Raquel Vega-Durán

Raquel Vega-Durán is the Faculty Chair of Ethnicity, Migration & Rights and Senior Lecturer in Peninsular and Transatlantic Film and Literature at Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. She previously held an Associate Professor position at Claremont McKenna College. Her research focuses on migration, transnational cultural dynamics, and the intersections of art and literature in shaping identity narratives.

Education:

• B.A. in British and American Studies, Universidad de Sevilla (Spain)
• Certificate in Film Studies, University of Michigan
• Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures, University of Michigan

Research interests span migration and border studies, transatlantic cultural history, gender studies, and digital humanities. Her 2016 monograph Emigrant Dreams, Immigrant Borders redefined Spain's cultural self-perception through migrant narratives, analyzed via films, literature, and visual arts. Current projects include Vanishing Europe, an interdisciplinary study of depopulated villages with a digital companion.

Publications emphasize transnationalism, gendered border experiences, and Mediterranean crossings. Her recent work explores migrant narratives in documentary film and digital platforms, reflecting a commitment to visual and textual interplay.

Teaching focuses on migration in film, contemporary Spanish culture, and Spanish cinema history. Courses in 2025-2026 include Migration and Border-Crossing in Film and Spanish Film from Buñuel to Almodóvar.