Laura Leon Llerena

Dr. Laura Leon Llerena is an Associate Professor in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures at Durham University, and a Member of the Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. Her research focuses on the circulation of knowledge produced by Indigenous peoples in America and Europe during the 16th to 18th centuries, with a particular emphasis on translation, colonization of indigenous languages, and the intersection of material culture with religious and social identities. Methodologically, her work bridges literary studies, history, Indigenous studies, and anthropology. She teaches colonial, postcolonial, and decolonial analysis of Latin American cultural production across undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Her 2023 monograph, Reading the Illegible: Indigenous Writing and the Limits of Colonial Hegemony in the Andes, introduces the concept of 'legibility' to analyze how Indigenous Andeans and colonizers negotiated power through alphabetic writing and Indigenous media in colonial Peru (1532–1648). Recent publications include book reviews on early modern chronicles and interdisciplinary studies of cross-cultural scientific translation.

• Research Interests: Colonial Latin American Literature, Ethnography of Writing, Indigenous Studies, Religion and Culture
• Key Projects: Analysis of the Huarochirí Manuscript, study of Indigenous authorship in the Andes, and exploration of colonial power dynamics through textual practices

Dr. Llerena is currently on Research Leave for the 2023/24 academic year.