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School for Cross-faculty Studies Global Sustainable Development

Professor Stéphanie Panichelli-Batalla

Dr Stéphanie Panichelli-Batalla

Contact details
Email: s dot panichelli at warwick dot ac dot uk
Tel.: +44 (0) 24765 23521
Room: R3.17A Ramphal Building

Office Hours

By appointment only

 

 

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Academic Director for Sustainability

Professor in Global Sustainable Development, HEA Principal Fellow

Co-director of the Oral History Network at Warwick

Co-director of the ESD Network at Warwick

 SDG 13 

Biography

I began my journey with the Global Sustainable Development Department in May 2017. Before this, I worked in the School of Languages and Social Sciences at Aston University, in the Modern Languages Department at Wingate University and in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Princeton University. From 2019 to 2024, I served as the Head of the School for Cross-Faculty Studies. During this tenure, I led on the expansion of the undegraduate and postgraduate programmes within the Schools' various divisions. Additionally, I established a new division in Design Studies and provided crucial support for the growth of the School’s research Institute, the IGSD.

For the past two decades, my research focus has been on Cuba, delving into its culture, social justice issues and more recently, its global health initiatives. Concurrently, I've actively contributed to embedding Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) within our University's educational approach. In 2023, I co-led the Institutional Teaching & Learning Review's common theme on ESD and helped launch the ESD at Warwick Network, which I co-direct.

In my current role as Academic Director for Sustainability, I oversee the implementation of the University's "The Way to Sustainable" Strategy. This involves coordinating and integrating activities across four key areas: Sustainable Campus, Education for Sustainable Development, Research and Engagement.

Research

I graduated with a PhD in Hispanic Philology from the University of Granada in 2006. In 2004 I co-authored a book titled Gabo y Fidel. El paisaje de una amistad (Espasa Calpe) / Fidel and Gabo. The Portrait of a friendship (Pegasus 2010), exploring the relationship between Fidel Castro and Colombian Novel Prize winner, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This work was translated into six languages. My second monograph delves into the testimony of a persecuted homosexual Cuban writer in Reinaldo Arenas’ Pentagony (Tamesis Books, 2016).

My current research delves into the personal narratives of Cuban internationalist healthcare professionals, examining how their experiences on medical missions have influenced their identities and life trajectories. In 2014, I was awarded the British Council Researcher Links grant and served as a visiting research fellow at the Cuban Heritage Collection (University of Miami). During this time, I initiated the project entitled Life Stories of Cuban Internationalist Healthcare Professionals", conducting interviews across the United States, Cuba, and Tanzania. This work aims to understand the impact of Cuba's international medical solidarity programs on the individuals involved.

It sheds light on the complexities of their experiences and the nuanced realities of Cuba's medical internationalism. This research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the personal and socio-political dimensions of Cuba's medical diplomacy through the voices of the Cuban healthcare professionals. Findings have been presented at national and international conferences and published in academic and wider audience articles.

Teaching and supervision

My teaching experience lies in Latin American and Caribbean studies and Human Rights within the region. I have a keen interest in integrating the social pillar of global sustainable development within my modules. I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy/Advance HE, and I have extensive experience in supervising undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations.

I am available for postgraduate research supervision in various areas including Human Rights and Social Justice in Latin America, Cuban history and culture, South-South Cooperation/South-North Cooperation, Medical Diplomacy, Oral History and its intersection social justice, Culture and GSD and Education for Sustainable Development.

Publications

Books

Selected journal articles and book chapters
Special issue
  • “Oral History and Cuba.” (ed.), Oral History (2017)
Other publications
Selected conference papers and invited presentations
  • with Amy Bradley, "The Human Cost of Compassionate Leadership", 15th Developing Leadership Capacity Conference, Lancaster University, 8-9 July 2025.
  • “Laughter in Oral History interviews. The case of Cuban internationalist healthcare professionals”, Conference of the Latin American Association of Oral History, Bogota, Colombia, 4-6 April 2019.
  • “Oral History and Cuba: past, present and future”, International workshop “Oral History in 21st century Latin America and the Caribbean”, 23 February 2018.
  • With Virginie Grzelczyk, “Opening the Door to Change: Developing a sustainable future for Cuba and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, International Studies Association, Global South Caucus Conference, Havana 8 July 2017.
  • “The Role of Humour in Oral History Interviews. A case study of two Cuban Internationalist Healthcare Professionals”, Cuba Research Forum Annual Conference, University of Nottingham, 6 September 2016.
  • “Cuban Doctors in the Sandinista Nicaragua. Sharing Memories”, “Oral History and Cuba: A Changing Society?”, One-day workshop with invited speakers, Aston University, Birmingham, 23 April 2015.
  • “Roundtable on Archival Research”, Languages and Social Sciences Research Seminars Series, Aston University, Birmingham, 22 April 2015.
  • “From pride to humiliation: an Oral History project in Hialeah”, Hispanic Seminars Series, University of Birmingham, 11 February 2015.
  • “Life stories of Cuban health workers in international solidarity missions”, Poder y Democracia: Las multiples voces de la Historia Oral, XVIII Congreso de la IOHA (International Oral History Association), 10 July 2014.
  • “Life stories of Cuban internationalist health professionals”, Cuban Heritage Collection, University of Miami, 17 June 2014.
  • “Blogging: a new way of life writing in Cuba: the case of Dr. Eloy A. González”, AHGBI Conference, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom, 25 March 2013.
  • “Autofiction as a literary revenge: Reinaldo Arenas’ The Color of Summer”, AHGBI Conference, Stirling University, Stirling, United Kingdom, 2 April 2012.
  • “El color del verano de Reinaldo Arenas: ¿ficción o testimonio?”, 61st Annual Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, Lexington, Kentucky, 18 April 2008.
  • “Otra vez el mar... Los cantos de Reinaldo Arenas”. 2007 SECOLAS (Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies) Annual Meeting: “Contesting Images of Latin America”, San José, Costa Rica, 20 April 2007.
  • “Qué dura fue la vida de Reinaldo Arenas”, Race, Revolution and Representation: New Perspectives on Latin America, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, USA, 24 February 2007.

Workshop organised

  • "Hidden Stories of 21st Century Latin America and the Caribbean", International workshop with invited speakers, University of Warwick, Coventry, 21 February 2018.
  • “Oral History and Cuba: A Changing Society?”, One-day international workshop with invited speakers, Aston University, Birmingham, 23 April 2015.

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