Summary
Dr. Mariana-Cecilia Velázquez is an interdisciplinary scholar specializing in early modern Spanish literature and cultures, with a focus on piracy, colonialism, and imperial rivalries in the transatlantic world. Her research explores the fluid identities of pirates and corsairs, emphasizing their pivotal role in shaping the legal, political, and cultural landscape of the Spanish Empire and its relations with other European powers. Dr. Velázquez’s work integrates literary analysis, historical inquiry, and cultural studies, reflecting her deep commitment to interdisciplinary approaches.
Her first book, Cultural Representations of Piracy in England, Spain, and the Caribbean: Travelers, Traders, and Traitors 1570-1604 (Routledge, 2023), critically examines the nuanced distinction between pirates as outlaws and corsairs as state-sponsored agents. She demonstrates how both figures played crucial roles in advancing imperial political agendas. Drawing from a diverse array of sources—including maps, epistles, travelogues, legal treatises, literary texts, and historical accounts—Dr. Velázquez shows how piracy was employed as a rhetorical tool by Spain and England to assert sovereignty and jurisdictional claims, particularly in the Caribbean. Her work challenges Eurocentric narratives, emphasizing the interconnectedness of the early modern world and using piracy as a lens to understand transatlantic imperial competition and cultural exchange.
Her research spans material and visual cultures, poetics, and early modern historiography, engaging with themes of property, law, and sovereignty. By focusing on figures, such as the English captain Sir Francis Drake, Dr. Velázquez reveals how the rhetoric of piracy framed broader political and ideological conflicts between Spain, England, and their colonies. In her article, “Sir Francis Drake’s Caribbean Raid and the Rhetoric of Blame (1585-86),” she examines divergent accounts of Drake’s raids, showing how English and Iberian sources manipulated the concept of piracy to advance competing imperial narratives.
In addition to her work on piracy, Dr. Velázquez engages with broader currents in early modern Spanish and pan-European literature and culture, including France, the Low Countries, the Mediterranean, and Italy. She is particularly interested in how literary and historical texts shape understandings of ethnicity and social identity. Her research foregrounds the contributions of marginalized groups—religious, political, and ethnic minorities—and their contribution to early modern Spanish literature and culture. Through her analysis of both canonical and non-canonical texts, Dr. Velázquez provides a more inclusive and nuanced view of early modern cultural production.
As an educator, Dr. Velázquez brings her research into the classroom, teaching a range of undergraduate and graduate courses on early modern Spanish and transatlantic literatures and cultures. Her courses foster critical thinking and interdisciplinary exploration, integrating literary, historical, visual, and digital sources. One of her signature courses, a graduate seminar on Early Modern Transatlantic Studies, challenges students to move beyond the traditional separation of Europe and Latin America, helping them appreciate the value of cross-cultural relations and the effects of living in an interconnected world.
Beyond the classroom, Dr. Velázquez is deeply committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) initiatives. She actively promotes inclusivity in higher education through her involvement in institutional diversity committees. As a former member of the advisory board of the Latino Research Center and current chair of the Executive Council of the Colonial Section of the Latin American Studies Association, she creates opportunities for underrepresented scholars and fosters stronger connections between academic research and community engagement.
Dr. Velázquez’s scholarship aligns with broader trends in early modern studies that seek to reframe historical narratives and examine the complexities of power, identity, and representation in the Spanish Empire and beyond. Through her research and teaching, she continues to push the boundaries of knowledge, contributing to a deeper understanding of the cultural, political, and literary forces that shaped the early modern world.
Research interests
- Spanish Early Modern Culture and Literature
- Spanish Colonial Caribbean and Latin American Studies
- Theories of Empire
- Transatlantic Studies
- African American and Hispanic Diasporas
- Digital Humanities
Books
- (1570-1604). London: Routledge, 2023
Articles
- Velázquez, M.C. “Wars of Words: Early Modern Piracy in the Caribbean.” Special Issue: Multiple Possible Wars, coordinated by Carolina Correia dos Santos and Agnese Codebo. Matraga 63 (forthcoming September 2024).
- Velázquez, M.C. Special Issue: La piratería y la imprenta, coordinated by Mariana-Cecilia Velázquez and Clayton McCarl. Bulletin for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies 48 (1): article 6, 2023.
- Velázquez, M.C. and Clayton McCarl. Special Issue: La piratería y la imprenta. Bulletin for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies 48 (1): article 5, 2023.
- Velázquez, M.C. “Sir Francis Drake’s Caribbean Raid and the Rhetoric of Blame (1585-86),” Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispánicos 45 (2): 437-460, 2021.
- Velázquez, M.C. “Maritime Predation between the Lines: Charting the Insular Caribbean in the Sixteenth Century,” Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies/Revue Canadienne des ÉtudesLatino-Américaines et Caraïbes 45 (3): 400-429, 2020.
Courses taught
Graduate
- SPAN 733: Golden Age Spanish Literature
- SPAN 787: Early Modern Transatlantic Studies
- SPAN 792: Close Encounters in Early Modern Latin American Worlds
- SPAN 792: Enemies of 'Frenemies' in Late Medieval and Early Modern Iberian Worlds
- SPAN 684: Transatlantic Spanish-American Narratives
Undergraduate
- SPAN 484: Spanish-American Culture ‘In Short’: Textual and Visual Representations
- SPAN 442: Special Topics in Cultural Studies: Do It Yourself!
- SPAN 400: Service Learning in Spanish
- SPAN 355: Masterworks of Spanish American Literature until 1800
- SPAN 353: Masterworks of Spanish Peninsular Literature until 1700
- SPAN 350: Introduction to the Study of Hispanic Literature: Voices, Echoes, and Imaginaries
- SPAN 323: Chicano/US Latino Culture
- SPAN 322: Spanish American Culture and Civilization
- SPAN 321: In Transit: Spanish Culture and Civilization
- SPAN 309: Spanish Conversation
- SPAN 307: Writing for Spanish Heritage Speakers
- SPAN 227: Spanish for Heritage Speakers II
Education
- Ph.D., Latin American and Iberian Cultures, Columbia University, 2018
- M.A., Latin American and Iberian Cultures, 2012
- B.A., Comparative Literature, University of Puerto Rico, 2011