Mabel Moraña

Mabel Moraña is the William H. Gass Professor of Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, where she holds dual appointments in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures and the Latin American Studies Program. She earned her PhD from the University of Minnesota (1983) and has held academic leadership roles including Director of Latin American Studies and Chair of the Hispanic Languages and Literatures Department at the University of Pittsburgh (1996–2005). Her research spans colonial studies, cultural criticism, postcolonial theory, and gender studies, with a focus on Latin American literature from the Baroque era to contemporary narratives.

Education highlights include a PhD in Comparative Literature (1983), MA in Philosophy (1979), and teaching credentials from Uruguay. Her professional trajectory includes visiting professorships at Harvard, Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar (Quito), and Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá). She has directed over 13 doctoral dissertations, including award-winning works by Carlos Jáuregui (Casa de las Américas Prize, 2005).

Her research interests emphasize the intersections of coloniality, modernity, and violence in Latin America. Key publications include Crítica impura (2004), Arguedas/Vargas Llosa (2013), and Coloniality at Large (2008). She has curated major international conferences like South by Midwest and edited over 30 volumes on cultural theory, postcolonial debates, and gender studies.

Awarded prestigious fellowships from the Rockefeller Foundation and Ford/LASA, her work bridges academic rigor with public engagement, addressing contemporary issues like bio-politics, transnationalism, and social justice through literary and cultural analysis.