Catalina Ahumada Escobar teaches courses in Spanish language, literature, and culture that invite students to explore the richness of the Hispanic world while developing strong communicative and intercultural skills. Her classes at St. Olaf are designed for students at the beginning and intermediate levels of Spanish, where they engage with meaningful cultural content—such as travel, traditional foods, storytelling, and contemporary topics—through authentic materials including news articles, art, music, literary texts, and films.

She has experience teaching Spanish at all levels, from introductory language courses to advanced classes on colonial and modern Latin America. Her teaching is informed by her scholarly interest in daily life, cultural practices, and the emotional dimensions of historical experience. Guided by the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), she creates inclusive and participatory learning environments that support diverse learners and foster creativity, collaboration, and reflection.

Her research focuses on epistolary writing, affect, and emotion in nineteenth-century Latin America, particularly in Colombia. She examines how letters and personal writings illuminate emotional life, intimate networks, and the cultural history of reading and writing in postcolonial societies. Her work has appeared in Hispanófila, Historia Crítica, Sociedad y Economía, and Historia y Espacio, as well as in book chapters such as “Labores, oficios y vivencias en una hacienda esclavista. La historia de Mariana Arboleda en la Hacienda Coconuco”. She has presented her research at academic conferences in the United States and Latin America.

Catalina holds a Ph.D. in Hispanic and Lusophone Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics from the University of Minnesota, an M.A. in Sociology, and a B.A. in History from Universidad del Valle (Colombia).