Education

• Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies, 2014, The University of Iowa
• M.A. in Foreign Languages and Literatures, 2007, University of Nevada, Reno
• B.A. in Spanish and Latin American Studies, 2005, Weber State University

In 2016, Dr. Palmer welcomed TAMUSA's first freshman class as the coordinator for the Spanish program, and has taught all levels of Spanish language, literature, and culture. He developed the program's curriculum, to include two baccalaureate degrees and the Spanish minor, in addition to specialized courses to satisfy General Education requirements. Dr. Palmer also offers a variety of Special Topics courses, several of which are related to his primary research areas and expertise: Arab American Literature, Mahyar Studies, and Latin American Women Writers.  

Dr. Palmer's research focuses on the cultural production of Latin American authors of Arab descent, and the literary and cultural representations of the relationship between diaspora, identity, and writing practices. He has published ground-breaking article and chapter contributions in peer-reviewed journals and respectable presses that broaden the conceptualization of “Arab American” in the field of Mahyar studies and pioneers the research on Argentina’s mahyar literary history. Currently, Dr. Palmer is completing an article project that traces the connections between the Nahda, or Arab Renaissance, and the literary production of Arab immigrants and authors of Arab heritage.

In addition to his teaching and research, Dr. Palmer provides significant editorship to his discipline. He has performed invited translations of article and chapter projects for publication in peer-review venues, written book reviews for journals and manuscript reviews of edited collections. Since 2020, Dr. Palmer is the Associate Editor for Transmodernity: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World.