Education
- B.A. Spanish with a minor in Education, University of California Davis (2021)
- CTC Credential Single-subject Spanish teaching credential, Loyola Marymount University (2022)
Research
Nickolas Barba Izurieta was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador. In 2013, he immigrated to Los Angeles. Before joining the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at UCLA as a Eugene Cota-Robles fellow, he was a secondary school teacher and varsity soccer coach for the Los Angeles Unified School District. During his undergraduate studies, he researched and developed a senior thesis on post-Pinochet literature written by authors like Nona Fernandez and Alejandro Zambra. Now, during his doctoral studies, he is working on Ecuadorian science fiction that portrays utopian and dystopian visions.
Presentations
“La astucia de Rosaura: Un análisis sobre el impacto del sistema lancasteriano en las aldeas rurales de Loja durante el siglo XIX”. Latin American Studies Association (LASA). May 23-26, 2025. San Francisco.
“La emancipada, el primer romance nacional ecuatoriano del siglo XIX”. Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies (SECOLAS). April 24-26, 2025. Mexico City.