María is a multifaceted, socially engaged cultural historian with academic roots in sociology (BSc), cultural studies (MA), ethnomusicology (PhD) and fine arts (BA), and extensive teaching and research experience in cultural practices. She has taught across diverse contexts, including top-ranked institutions in the UK such as Cardiff University, the University of London (ILCS) and King’s.

Highly enthusiastic about research, her work has focused on a range of social and cultural themes involving music, languages, gender and migration, constantly exploring groundbreaking and inclusive qualitative methods that have often been new to her fields of study. Connecting research and critical thinking with real-life impact has been a constant concern at the core of her academic career.

She has developed full-cycle participatory research projects such as Cantoras Cono Sur in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, which involves South American women music poets working as co-researchers and co-authors, and, more recently, has led the research design and implementation of EmpowerESOL impact evaluations. In this role, she works in partnership with Widening Participation practitioners, ESOL teachers, community organisers and ESOL learners to deliver creative outputs and generate new knowledge about the potential and impact of free participatory ESOL classes in Higher Education.

Publications

Book: Batlle, María Bernardita. 2026. ‘The Chilean Cantora: Understanding the Female Singer of the People in Light of Latin American Postcolonial Culture’ in Mathias, Rhiannon (ed.) Elements: Women in Music, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Book chapter: Batlle L., María B., and Georgina Robinson. 2026. ‘«Eu sou porque somos»: Women’s Resistance and Collaboration in Latin American Cultural Practices’ in Williams, Claire and Maria-José Blanco (eds.) Feminine Plural: Women in Transition in the Luso-Hispanic World, Oxford: Peter Lang. (co-authored with PhD(c) Georgina Robinson, King’s College London).

Research report: Batlle, M., Merlo, C., Boyle, C., and Cooke, M. 2026. EmpowerESOL 2024-2025 Research Report. 

Blog entry: Batlle, María B. 2024. ‘Overcoming Ethnocentrism: Collaborative Ethnography as a Decolonial Approach to Research’, ILCS Research Blogs, 

Book chapter: Batlle L., María B., and Carola López. 2023. ‘Cantoras y Payadoras en Chile: Trazando la Ruta de las Mujeres en la Décima.’ In Soto I., and Javier Silva, Etnomusicología en el Chile del Siglo XXI: Diálogos y Reflexiones sobre Prácticas Musicales Locales. Osorno: Editorial Universidad de Los Lagos. 

Journal article: Argüello, A., Batlle, M., Beltrán, N., Guerra, M., Guevara, S., and Carola López. 2022. ‘Manifiesto Decimista.’ Transcultural Music Review (TRANS) 26 (written in verse and co-authored with five cantoras from Chile, Argentina, Perú and México, applying arts-based research practice and collaborative ethnography).

Journal article: Batlle, María. 2021. ‘Violeta Parra: musical and political legacy of a cantora.’ Ethnomusicology Forum 30(3): 358-378.

Journal article: Batlle L., María B., and Andrea Martínez C. 2021. ‘Cantoras de Rueda en Chile: Antecedentes Histórico-Culturales de su irrupción en el Siglo XXI’. Neuma (Talca) 14(1): 108-34. (co-authored with cantora de rueda Andrea Martínez applying collaborative ethnography).

Book review: Batlle L., María B. 2020. Review: ¡Pego el grito en cualquier parte! Historia, tradición y performance de la cueca urbana en Santiago de Chile (1990–2010), by Christian Spencer Espinosa. Latin American Music Review 41, no. 2: 232-234.