Research Areas:

Lliterary and Cultural Studies of the Americas
Latina/o/x Midwest studies
U.S.-Mexican Border Arts and Culture
Visual Culture Studies
Cultural Policy Studies

I hold complimentary appointments in Latina/o/x Studies and Spanish and Portuguese. I am the author of Making Art Panamerican: Cultural Policy and the Cold War (Minnesota 2013; Metales Pesados 2016) and The Fence and the River: Culture and Politics at the U.S.-Mexico Border (Minnesota 1999). I have co-edited two volumes that grew out of collaborations among scholars working in and on the Latina/o/x Midwest: Building Sustainable Worlds: Latinx Placemaking in the Midwest (Illinois, Latinos in Chicago and the Midwest series, 2022) and The Latina/o Midwest Reader (Illinois, Latinos in Chicago and the Midwest series, 2017). My current research focuses on visual culture, performance, and placemaking in the Americas.