Ana María Díaz Burgos

Ana María Díaz Burgos is the Eric and Jane Nord Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies at Oberlin College, within the Department of Hispanic Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. She specializes in early-modern literary and cultural studies with a transatlantic focus, emphasizing gender and social history. Her research examines legal systems, institutional practices, and female subjectivities in Hispanic territories. In 2023, she received the Oberlin Excellence Award and co-curated the exhibition What’s in a Spell? at the Allen Memorial Art Museum’s Ripin Gallery. She has also served on the boards of the Asociación de Estudios de Género y Sexualidades (AEGS) and Grupo de Estudios sobre la Mujer en España y Las Américas (pre-1800) (GEMELA).

She holds a BA from the Universidad de Los Andes (2004), an MA (2009) and PhD (2011) from Emory University. Her work critically engages with Inquisition records and urban spaces to reconstruct women’s lived experiences in colonial contexts. Her monograph Tráfico de saberes (2020) received an Honorable Mention from the LASA Colombia Section’s Monserrat Ordóñez Award (2020-2023) and was reviewed in prominent journals. The book analyzes female agency in Cartagena de Indias’ first auto de fe, highlighting social networks and institutional adjustments in the Caribbean during the 17th century.

Her teaching spans early-modern literature, Inquisition studies, transatlantic women’s history, and Spanish language courses. Recent courses include Early-Modern Literature and Culture (HISP 317), Latin American Feminisms (HISP 360), and Advanced Conversation and Communication in Spanish (HISP 313). She actively collaborates on exhibitions and edited volumes, such as the 2022 dossier Yo llana estoy, which earned the GEMELA Collaborative Project Award (2024).

Her publications explore themes like sorcery, gender transgression, and the intersection of legal systems with colonial power. A notable trend in her work is the examination of marginalized female voices and their resistance within oppressive structures, often using archival materials to challenge traditional narratives of the Spanish Inquisition and colonial governance.