Francisco (Paco) Chen-López, Ph.D.

Biography

Faculty Member Since 2022

Dr. Francisco (Paco) Chen-Lopez is an Assistant Professor of World Languages and Culture.

Francisco (Paco) Chen-López is an Assistant Professor of Spanish in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Spelman College. He earned his Ph.D. in Hispanic Literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Paco specializes in contemporary Spanish American narratives, with a particular focus on the representation of the Chinese diaspora, place, and identity. His scholarly work has appeared in journals such as Revista de Literatura Mexicana Contemporánea, Transmodernity, Aérea, Chasqui, Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association (PALARA), and the Latin American Literary Review.

His research has been supported by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the Rockefeller Foundation, the Carnegie Foundation, the unites Negro College Fund (UNCF), and the Mellon Foundation.

Education

• Ph.D., Hispanic Literature, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• M.A., Spanish Languages and Cultures, Fu Jen Catholic University (Taiwan)

• B.A., Spanish Languages and Cultures, German minor, Fu Jen Catholic University (Taiwan)

Courses Taught

• SFLS 303 Spanish Conversation
• SFLS 352 Transpacing:the Representation of Chinese Diaspora and Migration in Lation American Cultural Production 
• SFLS 354 Decolonial Practices and Transitional Justice in Global Hispanophone Cultural Production 
• SFLS 306 Spanish advanced Grammar and Composition 
• SFLS 319 Spanish to Healthcare 
• SFLS 308 Spanish Introduction to Literary, Cultural, and Global Hispanophone Studies
• SFLS 201 & 202 Spanish Intermediate l and ll
• National and Transnational Identities

Research Interests

• Contemporary Latin American literature
• Chinatowns
• Representation of the Far East
• Latin American Writers of Chinese Descent
• Violence and Trauma
• Space and Place

Select Publications

Refereed Journal Articles

• 2025 "A Cultural Pluralistic Reading on the Afro and Chinese Cuban communities in Memorias de una chibanita que nació con el siglo (1964)" Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association, Vol. 4, 2025, pp. 3-13.
• 2024  "Unveiled: A Gendered Body as Representation of the Chinese diaspora in Puerto Rico in Simone" Chasqui: Revista de literatura y cultura latinoamericana e indígena, vol. 53, no. 2, 2024, pp. 245-257.
• 2021 “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. 80, 2021, pp. 23-35.
• 2021 “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. 48, no. 97, 2021, pp. 3-9.
• 2019 “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.
• 2018 “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 Chapter 

• 2025 " TransPacing the Diaspora: Teaching the Chinese Presence in Latin American Cultural Production through Comparative Race and Cultural Studies." Collaborative Frontiers: HBCUs and Global Academic Programs and Partnerships in Asian Studies and Asis (forthcoming)

Book Reviews

• 2021 “Toma y daca: Transculturación y presencia de escritores chino-latinoamericanos by Huei-Lan Yen.” Transmodernity: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the LusoHispanic World, vol. 9, no. 6, 2021, pp. 157-58.
• 2020 “Orientaciones transpacíficas: La modernidad mexicana y el espectro de Asia by Laura J. Torres-Rodríguez.” Hispanófila, vol. 190, 2020, pp. 154-55.
• 2020 “Historia cultural de los hispanohablantes en Japón by Araceli Tinajero.” Ciberletras. no. 44, 2020, pp. 97-99.
• 2018 “Cristina Rivera Garza: una escritura impropia. Un estudio de su obra literaria (19912014) by Alejandro Palma Castro et al.” Revista de Literatura Mexicana Contemporánea, vol. 73, 2018, pp. 161-63.