María Lois

María Lois is a Lecturer in the Department of History, Theories and Political Geography at the Complutense University of Madrid, Faculty of Political Sciences and Sociology. She is a member of the 'Space and Power' Research Group and 'Polarts (The Politics and the Arts)', a Standing Research Group within the ECPR. María serves as board member of the Research Committee 15 (Political and Cultural Geography) of the International Political Science Association and co-editor of the journal Geopolítica(s).

Her research focuses on Political and Cultural Geography, with particular emphasis on border studies, cultural governance, and the heritageization of European borders. She explores geographies of nationalism, spatial interpretations of artistic processes, and geopolitics of globalization, with specialized expertise in literary geographies and cultural dimensions of border regions, particularly the Spanish-Portuguese border. Her work demonstrates how borders transform rather than disappear, examining cross-border cooperation projects that create new spatial configurations while maintaining elements of national security frameworks.

María Lois's scholarly contributions reveal consistent focus on spatial arrangements reflecting power relations. Her analysis of border heritage through multiple scales shows parallel versions of the past serving different political purposes. Her research on the Spanish-Portuguese border examines how smuggling routes have been transformed into tourist experiences, re-signifying historical practices for contemporary cultural consumption. She has also made significant contributions to understanding the geopolitics of the COVID-19 pandemic, analyzing border closures as territorial solutions to exceptional situations.

Her teaching aligns closely with research interests, particularly in political geography. She has developed innovative approaches using film as a learning tool in political geography education, creating shared teaching resources among faculty members through her project 'APRENDIZAJE A TRAVÉS DEL CINE.'

María Lois is actively engaged with research teams focusing on border studies and cultural geography. Her work with the 'Space and Power' Research Group and 'Polarts' suggests collaborative environments where theoretical and empirical border studies are developed. Her participation in EU-funded cross-border cooperation projects indicates practical engagement with policy applications of her research.