Catherine Boyle

Professor Catherine Boyle is a distinguished academic in Latin American Cultural Studies at King's College London, holding the position of Professor of Latin American Cultural Studies and Head of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures since 2022. She earned her PhD in Latin American Studies from the University of Liverpool (1986) and has held academic roles at Strathclyde and King's since 1990. Her research focuses on cultural expressions in socio-historic contexts, particularly Chilean theatre, translation studies, and performance. Boyle is the Principal Investigator of the Out of the Wings project (since 2008), exploring theatre translation and performance. She directs the Centre for Language Acts and Worldmaking under the Global Cultures Institute, emphasizing multilingualism and cultural competency. Boyle has published extensively on topics like pandemic narratives, cultural transmission, and feminist translation. Awards include the Supervisory Excellence Award (2008) and Excellence in Innovation & Impact (2012). Her work bridges academic and creative realms, collaborating with institutions like the Royal Shakespeare Company and leading initiatives such as the Worldmaking in the Time of Covid-19 project.

• Education:
  • Bachelor of Arts in Modern Foreign Languages, University of Strathclyde (1982)
  • MA and PhD in Latin American Studies, University of Liverpool (1983–1986)

Research interests include Chilean theatre under dictatorship, translation methodologies, gender studies, and multilingualism. She supervises doctoral students on topics such as Latin American theatre translation and cultural history. Boyle’s recent work explores pandemic narratives and the role of language in shaping global perspectives.

Publications include Multilingual Narratives of a Pandemic: Covid 19 and Worldmaking (2023) and Language Acts and Worldmaking (2022). She leads grants like the AHRC-funded Language Acts and Worldmaking initiative. Boyle is active in public engagement through festivals like the Being Human Festival and collaborates on cultural competency modules.

• Awards:
  • Excellence in Innovation & Impact Award (2012)
  • Supervisory Excellence Award (2008)

Her academic leadership includes roles as Department Head and President of the Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland (2020–2024). Boyle’s work emphasizes the intersection of cultural transmission, performance, and multilingual advocacy.