Allison Bigelow

Allison Bigelow is an Associate Professor in the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese at the University of Virginia. She holds a PhD in English & Comparative Literature from UNC (2012), an MA from UNC (2007), and dual BAs in Spanish and English from UMD (2003).

• PhD, English & Comparative Literature (UNC 2012)
• MA, English & Comparative Literature (UNC 2007)
• BA, Spanish Language and Literature (UMD 2003)
• BA, English Language and Literature (UMD 2003)

Her research focuses on colonial science and technology, particularly vernacular sciences like agriculture and mining. She applies literary methods to interdisciplinary texts—scientific treatises, legal papers, visual media—to uncover contributions of marginalized groups: women, Indigenous peoples, and Afro-descendant artisans. Key projects include Mining Language: Racial Thinking, Indigenous Knowledge, and Colonial Metallurgy in the Early Modern Iberian World (2020) and Women of Corn, Men of Corn: The Meanings of Maize Agriculture in the Early Americas. She teaches courses on colonial Latin America, Indigenous literatures, and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.

Recent publications analyze transatlantic Quechuañol translations, gendered agricultural practices, and colonial legal languages in mining contexts. She coordinates UVA’s Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship in Indigenous Studies, advancing cross-disciplinary advocacy initiatives.