The research group LENA (North American Ethnic Minority Literatures in a Global Context / North American Ethnic Minority Literatures in a Global Context) aims to analyze the literature written by North American authors of ethnic origin, that is, the literature written by Native Americans, Afro-Americans, Chicanxs, Latinxs, Asian Americans, or Arab Americans. It also engages the so-called “white ethnicities” that include communities such as the Irish-American, the Jewish-American, or the Polish-American, among others. Our main objective is to explore their histories, literary and cultural practices, epistemologies, concerns, and interests in a local, national and global context, as well as the relationships these authors have developed with Spain through studies focused on the reception and translation of their works into the Spanish and Catalan languages.

Furthermore, as American Studies scholars, the members and collaborators of this research group examine American literature, theater, history, culture, and film from multiple perspectives including historical revisionism, gender and sexuality, the environmental humanities, postcolonial and decolonial theories, critical pedagogy, trauma studies, relationality and ethics of care, diasporic and border studies, trans-ethnic, trans-American, transatlantic relations, and networks of solidarity.