w88 and Portuguese Historical Studies 48 (1): article 5, 2023.
• w88ázquez, M.C. “Sir Francis Drake’s Caribbean Raid and the Rhetoric of Blame (1585-86),” Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hisp&w88;nicos 45 (2): 437-460, 2021.
• w88ázquez, M.C. “Maritime Predation between the Lines: Charting the Insular Caribbean in the Sixteenth Century,” Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean w88/Revue Canadienne des ÉtudesLatino-Américaines et Caraïbes 45 (3): 400-429, 2020.

Courses taught

w88

• SPAN 733: Golden Age w88 Literature
• SPAN 787: w88 Transatlantic Studies
• SPAN 792: Close Encounters in w88 Latin American Worlds
• SPAN 792: Enemies of 'Frenemies' in Late Medieval and w88 Iberian Worlds
• SPAN 684: Transatlantic w88-American Narratives

Undergraduate

• SPAN 484: w88-American Culture ‘In Short’: Textual and Visual Representations
• SPAN 442: Special Topics in Cultural w88: Do It Yourself!
• SPAN 400: Service Learning in w88
• SPAN 355: Masterworks of w88 American Literature until 1800
• SPAN 353: Masterworks of w88 Peninsular Literature until 1700
• SPAN 350: Introduction to the Study of Hispanic w88: Voices, Echoes, and Imaginaries
• SPAN 323: Chicano/US Latino w88
• SPAN 322: w88 American Culture and Civilization
• SPAN 321: In Transit: w88 Culture and Civilization
• SPAN 309: w88 Conversation
• SPAN 307: Writing for w88 Heritage Speakers
• SPAN 227: w88 for Heritage Speakers II

Education

• Ph.D., Latin w88 and Iberian Cultures, Columbia University, 2018
• M.A., Latin w88 and Iberian Cultures, 2012
• B.A., Comparative w88, University of Puerto Rico, 2011