Department of Spanish and Portuguese

Department Mourns the Passing of Catherine Larson

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Professor Emerita Catherine Larson on September 16, 2025. A distinguished scholar of Spanish and Portuguese at Indiana University, Professor Larson devoted her life to the study of Iberian and Spanish American theater and drama, with a special emphasis on works authored by women.

Born with a lifelong passion for literature and education, Catherine earned her B.A. in Education from the University of Missouri in 1972, followed by an M.A. in Spanish from the same institution in 1979. She completed her Ph.D. in Spanish at the University of Kansas in 1982. That same year, she began her long and impactful career at Indiana University, where she inspired generations of students and colleagues with her scholarship, mentorship, and unwavering dedication to the field.

Professor Larson was the author of numerous influential works. Her first book, Language and the Comedia, Theory and Practice (1991), brought fresh linguistic insights to early modern Spanish theater. In Games and Play in the Theater of Spanish American Women (2004), she used game theory to explore how dramatists employed play to challenge cultural and political norms. She also co-edited important volumes such as Brave New Words: Studies in Spanish Golden Age Literature (1996) and Latin American Women Dramatists: Theater, Texts, and Theories (1999), which helped shape critical discourse in the field.

Her commitment to making Spanish and Latin American drama accessible extended beyond criticism to translation and performance. With Valerie Hegstrom, she translated María de Zayas’s La traición en la amistad (Friendship Betrayed, 1999) and Ângela de Azevedo’s El muerto disimulado (Presumed Dead, 2018). These works found life on stages across universities and professional companies alike, bridging the historical with the contemporary. Her later research, which included studies of Spanish street theater and the vibrant Moors and Christians performances in Valencia and Alicante, reflected her abiding interest in the living traditions of performance.

Over the course of her career, Professor Larson mentored countless students, shared her knowledge generously with colleagues, and contributed immeasurably to the growth of her discipline. Her scholarship was not only rigorous and innovative but also deeply human, reflecting her belief in the power of theater to question, to connect, and to transform.

Professor Larson is remembered not only for her intellectual brilliance but also for her kindness, warmth, and generosity of spirit. She leaves behind a lasting legacy in her publications, her students, and the community of scholars she helped nurture.

She will be profoundly missed by her family, friends, colleagues, and students.