Gabriela Polit

Gabriela Polit is an Associate Professor at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese within the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. She has been teaching at UT since 2008, after previously teaching at the State University of New York from 2002.

Her educational background includes:

• Ph.D. from New York University
• M.A. in Political Science from The New School for Social Research (1996)
• Licenciatura (B.A.) in Philosophy from the Universidad Católica del Ecuador – Quito

Polit's research focuses on contemporary women's literary and film production, with particular interest in how fantasy, drive, and grief operate in artistic creation. Her work extensively explores the representation of narcotrafficking and social suffering in fiction and non-fiction works, as well as the relationship between journalism, conflict, and representation in Latin America. She analyzes how writers use literary forms to process trauma and social conflict while examining ethical dimensions of storytelling in violent contexts.

Her publication portfolio demonstrates a consistent focus on Latin American literary representation, with particular attention to power dynamics, gender, and social conflict. Her most recent works examine journalistic practices in conflict zones and creative writing in Spanish, showing her dual commitment to scholarly analysis and creative expression.

Polit is actively involved in academic initiatives, having created a Minor in Creative Writing in Spanish that launched in Fall 2022. She coordinates the Spanish Creative Writing Initiative, which is housed at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS).

She has mentored students who published "Contar historias. Escritura creativa en el aula" (Tower Books - UT Press, 2023), a collection of student creative work, demonstrating her commitment to developing the next generation of Spanish-language writers.

Polit teaches various courses including:

• UGS 302: The Magic Of The Real
• SPN 379C: Capstone Seminar In Lit & Cul
• SPC 320C: Spanish Storytelling
• ILA 387: Latin America Is A Woman
• SPN 377C: Journalism/Human Rights Am Lat