Ben Bollig studied Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Nottingham before taking an MA in Latin American Cultural Studies and a PhD in Argentine literature at King’s College, London. He worked as a lecturer at universities in London and then for 5 years as Lecturer/Senior Lecturer at the University of Leeds.
Ben joined the University of Oxford (St Catherine’s College and the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages) in 2011. In 2016 he was awarded the title of Professor of Spanish American Literature. His teaching specialism is Latin American literature and film, and literary translation from Spanish into English. He has supervised doctoral students working on modern literature, culture and film from Latin America (in particular the Southern Cone region).
Ben’s research looks at contemporary literature and film in Latin America; recent books include Moving Verses: Poetry on Screen in Argentine Cinema (Liverpool, 2021) and Politics and Public Space in Contemporary Argentine Poetry. The Lyric and the State (New York, 2016). He has edited and translated into English several volumes of Argentine poetry. He co-edited Latin American Cultural Studies: A Reader and is an editor of Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies. He is a member of the editorial board of the Argentine journal El taco en la brea and Hispanic Editor of the MHRA’s Critical Texts series.
Ben has a particular interest in outreach and access, having run UNIQ summer schools and been schools liaison lead for Spanish. He has also worked extensively on student exchange and mobility programmes, especially with institutions in Latin America. He was fellow for equality and diversity at St Catherine’s for a number of years.
Photo credit: Alexandra Zaleski