Irene Gomez-Castellano

Irene Gomez-Castellano is an Associate Professor of Spanish at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, affiliated with the Romance Languages and Literatures program. She joined the university in 2008 and specializes in Modern and Contemporary Iberian literature with a focus on poetry, visual studies, and interdisciplinary humanities.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Spanish Literature, University of Virginia (2008)
• M.A. in Spanish Literature, University of Virginia (2004)
• B.A. in Spanish Philology (Licenciatura), Universidad de Valencia (2002)

Research Interests: Her work examines aesthetic and social questions in canonical and non-canonical texts, applying methodologies from music, art, and cinema. She explores themes like hunger as cultural metaphor, feminist literary traditions, and body politics in Spanish literature. Her book La cultura de las máscaras (2012) analyzes rococo poetry of the Spanish Enlightenment, while her co-edited volume Dissonances of Modernity (2021) explores music's role in shaping Spanish identity.

Recent Publications & Awards:

• Recipient of the 2023 Faculty Award for Excellence in Doctoral Mentoring
• Edited Romance Notes journal (2018–2023)
• Published in journals like Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies, and Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispánicos
• Winner of the Schwab Academic Excellence Award (2020)

Teaching & Mentorship: Courses include Modern and Contemporary Spanish Poetry, Enlightenment and Romanticism in Spain, and Spanish Women Writers. She has advised numerous Ph.D. students, including Sandra García Gutiérrez and Colleen McAlister.

Current Projects: Working on a book manuscript titled The Hunger Artists of Spain, exploring hunger's role in Spanish cultural narratives.