Monica P Morales

Dr. Monica P. Morales is an Associate Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Arizona, affiliated with the College of Humanities and Latin American Studies. She holds a Ph.D. from Purdue University. Her research focuses on colonial Latin American cultural studies, examining systems of domination and critiques by colonized subjects from the 15th–17th centuries, alongside contemporary colonial power structures. She employs interdisciplinary approaches integrating colonial discourse, postcolonial theory, space studies, and visual/sound analysis.

Her work interrogates colonial texts such as Guamán Poma de Ayala’s chronicles and Sor Juana’s poetry, exploring themes like inebriation as metaphorical conflict between Western and Andean epistemologies. Current projects include a second book investigating colonial discourses of wellbeing through management relationships. She teaches courses on Spanish American literature, colonial history, and cultural studies.

Major publications include Reading Inebriation in Early Colonial Peru (2012/2017) and peer-reviewed articles analyzing indigenous narratives, gender dynamics, and transatlantic cultural exchanges. Her research highlights marginalized voices and the ongoing legacies of colonialism in Latin America.