Professor Lauren Rea
MBE, PhD, SFHEA
School of Languages and Cultures
Professor of Latin American Studies
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+44 114 222 0558
Full contact details
School of Languages and Cultures
Jessop West
1 Upper Hanover Street
91Ö±²¥
S3 7RA
- Profile
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Professor Lauren Rea studied Spanish and Portuguese as an undergraduate at King´s College London before completing an MPhil at the Centre of Latin American Studies, University of Cambridge. She was awarded her PhD from King’s College London in 2009. Lauren joined the School as a Lecturer in September 2008.
Lauren is the author of , published in 2013, and which is an Open Access ebook available to download from the White Rose University Press website. The Spanish-language adaptation is published in Argentina by Sudamericana/Penguin Random House as .
In 2016 Lauren was awarded an AHRC Leadership Fellowship for a research project entitled ‘. Linked to this project, Lauren co-authored and co-coordinated the illustrated children’s book 100 Grandes Mujeres Latinoamericanas [100 Great Latin American Women] as the flagship commemorative product for the centenary of Billiken magazine. Her book on the history of Billiken magazine is in press with White Rose University Press.
In 2020, Lauren was awarded follow-on funding to continue the partnership with Billiken under the UKRI GCRF Collective Fund. The , launched in November 2021, consists of audio-visual and digital educational resources with the aim of fostering greater gender equality amongst primary school children in Latin America. The open access digital educational platform hosts over 400 resources including downloadable classroom activities, reference material and .
Lauren is also Principal Investigator on the British Academy GCRF Tackling Global Challenges project . She works with five Argentine anthropologist co-investigators, leading a wider research team on the consequences of the COVID-19 lockdown on access to education, attainment gap and family economies in five diverse regions of Argentina. One of the project outcomes is a website of downloadable educational resources developed with Indigenous teachers in Argentina which incorporates intercultural perspectives into the teaching of patriotic anniversaries in schools ().
Lauren is currently the Director of Research and Innovation for the School of Languages and Cultures and is on the leadership team of the Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD).
Lauren was appointed MBE for services to education in Latin America and the UK in the King’s 2023 Birthday Honours list.
- Research interests
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Lauren’s research interests centre on cultural history and contemporary cultural production in Latin America with a particular focus on Childhood Studies, Education, Popular Culture, Print and Digital Cultures, and Gender Studies.
- Publications
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Books
Journal articles
Chapters
Book reviews
Reports
Exhibitions
Website content
Other
- Teaching activities
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- Literature and Culture modules for levels 2 and 3
- MA Latin American Studies and Directed Reading modules
- Professional activities and memberships
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Membership of Learned Societies:
- Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland (AHGBI)
- Latin American Studies Association (LASA)
- Society for Latin American Studies (SLAS)
- Women in Spanish and Portuguese (WISPS)
- Latin American Studies Literary Studies Association (LALSA)
- International Research Society for Children’s Literature (IRSCL)
External Examining:
- Latin American Studies (undergraduate and postgraduate) for the Department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, King’s College London (2018-2023)
Professional Qualifications and Recognition
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2016)
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2009)
- PGCAP (Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice), King’s College London (2008)
- Diploma in Translation (DipTrans) Spanish to English, Chartered Institute of Linguists (2005)
External Positions:
- Member of the Academic Council for the Erasmus MUNDUS Masters Programme, Crossways in Cultural Narratives. Consortium QA lead.
- Trustee, Children’s literacy charity in Rotherham, South Yorkshire
Links