Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish
B.A. Harvard University; M.A., New York University; Ph.D., University College, Cork
Eileen O'Connor is an educator, scholar, and literary translator whose teaching philosophy is that learning a new language can transform the way students see themselves and the world around them. She aims to create a classroom where students can embrace both the joys and challenges of finding their voices in a new language. Before coming to Sewanee, she taught at Harvard University, Wellesley College, and Lesley University.
Professor O’Connor earned her PhD in Hispanic Studies from University College Cork, where she was a Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholar. Her doctoral research explores literary translation as a creative-critical practice through the translation and critical study of the work of Peruvian poet Blanca Varela. She also holds an MA in Latin American Studies from NYU and a BA in Romance Languages and Literatures from Harvard. Her translations from Spanish include the poetry collections Pez/Fish by Mariela Dreyfus and Harbors of Light by Marjorie Agosín, as well as Agosín's novel I Lived on Butterfly Hill. She also writes fiction and nonfiction.
