Pascale Baker

Pascale Baker is a Lecturer/Assistant Professor in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at University College Dublin (UCD), where she teaches Latin American Studies, literature, and language modules. Her academic work bridges literary analysis, cultural studies, and gender theory, with a focus on Latin America. She has held leadership roles including Head of Spanish and Portuguese and Head of Portuguese at UCD, and is an active member of academic committees such as the Academic Council and EDI School Committee.

• BA, University of Kent at Canterbury
• MA, University of Sheffield
• PhD, University of Sheffield
• Certification in CPD University Teaching & Learning, UCD
• Edinburgh Teaching Award and Associate Fellowship, Higher Education Academy

Her research centers on the cultural representation of banditry, revolution, and outlaw figures in Latin America, particularly the transformation of bandits into Robin Hood-like symbols of resistance. Expanding into gender studies, she investigates female bandits, narco-queenpins, and the portrayal of women in crime and revolutionary narratives. Her 2015 monograph Revolutionaries, Rebels and Robbers is a key contribution to the field, and she continues to publish on topics such as female assassins in Colombia, motherhood in narco-culture, and the witnessing of feminicide in Mexico.

The recent publications reflect a strong trend in gendered narratives of crime and resistance, analyzing figures like Rosario Tijeras and Teresa Mendoza, and genres such as chica lit and narco novels. Her work spans scholarly journals, edited volumes, public intellectual outlets like The Conversation, and contributions to authoritative references such as The Literary Encyclopedia. She frequently engages in public scholarship through radio interviews, film festivals, and public lectures.

• Aurora Leadership and Development Programme
• Edinburgh Teaching Award
• Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy
• Honorary Fellow in Hispanic Studies, University of Sheffield (2016–2019)

Pascale Baker actively supervises MA and PhD students in Latin American literature and culture and has secured research grants from UCD and the Leicester Institute for Advanced Studies for projects on gender, citizenship, and witnessing during the pandemic. She is deeply involved in professional service, including peer review, conference organization (such as the Hispanists Conference), and public engagement events like the Argentine and Cuban film festivals. She leads research initiatives connecting Latin American studies with global themes of power, gender, and cultural memory.

She is affiliated with research networks including WISPS (Women in Spanish and Portuguese Studies), the Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Latin American Literature Society Association, and continues to develop her next book project on female outlaws in Latin America from the 1970s to the present.