Dr Barbara Leon

Biography

I hold a BA (Hons) and MA in History of Art from the University of Oviedo, where I graduated in 2012, followed by an MSc in Research Methods in Humanities from UNED. In 2020, I completed my Ph.D. in History of Art at the University of Oviedo.

My journey at the University of Aberdeen began in 2016 as a Visiting Student at the Centre for Modern Thought. In early 2017, I transitioned to the Department of Film & Visual Culture, where I later took on a role as a Teaching Assistant. By 2018, I expanded my teaching to include Spanish and Latin American Studies, further broadening my academic scope.In September 2021, I was appointed Teaching Fellow in both Spanish & Latin American Studies and Film & Visual Culture. A year later, in September 2022, I advanced to Lecturer in Film & Visual Culture. Since September 2024, I have held the position of Lecturer in Film, Visual Culture, Spanish, and Latin American Studies.

As part of my commitment to public engagement and innovative teaching, I developed Eurovision: Media, Memory, Euphoria and Identities, the first and only university course of its kind in the UK and Europe. This course explores the Eurovision Song Contest as a lens for analyzing cultural identities, memory, and heritage within visual and popular culture.Through a multidisciplinary approach, students examine Eurovision’s role in national narratives, European unity, and socio-political conflicts.

To create an immersive experience, I use interactive teaching. Each week, I dress to match the topic, adding performance and engagement that mirrors Eurovision’s spectacle. This enhances participation while reinforcing identity, performance, and visual culture.

The course has attracted significant interest, boosting the university’s visibility and bridging scholarship, media studies, and public discourse.

Prizes and Awards

Excellence in Education Academic Awards 2025 - Excelence in Innovation (shortlisted nominee)

Students' Union and University of Aberdeen Excellence Awards 2025 - Best Overall Course (shortlisted nominee)

Students' Union and University of Aberdeen Excellence Awards 2024- Most Creative Assessment (shortlisted nominee)

Principal's Prizes for Research and Engagement 2024- Outstanding Research Awards (nominee)

Award for 'The most useful improvement' Ministry of Innovation, Education and Science (Spanish Government) - 2014

Research Overview

My research investigates cultural identities within postmodern and contemporary visual and popular culture, with a particular emphasis on their representation in global media. I focus on how platforms such as the Eurovision Song Contest and music videos construct, challenge, and negotiate narratives of heritage, memory, and nationhood. Additionally, my work explores the intersections of music, identity, and socio-political discourse, examining, for instance, how artists like Bad Bunny articulate Puerto Rican identity and broader Latin American cultural dynamics.

Current Research

Currently, I am investigating how cultural identities are constructed and negotiated through media and film narratives. My work examines the role of music videos and large-scale global events, particularly the Eurovision Song Contest, as platforms for shaping national identity, collective memory, and transnational solidarity. I explore how Eurovision serves as both a cultural battleground and a site of unity, analyzing performances that reflect geopolitical tensions, such as Ukraine’s entries in the contest, which have become powerful expressions of resilience, historical trauma, and European belonging. Additionally, I am developing an in-depth analysis of Bad Bunny’s music videos, studying their portrayal of Puerto Rican identities in relation to colonial histories, gentrification, and diasporic narratives.

Beyond academic research, I actively engage with the public by attending Eurovision and related media events, offering expert commentary, and participating in discussions on cultural identity in popular culture. My work extends beyond the university setting through collaborations with media outlets, public talks, and outreach activities that bridge the gap between scholarship and wider audiences.

Past Research

My previous research has explored the aesthetics of the Surrealist movement, with a particular focus on photography and the work of Man Ray. My MSc dissertation, The Surreal Erotic Image through the Photography of Man Ray, examined how surrealist visual language challenged conventional representations of the body and desire.

Visual artifacts have remained a central methodological and conceptual tool in my research across Art History and Visual Culture. My Ph.D. project, The Study of the City through Photography: From Surrealism to Postmodernism, expanded this focus by tracing the evolution of visual narratives from early avant-garde movements to the fragmented, self-referential aesthetics of postmodern culture. Through this work, I critically engaged with how postmodern visuality redefines urban space, identity, and meaning-making in contemporary cultural contexts.

Knowledge Exchange

(For conferences and symposiums, please see publications)

- Art History Guest Lecture, University of Groningen: Ukrainian Magic: Visual Heritage in the Eurovision Song Contest, 16th September 2024 https://www.rug.nl/research/icog/research/research-centres/artsinsociety/news-and-events-ais/2024-09-16-leon-ukrainian-magic?lang=en 

- Identity and Myth of the Spanish Folklorica in Art and Visual Culture. Art History Research Seminar, University of Aberdeen, 25th of January 2023.

- Spanishness versus Tourism: Identities and representations in Visual Culture. Centre for Modern Languages Research Seminar, University of Aberdeen, 8th February 2023

- Methods of Research and the Masterpiece: from History of Art to Visual Culture. 17th October 2018. University of Aberdeen

- Coordinator of the Seminar "Restoration and sculpted bodies. how our perception has changed over time". 10th October 2018. University of Aberdeen

- Amnesiac Spaces and Ephemeral Aesthetics: Postmodern Cities. (Film and Visual Culture Research Seminar Series, University of Aberdeen) 15th March

Collaborations

University of Oviedo (Spain)

University of Groningen (The Netherlands)

Funding and Grants

Aberdeen Humanities Fund - 2024

Conference Travel Grant - University of Oviedo, 2015

EU Fund Postindustrial Development - University Access (Fees and Support) 2007-2012

EU Fund Postindustrial Development - English Language Studies in England (Fees, Accommodation, and Support)  2009-2012

Teaching Responsibilities

Coordination Fall 2024/2025

FS1008 Introduction to Visual Culture

SP30SD, SP40SD From Cultural Dictatorship to Almodovar Sexualities: Gender Narratives in Spanish Cinema

SP40A5 Spanish Language 7

Teaching Fall 2024/2025

FS1008 Introduction to Visual Culture

FS30SD/40SD Cinematic Cities

SP30SD/SP40SD From Cultural Dictatorship to Almodovar Sexualities: Gender Narratives in Spanish Cinema

SP40A5 Spanish Language 7

Non-course Teaching Responsibilities

Film & Visual Culture

Library Rep

Spanish and Latin American Studies Department

Library/bookstore Rep

Incoming Erasmus Coordinator

Website Coordinator