RESEARCH INTERESTS
My research interests revolve around the study of medieval and early modern Iberian hagiographical productions – including hagiography-related material artifacts, such as relics, devotional practices, sculptures and paintings – in their role as ideological tools used by hegemonic powers to support particular geopolitical agendas. I am particularly attentive to the power relationships between royal patrons and artists, the potential economic profits and geopolitical gains, and the discursive mechanisms employed by hagiographers and artists to manipulate the lives of the saints according to the needs of the sponsoring powers. |
In addition to the lives of saints, I find medieval female religiosity and monasticism as well as the cult of St. James in Europe especially fascinating. I am also very interested in the narratives of the Spanish Conquest and Colonization of the New World, with particular attention to the foundational narratives and the mechanisms used in altering and rewriting the past.