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About Óscar Fernández, PHD

Dr. Óscar Fernández (University Studies, Assistant Professor, NTTF-Teaching) works at Portland State University and served as University Studies' inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator (2017-2020). He teaches a yearlong Immigration, Migration, and Belonging FRINQ (First Year Inquiry) and Sophomore Inquiry courses on social determinants of health and popular culture. He specializes in inter-American studies, literary theory, and the intersection of culture, sexuality, and representations of disease in Iberoamerican literature. Additionally, he examines experiences by contingent faculty and QT/BIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, indigenous, people of color) students in higher education. He holds a 2020 Residential Research Group Fellowship external grant from the University of California Humanities Research Institute, “Disciplining Diversity," fall 2020, University of California, Irvine.

In 2020, he received PSU's 2019-2020 President's Diversity Distinguished Faculty Award. He has co-chaired the PSU/HSI (Hispanic Serving Institution) Exploratory Committee (2020-Present). The Committee gathers recommendations and aspirations regarding PSU becoming an urban Hispanic Serving/Thriving Institution.

His published journal articles appear in PMLA (Publications of the Modern Language Association, 2001), Comparative Literature Studies (2007), Oregon Literary Review (2008), the Journal of General Education: A Curricular Commons of the Humanities and Sciences (2018), and AAC&U's International Journal of ePortfolio (2023, American Association of Colleges & Universities, waiting for galley proofs summer 2023)

His published book chapters appear in Textbook & Academic Authors Association's book—Guide to Making Time to Write (2020)—, Routledge’s Global South Scholars in the Western Academy (2022), and Palgrave Macmillan's Trauma-Informed Pedagogies: A Guide for Responding to Crisis and Inequality in Higher Education (2022).

He earned a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from The Pennsylvania State University.

Positions

September 2017 - Present AAUP-NTTF Instructor & Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator, Portland State University ‐ University Studies
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September 2016 AAUP-NTTF Instructor, Portland State University ‐ University Studies
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September 2015 - September 2016 Instructor, Portland State University ‐ University Studies
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September 2014 - September 2015 Adjunct, Portland State University ‐ University Studies
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September 2011 - September 2013 Instructor, Portland State University
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January 2012 - June 2012 Adjunct Faculty Member, Portland Community College ‐ Developmental English
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September 2011 - September 2012 Visiting Associate Professor, Reed College ‐ Spanish Dept.
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September 2003 - September 2011 Assistant Professor, Portland State University
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September 2000 - September 2001 Assistant Editor, Pennsylvania State University ‐ Comparative Literature Studies Journal
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Curriculum Vitae

Disciplines

Research Interests

Grants

2015 - Present FRINQ's 'Immigration, Migration, and Belonging' FRINQ to invite Portland's BRAVO Youth Orchestras for Music Concert at Portland State University, UNST’s Race & Social Justice Dialogues"
Portland State Unviersity, President’s Diversity Mini-Grants & VP’s Global Diversity & Inclusion
2016 - 2019 "University Studies Race and Social Justice Dialogue Series (with Collaborative In-Class Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice (DESJ) Learning Modules for and by Freshmen Inquiry Students),
Bringing Theory to Practice (BTtoP) RFP (2017–2019). Campus Dialogue Grants: Realizing Higher Education's Greater Purposes
Role: Principal grant writer
$3,500
2015 "MAX Orange Line Visual and Performance Art," BRAVO Youth Orchestras music offering as part of the unveiling ceremony, submitted 15 June 2015. Concert took place September 12, 2015, 11:30 AM–12:00 PM, 4th & Lincoln.
Portland State University, Institute of Sustainable Solutions, and PSU's School of Art and Design,
$1,400
2007 Cine-Lit VI: An International Conference on Hispanic Film & Literature, February 21–24, 2007
Portland Guadalajara Sister-City Association.
Role: Principal author
$5,000
2007 Cine-Lit VI: An International Conference on Hispanic Film & Literature, February 21–24, 2007
Centro Mexicano de Oregón.
Role: Co-author
$1,800
2007 Cine-Lit VI: An International Conference on Hispanic Film & Literature, February 21–24, 2007.
Oregon Council for the Humanities.
Role: Co-author
$5,000
2007 Community Service Grant: Trans Identity ID Project,
The Equity Foundation.
Role: Co-author
$1,500
2006 Folger Institute Faculty Weekend Seminar Grant. Presentation on “Dissident History: The Case of Francisco Clavijero,” for panel Europe and the Americas: Human and Natural Worlds in the Eyes of Sixteenth-Century Observers.
The Folger Institute at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
$1,500
$
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Professional Service and Affiliations

2018 - Present Member, Care Ethics Research Consortium (CERC)
2017 - Present Member, Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL)
2017 - Present Member, Association for General and Liberal Studies (AGLS)
2017 - Present Member, Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U)
2016 - Present External manuscript reviewer, Comparative Literature Studies, The Pennsylvania State University
2003 - Present Member, American Association of University Professors (PSU AAUP)
2002 - Present Member, International American Studies Association (IASA)
1998 - Present Member, American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA)
1996 - Present Member, Modern Language Association (MLA)
2013 - 2015 Member, Portland State University Faculty Association (PSUFA 3571),
2007 Co-chair, panel on “Contesting Transoceanic Natural Histories.”, American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA)
2006 - 2007 Conference planning assistant, American Comparative Literature Association Confe, American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA)
2005 - 2007 Lead organizer, Cine-Lit VI: An International Conference on Hispanic Film & Lite, Northwest Film Center,
2006 Lead organizer, welcome speaker, and moderator, Spelling Disaster, Portland Center for Cultural Studies, Portland State University,
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Honors and Awards

  • Honorable Mention: John Eliot Allen Outstanding Teaching Award, Portland State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Dir. Dr. Scott Burns, June 2008.
  • Honorable Mention: John Eliot Allen Outstanding Teaching Award, Portland State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Dir. Dr. Scott Burns, June 2004.
  • Letter of Thanks. PSU Diversity Action Council (DAC). For “dedicated service” on the PSU DAC “for the last two years.” PSU President Wim Wiewel, September 2008.
  • Certificate of Appreciation. Educational Equity Programs and Services, Diversity Scholarship Programs. Dir. Paulette Watanabe, Portland State University, May 2008.
  • Community Service Award from M.E.Ch.A., Portland State University, June 2006.
  • First Annual Recognition Award from M.E.Ch.A., Portland State University, June 2004.
  • American Comparative Literature Association. Candidate nomination to stand for election to the advisory board. Dr. Elizabeth M. Richmond-Garza, English Dept., University of Texas, Austin, Texas, 2006.

Courses

Education

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1998 - 2003 PHD, Pennsylvania State University ‐ Comparative Literature Dept.
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1996 - 1998 MA, Pennysylvania State University ‐ Comparative Literature Dept.
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1990 - 1994 BA in English Literature, Ohio Wesleyan University ‐ English Dept.
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Links

ORCID

Podcasts & Presentations (5)

Refereed Publications (3)

Academic Writing (1)

Proposals (2)

Writing Workshops (1)

Diversity and Inclusion Workshops (3)

Medical Interpretation Workshops (4)

Recent Academic Presentations (2016-Present) (7)