Dean Paqui Paredes Méndez is a native of Galicia, Spain, where she lived until she completed her degrees in teaching and English at the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. She graduated with a doctorate in Spanish literature from the University of Kansas in 2002, and joined Western’s faculty in Fall 2002. Dr. Paredes taught language, literature, culture and phonetics courses in Western’s Department of Modern and Classical Languages, which she chaired from 2012 to 2018. In 2015, Dr. Paredes received Western’s Peter J. Elich Excellence in Teaching Award. She served as co-chair of Western’s Strategic Planning Committee and as the CHSS representative on the University Planning and Resources Council (UPRC).

Dr. Paredes research focuses on early 20th century Spanish literature and cultural studies, as well as late 20th and 21st century Spanish literature. Many of her publications focus on the intersection between national identity and gender identity, particularly on how nation and gender are encoded in visual culture. She is the author (with José Ballesteros and Mark Harpring) of “Voces de España,” published by Cengage in 2004 and 2013, a textbook geared toward upper division survey courses of Spanish literature.