Jane Lavery

Dr. Jane Lavery is an Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Southampton, part of the Modern Languages and Linguistics school. She holds a BA in French and Spanish from the University of Cambridge (1993-1997) and a PhD in Hispanic Studies from the University of Swansea (1997-2002). Previously, she was a Latin American Studies Lecturer and Head of Section at the University of Kent (2003-2006). Her research focuses on Mexican Day of the Dead, Latin American multimedia artists, feminist theory, and cultural hybridization. She has authored/co-edited books on Mexican women writers and is currently leading projects on Day of the Dead in pandemic contexts and Latin American multimedia artists. She has secured funding from the British Academy, PER Unit, and collaborates with institutions like University College Cork and the Mexican Embassy.

Her research has been featured in outlets like Bulletin of Spanish Visual Studies and Journal of Iberian and Latin American Studies. Media coverage includes BBC interviews and features in Mexico’s El Universal. She leads community outreach initiatives, including school enrichment programs and Day of the Dead workshops involving over 3,350 participants. She supervises PhD students and teaches undergraduate courses in Hispanic and Latin American cultural studies, integrating her research into pedagogy.

Key collaborations include work with Dr. Sarah Bowskill (Queen’s University Belfast) on multimedia artists and Prof. Nuala Finnegan (University College Cork) on diaspora practices. Her upcoming projects include a documentary on Day of the Dead in the UK/Ireland diaspora during the pandemic, co-produced with award-winning filmmakers Tom Price and Stephanie Beeston.