Carmen Hsu

Carmen Hsu is an Associate Professor of Spanish at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, affiliated with Asian Studies and International and Area Studies programs. She specializes in 16th- and 17th-century Spanish literature, particularly theater, Cervantes, and Iberian-Asian relations. Her research explores gender representation, national identity construction, transoceanic expansion, and cross-cultural exchanges.

Education:

• Ph.D., Harvard University, 2000

Research Interests: Her work bridges early modern Spanish literature with global history, focusing on colonial encounters, religious narratives, and cultural hybridity. She has published extensively on Cervantes, Jesuit missionary writings, and the intersections between literature and geopolitics in the Habsburg era. Recent projects include analyzing Japan-China-Spain relations and the representation of Asia in Spanish Golden Age texts.

Awards:

• Schwab Academic Excellence Award (2020)
• Graduate Student Mentoring Award (2012-13, 2020-21)
• Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship (2018-19)

Advising & Grants: Director of three M.A. theses and recipient of multiple research fellowships, including funding from the NEH and Taiwan’s Council for Cultural Affairs. Currently accepting graduate students.

Labs/Teams: Collaborates with the Institute for the Arts and Humanities and the Program in Medieval and Early Modern Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill.