Indira Yadira Ariana García Varela began teaching at the University of South Carolina in 2023 as a Spanish instructor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures. She is currently completing her Ph.D. in Spanish Literature at the University of Kansas. Her specialization focuses on visual language and representations of the female body within mystical context in Renaissance and Baroque art and literature.

Her research centers on the limits of verbal language in expressing emotion and the psyche, examining how the interpretation of visual art alongside text can represent sensory experience where language alone falls short. She approaches the body and the psyche as deeply interconnected, with a particular focus on female body as a site where sensory, emotional, and erotic experience converge within the Christian and pagan mystical imaginaries.

In her teaching, she works with students across all levels of Spanish language and culture, with an emphasis on close reading, writing, and interpretation. Her broader interests reflect an interdisciplinary background that includes, art history, museum studies, and archival work.