Helena Buffery

Professor Helena Buffery is a Professor in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies in the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures. She completed her undergraduate degree in English and Modern Languages at Balliol College, Oxford (1991) and undertook her PhD in Hispanic Studies at the University of Birmingham (1997), where she worked until 2010.

Professor Buffery is the current Head of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies (2024-2027) in University College Cork, and previously held the role of Vice Head (Research) of the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences between 2016 and 2023. She co-convenes the Translation and Creative Practice cluster in the Centre for Advanced Studies in Languages and Cultures (CASILAC) and has recently been appointed Chair of the Academic Council Research and Innovation Committee.

Professor Buffery’s main research interests span Translation Studies, Hispanic Theatre and Performance Cultures and Iberian Studies (with a specialist focus on Catalan literature and culture). A key characteristic of her work is her capacity to rove across disciplinary boundaries: combining rigorous archival work with theoretical reflection, critical analysis and creative practice. She has combined scholarship with translation work, cultural criticism with pedagogical reflection, cultural history with cross-disciplinary collaboration with creative practitioners.

Among her research achievements, Professor Buffery has authored, co-authored or (co)edited 14 books and extended special issues of journals, many of which are held in national and university libraries across the world. These include Stages of exile [2011], which emerged from an AHRC-funded major research grant (2008-2010); Historical Dictionary of the Catalans [2012]; Modern Literatures in Spain [2022], with Jo Labanyi and Elena Delgado; Barcelona: Visual Culture, Space and Power [2012], with Carlota Caulfield; Reading Iberia: Theory, History Identity [2007] with Stuart Davis and Kirsty Hooper; Shakespeare in Catalan [2007]; The Book of Deeds of James I of Aragon [2003, 2010] with Damien J. Smith; Here and Beyond: Narratives of Travel and Mobility in Iberian Culture [2022], with Martín Veiga and others. Recognition of their importance has led to subsequent print and electronic editions, and translation into other languages. They have been used by students and researchers as the basis for further scholarship and have led to invitations to contribute to numerous international peer-reviewed publications and projects.

In the course of her career, Professor Buffery has designed, delivered and/or coordinated high-level courses and programmes within and across the boundaries of Hispanism: including Spanish and Catalan language courses; translation theory and practice; early modern, 19^th century and contemporary Spanish and Latin American literature and culture; film and visual culture; theatre and performance studies; comparative literature, cultural theory and cultural studies.

Professor Buffery currently contributes to the following modules: HS1030 Introduction to Spanish and Latin American Studies; HS2013 Iberian Identities; LL2108 Crossing Borders; HS3004 Translating Business, Culture and Society in the Hispanic World; HS3010 Stages of Exile; LL3002 Travel Writing; HS5020 Iberian Identities: Texts and Contexts; LL6018 Contemporary Translation Theory and Practice; LL6035 Translation Project.