Javier Patiño Loira

Javier Patiño Loira is an Assistant Professor of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of California, Los Angeles. He received his PhD from Princeton University in 2016 and has been affiliated with the Diversifying the Classics project since 2014. His research bridges early modern literature, history of science, and ecological thought, with a focus on connections between rhetorical conceits and materialist philosophies.

• PhD, Princeton University (2016)
• MA, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (2008)
• BA, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (2007)

His work examines intersections between literature and early modern scientific discourses, particularly through metaphors of decay and regeneration. His current project, Ecologies of Decay: Spontaneous Generation and Nature’s Economy, explores how seventeenth-century theories of spontaneous generation influenced conceptualizations of ecological interdependence and Baroque aesthetics.

Recent publications analyze topics such as:

• Scientific metaphors in Jesuit educational systems
• Materialist epistemologies in Spanish and Italian treatises
• The role of decay in shaping utopian narratives
• Translation practices in early modern Iberia

Notable accolades include the ACLS Fellowship (2020–21). His teaching spans courses on early modern globalization, gender studies, and poetry’s relationship to science.