Nicole T. Hughes

Nicole T. Hughes is an Assistant Professor of Iberian and Latin American Cultures at Stanford University, specializing in the early modern world with a focus on New Spain and Brazil. She teaches courses on colonial literature, visual culture, and power dynamics.

• Ph.D., Columbia University
• Nahuatl Language and Culture, IDIEZ
• M.A., New York University
• B.A., New York University

Her research integrates literary studies, historical anthropology, and theater history to examine foundational narratives of colonial Latin America. By analyzing chronicles, legal treatises, and material culture like feather mosaics and codices, she explores how theatrical spectacles shaped colonial power structures. Her work bridges Spanish, Portuguese, and Indigenous perspectives, emphasizing multilingual textual analysis.

Her recent publications highlight contested symbolic power in colonial festivities, Jesuit martyrdom narratives, and the interplay between Indigenous and missionary performances. These studies reveal how cultural practices reinforced or subverted colonial hierarchies.

• Renaissance Society of America William Nelson Prize honorable mention (2023)
• LatAm Studies Association Maureen Ahern Award finalist (2017-2020)

Nicole's grants include support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, John Carter Brown Library, and Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut. She directs Stanford's Renaissances working group and serves on the editorial board of Republics of Letters, while also leading the Director of Undergraduate Studies role for ILAC.