Natalia Castro Picón joins the department as an assistant professor. She specializes in modern peninsular/Spanish culture. Her main fields of study are modern and contemporary Iberian literature and culture as well as transatlantic Iberian relations in the neoliberal context. She combines in her research and classes tools and methods from Cultural Studies with a Glottopolitical perspective, which focuses on the political condition of language and discourse. Read more on her bio page.

Andrés Barba joins the department as a Spanish lecturer. He is the author of notable works including La hermana de Katia (finalist of the Herralde prize and adapted to the big screen by Mijke de Jong), La recta intención, and Ha dejado de llover (Nord-Sud prize). Barba is also recognized by the prestigious magazine Granta as one of the best young Spanish-language novelists. Read more on his bio page.