Francisco (Paco) Y. Chen-López

Ph.D. Candidate in Spanish

Advised by Professor Oswaldo Estrada

paco@unc.edu | Dey 115

At UNC Since 2016

Education

M.A. in Spanish Language and Culture, Fu Jen Catholic University
B.A. in Spanish Language and Culture, German Minor, Fu Jen Catholic University

Bio

Francisco (Paco)’s area of expertise is contemporary Spanish American narratives. He focuses primarily on Mexican, Peruvian, Puerto Rican, and Argentinan literature discussing Chinese immigrants and their descendants. Also, he is interested in Chinese-Latin American writers’ literary works. His research revolves around otherness, violence, Transpacific Studies, Asian Diaspora, literary representations of the Far East, and Cultural Geography.

Refereed Articles

• “Se hace camino al andar: La transgresión continuada del mundo chino en Verde Shanghai (2011) de Cristina Rivera Garza.” Revista de Literatura Mexicana Contemporánea, vol. 80. (forthcoming)
• “Plasticity as Globality and Authenticity: The Re-represented Chinese Brazilians in Cidade de Plástico/ 荡寇/蕩寇/Plastic City (2008).” Latin American Literary Review, vol. 48, no. 97, 2021, pp. 3-9.
• “Tras tres prismas: La ‘mirada trasatlántica’ al Lejano Oriente en ‘Li-Po’ de José Juan Tablada.” Ærea, Revista Hispanoamericana de Poesía, vol. 13, 2019, pp. 9-22.
• La historia ‘contrabandeada’ del encuentro transpacífico en La rosa de la China (2011) de Jaime Panqueva.” Transmodernity: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World, vol. 8, no. 4, 2018, pp. 39-59

Book Reviews

• Orientaciones transpacíficas: La modernidad mexicana y el espectro de Asia by Laura J. Torres-Rodríguez.” Hispanófila, vol. 190, 2-2020, pp. 154-55.
• “Toma y daca: Transculturación y presencia de escritores chino-latinoamericanos by Huei-Lan Yen.” Transmodernity: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World, vol. 9, no. 6, 2021, pp. 157-58.
• “Historia cultural de los hispanohablantes en Japón by Araceli Tinjaero.” Ciberletras, no. 44, 2020, pp. 97-99.
• “Cristina Rivera Garza: una escritura impropia. Un estudio de su obra literaria (1991-2014) by Alejandro Palma Castro et al.”  Revista de Literatura Mexicana Contemporánea, vol. 73, 2018, pp. 161-63.

Conference Presentations

PANELS ORGANIZED

• “Show Me the Body: Asian-Latin American Intersections and the Representation of Xenophobia, Exploitation, and Objectification in Cultural Production.” Latin American Studies Association (LASA) Congress. May 26-29, 2021.

PANELS CHAIRED

• “Densidades corporales en poesía y arte (audio)visual.” Carolina Conference on Romance Studies, Chapel Hill, NC. March 26–27, 2021.

PAPERS PRESENTED

• “Plasticity and Authenticity: The Re-Represented Chinese Brazilians in Plastic City (2008).” Latin American Studies Association (LASA) Congress. May 26-29, 2021.
• “Dragon, Serpent, or Lizard? The (Lost) Chineseness of Chinese-Mexicans as Allegorical Reptiles in Ojos de Lagarto (2012) by Bernando Fernández and ‘La serpiente de Beijín’ (2013) by Guadalupe Nettel.” Conference on East-West Cross-Cultural Relations. Warsaw-Cracow-Bielsko Biala, Poland. May 9-12, 2019.
• La historia ‘contrabandeada’ del encuentro transpacífico en La rosa de la China.” Latin American Studies Association (LASA) Congress. Barcelona, Spain. May 23–26, 2018.
• “La musa ecléctica y asimétrica: Las colisiones de semiósferas en ‘Kakemono’ de Julián del Casal.” Kentucky Foreign Language Conference, Lexington, KY. April 19–21, 2018.
• “Mímesis y alteridad como estrategias: la representación del sistema de Manila en La rosa de la China.” Conference of the Consortium in Latin American & Caribbean Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill & Duke University, Durham, NC. February 16-17, 2018.
• “Tras tres prismas: La ‘mirada trasatlántica’ al Lejano Oriente en ‘Li-Po’ de José Juan Tablada.” Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference, Wilmington, NC. October 5–7, 2017.
• “Chromatic Signifiers as the Vehicle to Construct the Heroic Figure in Selma.” Carolina Conference on Romance Studies, Chapel Hill, NC. March 30–April 1, 2017.

Professional Affiliations

• Latin America Studies Association (LASA)
• Modern Language Association (MLA)
• Sigma Delta Pi – National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society

Awards & Fellowships

Awards

• Buchan Graduate Essay Award
• Chancellor’s Student Undergraduate Teaching Award (SUTASA)
• Dana B. Drake Award for Excellence in Teaching Spanish

Grants & Fellowships

• Dr. James Carlton Ingram Research Fellowship
• Dean’s Office Summer Award
• Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Academic Year Scholarship on Brazilian Portuguese
• Mellon Dissertation Fellowship for Latin American/Caribbean Research
• Dana B. Drake Research Travel Fellowship
• Buchan Excellence Fund Award
• Mellon Conference Travel Award
• Graduate Student Transportation Grant
• Romance Studies Department Conference Travel Grant

Courses

Instructor of Record

• SPAN 101: Elementary Spanish I (Online)
• SPAN 102: Elementary Spanish II (Hybrid)
• SPAN 105: Spanish for High Beginners (Fall 2019 semester also as Assistant Course Coordinator)
• SPAN 203: Intermediate Spanish I
• SPAN 204: Intermediate Spanish II
• SPAN 320: Spanish for the Business Professions
• SPAN 321: Spanish for the Medical Professions 
• SPAN 329: Spanish for the Professional and Community Engagement (1 section, with a service-learning component)

Fully Designed and Implemented Curriculum for the Following Courses

• SPAN 301: Introduction to Literary and Cultural Analysis (Online)
• SPAN 344: TransPacing: the Representation of the Chinese Diaspora and Migrations in Latin American Cultural Production