Prof Fernández-Melleda’s research focuses mainly on contemporary Chilean literature and culture—inclusive of Film and Memory Studies, among other cognate disciplines. Her book, Chilean Women’s Poetry under Neoliberalism, 1980-2020 is under contract with Edinburgh University Press and will be published in 2025.

Her research project, The Fall of Neoliberalism in the Chilean Post Dictatorship Novel (2000-2020) received the Early Career Scheme (ECS) Grant by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) in 2022. This project is the foundation of Bárbara’s second monograph, currently in development.

Bárbara’s most recent research endeavour, which started since taking post at The University of Hong Kong, explores the cultural relationship between China and Latin America, more specifically with Chile through poets Pablo Neruda, Armando Uribe, and Pablo de Rokha. Her new line of inquiry also interrogates how Latin American intellectuals have created their own narratives surrounding the Cold War and the Sino-Soviet split after visiting or living in China. She was the recipient of the Luis Cha Fund for East/West Studies to begin research investigating the great friendship between Chilean Nobel Prize poet Pablo Neruda and Chinese poet Ai Qing. In 2024, Prof Fernández-Melleda was awarded the General Research Fund (GRF) grant by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) for her project Pablo Neruda in China which will be completed over 3 years, starting in 2025.

Her research features at top journals such as Literature Compass, Cultural Dynamics, and The Irish Review, among others. She has also written introductory pieces for the Encyclopaedia Aesthetics and Politics in the Global South, edited by J.D Elam (Bloomsbury Academic). Prof Fernández-Melleda is a member of the Editorial Board for Memory Studies Review (Brill) and she works as a peer reviewer for a variety of prestigious journals in her field, including the Bulletin of Spanish Studies (Taylor & Francis).

As a Latinamericanist, Bárbara’s teaching portfolio is broad. She has lectured on Chilean culture, canonical authors from the Latin American Boom and Nobel Prize winners, XIX century foundational and abolitionist novels, Latin American visual culture and fine arts, and Latin American cultural theory. At HKU, Bárbara is devoted to the development of Latin American themed courses. For example, “Cultural Approaches to Dictatorship in Chile and Argentina”; “Global Latin America”; “Latin American/US Cultural Relations”; “Magical Realism in Literature and Film”; and more research-led courses are in preparation for the coming academic years.

Prof Fernández-Melleda welcomes postgraduate proposals on topics related to her research interests, including her new research avenue on Sino-Latin American cultural relations. For further information on postgraduate supervision, see what her students have researched below. Be aware that to study Latin American literature and culture under her supervision you need to be proficient in Spanish and/or Portuguese—either by being a native speaker, or by presenting language certificates of at least B2 level in Spanish or Portuguese from the last 2 years. Research materials are studied in their original versions. Any project centred only on US-American topics would be better supervised by other colleagues, so please contact them first. I am happy to serve as co-supervisor if need be. Research proposals delving into any Iberian cultures are welcome if they offer a comparative point or a link to Latin American materials.

Postgraduate Supervision (Current)
Mr Henrique Gomes (2020-2024): Coloniality and Structural Racism in Brazil: Epistemic Diversity in Contemporary Brazilian North-eastern Literature and Cinema, PhD, Principal Supervisor.
Ms Cecilia Chen (2022-2026): Phenomenological Analysis of Virtual Reality Film, PhD, Co-Supervisor.

Ms Lyu Rui (2024-2028): The Representation of AI in Science Fiction Film, PhD, Co-Supervisor.

Ms Liu Yuqing (2024-2028): Affectivity in VR Films, PhD, Co-Supervisor.

Postgraduate Supervision (Past)
Ms Leilei Zhang (2021-2023): Images and Memory of Brazil in Memórias do Cárcere (1953) by Graciliano Ramos and Brazil, Land of the Future (1941) by Stefan Zweig, MPhil, Principal Supervisor.

Office Hours: Please email me in advance to book an appointment. These can be either in person or via zoom depending on availability.

For any media enquiries please email me on bfernan@hku.hk