SARAH J. PORTNOY
12600 Rose Avenue | Los Angeles, CA 90066 | (510) 219-2057 | portnoy@usc.edu
EDUCATION
University of California, Berkeley
Ph.D., Romance Languages and Literature
May 2005
Areas of Expertise:
Latino Culinary Culture and Food Politics
Spanish Literature and Culture
Emory University
B.A., summa cum laude, Spanish and Art History.
May 1995
PUBLICATIONS
Authored Books
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Teaching about Food, Health, and the Environment in Latino L.A. (Under contract with Rowman
& Littlefield for 2016).

The Incest Ballad of Delgadina: Oral Tradition from Medieval Spain to Latin America. Lambert
Publishing Company, Fall 2012.
Contributions to Books

Sarah Portnoy and Jeffrey Pilcher, “Roy Choi, Ricardo Zárate, and Pacific Fusion Cuisine in Los
Angeles.” Global Latin America. Ed. Matthew Gutmann and Jeffrey Lesser. University of
California Press, 2015 (Invited).

“Authenticity (of cuisines).” SAGE Encyclopedia of Food Issues. Ed. Ken Albala. Sage Publishing
Co., 2015. (Invited).

“Mexican-American Cuisine.” Latino Studies Bibliography. Ed. Ilan Stavans. Oxford University
Press, 2013 (Invited).

“The Décima in the Contemporary World: Hispanic Oral Traditions in the Classroom, on the
Internet and Beyond.” In Spain's Multicultural Legacies. Studies in Honor of Samuel G.
Armistead. Edited by Adrienne L. Martin and Cristina Martinez-Carazo. Juan de la Cuesta, 2008.
119-144. ISBN 978-1-58871-144-1

“¡Qué me siegue esta cebada!’ and other euphemistic metaphors in the ballad tradition.” In Wine,
Women, and Song. Hebrew and Arabic Literature of Medieval Iberia. Newark, Delaware: Juan de
la Cuesta Press, 2004.
Articles

“A Quest for Authenticity: The Tradition of Mexican Food in Los Angeles.” Latin American and
Iberian Food Studies Review (Under Consideration).

“The Transatlantic Ballad of ‘Delgadina’: from Medieval Spain to Contemporary Cuba.” La
Corónica: A Journal of Medieval Spanish Language and Literature 35.2 (Spring 2007): 123-138.

“Delgadina in Michoacán: a Conflict between Local and Global Cultures.” Proceedings of the
Thirty-Third International Ballad Conference. Spring 2006.
SARAH J. PORTNOY
12600 Rose Avenue | Los Angeles, CA 90066 | (510) 219-2057 | portnoy@usc.edu
Reviews

“Dr. Francisco Hernández Ate Tacos: The Foods and Drinks of the Mexican Treasury.” Diálogo.
(2014).
Edited Collections

Wine, Women and Song: Hebrew and Arabic Literature in Medieval Iberia, co-edited with David
Wacks and Sarah Portnoy. Newark, Delaware: Juan de la Cuesta, 2004. Contributors: Samuel
Armistead, David Wacks, Sarah Portnoy, Douglas Young, Sergio Waisman, Cristian Guardiola,
Mary B. Quinn.
PAPERS AND LECTURES
Invited Lectures and Panels:

Visions and Voices Panel on “Teaching Food Justice in South Los Angeles” under consideration.
Panel Chair with Professor Lavonna Lewis, Price School of Public Policy

Featured Speaker: “Pan de Vida,” Los Angeles Bread Festival, Grand Central Market, Los
Angeles, June 6, 2015.

“Authenticity Symposium,” Stanford Business School, May 8, 2015.

Featured Speaker: “Teaching about the History of Mexican Food in Los Angeles.” Cal State
Dominguez Hills, October 15, 2014.

Featured Panelist. “Just Food and Fair Food: A Multidisciplinary Exploration.” University of
Southern California, March 1, 2013.

