- Title
- Assistant Professor
- Department
- Spanish
- osancheztxabarri@collegeofidaho.edu
- (208) 459-5007
Olatz Sanchez-Txabarri
Dr. Olatz Sanchez-Txabarri is a scholar of 20th- and 21st-century Latinx and Spanish literatures and cultures, with particular expertise in migration, gender, ethnic studies, and transatlantic approaches. She earned her Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where her dissertation, Women in Movement: Contemporary Cultural Production of Daughters of Immigrants in Spain and the United States, examined narratives created by second-generation women and their negotiations of identity, belonging, and structural inequality through decolonial and feminist lenses.
Her teaching spans the full Spanish curriculum—from introductory language courses to advanced literature, culture, and writing classes—and is grounded in communicative and student-centered pedagogies. She is committed to helping students develop critical thinking skills and cultural awareness through language, literature, and community engagement. Her teaching encourages students to explore the intersections of language, culture, identity, and social justice while developing the analytical and communication skills necessary to become engaged global citizens.
As a person who grew up in the Basque Country and a native speaker of Euskara, Dr. Sanchez-Txabarri values linguistic diversity and community engagement around minority and heritage languages. While not the center of her research, her Basque heritage is an essential part of her identity as an educator, and she looks forward to contributing her experience teaching Basque language and culture to the diverse linguistic ecosystem of Idaho.
At The College of Idaho, where she serves as an Assistant Professor of Spanish since the fall of 2026, Dr. Sanchez-Txabarri is committed to supporting a liberal arts environment that promotes curiosity, global engagement, and integrative learning across disciplines.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Modern Languages & Literatures – Hispanic Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln (2025)
(with graduate specialization in Women’s and Gender Studies and Ethnic Studies – Dissertation: “Women in Movement: Contemporary Cultural Production of Daughters of Immigrants in Spain and the United States”)
M.A., Education – Second Language Teaching Pedagogy, UDIMA (Universidad a Distancia de Madrid), Spain (2020)
M.A., Modern Languages & Literatures – Hispanic Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln (2019)
Graduate Specialization in Women’s and Gender Studies
B.A., Modern Languages & Literatures – English Studies, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain (2017)
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Instructor of Record & Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Nebraska–Lincoln (2017–2025)
Assistant to the Introductory Spanish Program Coordinator, UNL (2024–2025)
Visiting Instructor & Cultural Program Coordinator, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain (Summers 2022–present)
Basque Language Instructor, NABO & Etxepare Institutua, Boise, ID (2023–present)
Head of Studies / Program Coordinator, Instituto Hemingway, Bilbao, Spain (2019–2020)
Extensive community engagement, including El Centro de las Américas (Lincoln, NE), Spanish Red Cross (Bilbao, Spain 2024)
Instructor of Record & Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Nebraska–Lincoln (2017–2025)
Assistant to the Introductory Spanish Program Coordinator, UNL (2024–2025)
Visiting Instructor & Cultural Program Coordinator, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain (Summers 2022–present)
Basque Language Instructor, NABO & Etxepare Institutua, Boise, ID (2023–present)
Head of Studies / Program Coordinator, Instituto Hemingway, Bilbao, Spain (2019–2020)
Extensive community engagement, including El Centro de las Américas (Lincoln, NE), Spanish Red Cross (Bilbao, Spain 2024)
2026, accepted. Sanchez-Txabarri, Olatz and Gonzalez-Allende, Iker. “Contra el estigma víctima: la violencia machista intrafamiliar en las memorias de Itziar Ziga.” Anales de Literatura Española.
2024 Sanchez Txabarri, Olatz. “Black Spain: Growing Up as a Black Woman in 20th and 21st-Century Spain in the Works of Lucía Mbomío Rubio and Desirée Bela-Lobedde.” Center and Periphery in 21st-century Literature, Cinema, Art, and Media in Spain, edited by Amparo Alpañés. Vernon Press, 2024, pp. 71-94.
2024 Sanchez-Txabarri, Olatz. “Espacios no mixtos como autocuidado frente al racismo en la obra de Desirée Bela-Lobedde.” Aspectos de la diversidad en la cultura hispánica, edited by De la Fuente, Ricardo and Pérez Magallón, Jesús, Universitas Castellae (Valladolid), 2024, pp. 135-144.
2023 Light, Asley; Alstadt, Amelia-Marie; Sanchez-Txabarri, Olatz; Bernstein, Stuart; McMahon, Patrice. “College-Powered Afterschool Service-Learning: The Impact on College Students.” Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, vol. 27, n. 1, 2023, pp. 109-132.
2023 Sanchez-Txabarri, Olatz. “El poder de la amistad entre mujeres en Mujeres que compran flores, de Vanessa Montfort.” La herencia de Calíope: la feminidad señalada, edited by Fernando Candón Ríos et al., Dykinson (Madrid), 2023, pp. 425-439.
2026 “Growing Up in the California Fields: Multiplicious Selves in the Documentary Fruits of Labor.” Latinx Studies Association Conference 2026. Panel: Gender, Labor, and Resistance in Latino Filmic Representation. March 2026, Austin, TX.
2025 “Thanatopolitics Versus Biopolitics in Gender Violence: The Politics of Death in Liliana’s Invincible Summer by Cristina Rivera Garza.” LASA 2025 Hybrid Congress: Poner el cuerpo en Latinx América. Panel: Literature and Biopolitics, May 2025, San Francisco, CA
2024 “Mujeres afrodescendientes en España: navegando por la identidad, el activismo y el contexto histórico.” Race in Spain Symposium. October 2024, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
2023 “Abrir el espacio de la identidad nacional desde la literatura: estudio de obras literarias de hijas de inmigrantes en España” I Coloquio de Jóvenes Investigadores Hispanistas, October 2023, Universidad de Belgrado, Serbia.
2023 “Espacios no mixtos como resistencia frente al racismo en Desirée Bela-Lobedde.” Representaciones de la diversidad (humana y no humana) en la cultura hispánica, June 2023, Universitas Castellae, Valladolid, Spain.
2023 “Narrando la identidad nacional desde la liminalidad en Yo no soy tu hija perfecta mexicana de Erika L. Sánchez.” LASA 2023: América Latina y el Caribe: Pensar, Representar y Luchar por los derechos, May 2023, Vancouver, Canada.
2023 “La novela como herramienta de la ‘otra América’ contra el colonialismo: La lucha entre el fukú y el zafa en La breve y maravillosa vida de Óscar Wao.” XXXII Congreso Internacional de Literatura y Estudios Hispánicos, March 2023, Cartagena De Indias, Colombia.
- 2024 Rogers Merit Fellowship
- 2024 George Hippie Rogers Fellowship
- 2022 Othmer Fellowship