Dr. Alicia Castillo Villanueva

Alicia Castillo Villanueva is Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies and Gender at Dublin City University. Prior to joining DCU, she held academic posts at University College Cork and the University of Limerick. She holds a degree in Hispanic Philology from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, a Higher Diploma in Education from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, an MA in Hispanic Studies and Literary Translation from UCC, and a PhD in Gender Studies from the University of Limerick.

Alicia has demonstrated sustained leadership and innovation in teaching and learning. A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), she has held key roles such as Chair and Deputy Chair of the BA in Joint Honours (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences), where she led successful curriculum reforms and programme enhancements. She has also served as Teaching and Learning Convenor and currently she is the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Convenor for the School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies.

Her commitment to gender equality extends beyond the classroom. Alicia chaired the successful School application for the Athena Swan Bronze Award in November 2023 and was awarded the Aurora Leadership Programme for women in higher education in 2022.

Research Interests

- Memory, conflict, gender-based violence, and feminicide - Migration, displacement, and border violence - Translation, trauma, and cross-cultural memory - Feminist cultural narratives: literature, film, and graphic novels

Alicia’s research centres on the intersections of memory, conflict, gender-based violence, migration, and translation. She explores how violence—particularly against women—is remembered, represented, and mediated across cultures and languages, especially in contexts shaped by authoritarian regimes, forced displacement, and post-conflict transitions. Her work engages with literature, film, and visual culture, highlighting feminist and intersectional perspectives.

She is particularly interested in how translation functions not only as a linguistic act but as a political and ethical tool for shaping collective memory and enabling cross-cultural dialogues about trauma and justice. Alicia’s current projects include a monograph on violence against women in contemporary Spanish literature, a co-authored book on music and feminicide, and collaborative research on graphic novels and gendered memory. Core Research Areas:

- Intersectionality and social justice

Teaching Interests

Narratives of the Transition to democracy and post-Transition in Spain.
Memory and trauma in contemporary Spanish literature.
Gender and sexuality studies.
Intercultural studies: transnational immigration and globalization.
Film and visual arts.