“Teaching about the Culture of Food in Los Angeles.” University of Southern California, August
22, 2013.

“Integrating Community Involvement in the Classroom.” Center for Excellence in Teaching.
February 11, 2011.

“The Border Crossed Me: Immigration in the Corridos of Los Tigres del Norte.” Corrido
Conference in Honor of Guillermo Hernandez and Lalo Guerrero. University of California, Santa
Barbara. May 7-9, 2008.

“Sephardic Jewish Identity in Cuba.” Diaspora and Return: Sephardic Jews Beyond Spain. UC
Irvine Conference on Sephardic Studies. Irvine, CA. March 6, 2008.

“The Décima in the Contemporary World: Hispanic Oral Traditions in the Classroom, on the
Internet, and Beyond.” Invited Participant. Conference Honoring Samuel Armistead. Davis, CA.
November 2007.

“The Pan-Hispanic Ballad Tradition: Explorations and Discoveries of Folklore in Spain and Latin
America.” Pasadena, CA. May 13, 2007.

“Women’s Issues in Sephardic Ballads,” Magnes Museum, Berkeley, CA. Sept. 23, 2004.
Conference Papers:
SARAH J. PORTNOY
12600 Rose Avenue | Los Angeles, CA 90066 | (510) 219-2057 | portnoy@usc.edu

“A Quest for Authenticity: Mexican Culinary Culture in Los Angeles.” Global Gateways and
Local Connections: City, Agriculture and the Future of Food Systems. New York University, June
2012.

“A Quest for Authenticity: Teaching about the Tradition of Mexican Food in Los Angeles.”
Western States 70th Annual Conference. University of Southern California, Los Angeles. April 1214, 2011.

“Tamar y Amnón: Rape and Resistance in a Hispanic Ballad and in the poetry of García Lorca.”
International Conference of Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan. May 2005.

“Delgadina in Michoacán: a Conflict between Local and Global Cultures.” International Ballad
Conference. Austin, Texas. Summer 2003.

“The romance of Silvana or How to Dupe Your Dad.” Conference in Honor of Américo Castro.
Berkeley, California. Spring 2003.

“Delgadina: Father-Daughter Incest in a Cuban Children’s Song.” International Conference of
Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Spring 2002.

“The Romance of Delgadina or Why Do Women Sing about Incest?” New Mexico Conference,
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Spring 2002.

“¡Qué me siegue esta cebada!’ and other euphemistic metaphors in the ballad tradition.”
Conference on Hebrew and Arabic Poetry in Medieval Iberia, Berkeley, California. Spring 2001.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
University of Southern California
2007 - Present
Lecturer: Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Independent Study
Food, Health, and the Environment in Latino Los Angeles
The Culture of Food in Hispanic Los Angeles
Spanish and Latin American Poetry
Composition and Culture Classes, Language Classes
Oberlin College
2005 - 2006
Visiting Assistant Professor
The Journey of the Pan-Hispanic Ballad: from Medieval Iberia to the U.S.-Mexico Border
The Struggle for Modernity: Survey of Spanish Literature of the 19th and 20th Centuries.
Representations of the Other: Women, Muslims, Jews and Gypsies in Spanish Culture.
University of California, Berkeley
Graduate Student Instructor
1997 - 2005
HONORS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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Visions and Voices panel under consideration
USC Good Neighbors Campaign Faculty Representative for Proyecto Jardín,
Boyle Heights
Faculty Development Grant
Invited Workshop, Brown University for Global Latin America
Faculty Development Grant
Fall 2015
2015-2016
Spring 2015
Spring 2014
Fall 2013
SARAH J. PORTNOY
12600 Rose Avenue | Los Angeles, CA 90066 | (510) 219-2057 | portnoy@usc.edu
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Recipient of the Fund for Innovative Teaching, Center for Excellence in Teaching,
University of Southern California
Spring 2010
Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor
2003- 2004