José Luis Fernández Castillo joined the Spanish Studies program at La Trobe University in 2019. He holds a Ph.D. in Spanish and Latin American Literature from the Autónoma University of Madrid, where his research focused on modern Hispanic poetic traditions, with a particular emphasis on the works of Octavio Paz and José Ángel Valente.

Before joining La Trobe, José Luis taught at universities across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the United States, including Paris III-Sorbonne Nouvelle, Bard College, The University of Queensland, and Providence University (Taiwan). His teaching experience spans Spanish language, literature, and cultural studies, with a strong interdisciplinary approach.
His research interests encompass 20th-century and contemporary Spanish and Latin American literature, comparative literature, materialist and mystical thought in Hispanic poetry, representations of national identities in the Hispanic world, and the influence of Asian philosophy on Hispanic literary traditions.
As a literary translator, José Luis has translated the poetry of Japanese poet Shinkichi Takahashi and Australian poet Judith Wright into Spanish.