Individual Scholar Page

Personal Info

Photo

About Me

• I received my BA in history and political science from Texas A&M Kingsville in 2010, my MA in history from Texas Christian University in 2012, and my PhD from TCU in 2017. I’m a history instructor at Andover Academy, teaching Latin American, United States, World, and Borderlands history. My current research concerns Latin American dictatorship during the Cold War, particularly the Panamanian military regime’s cultural policy to nationalize the Panama Canal during the height of US-USSR conflict. My work prioritizes an interdisciplinary approach that relies on cultural theory and archival studies to highlight my previous experience working in special collections. Lately, I’ve been teaching history at Phillips Academy and developing a holistic approach to working with students at the boarding school, shaping their experience in and outside the classroom. I’ve had the opportunity to design curriculum and courses specific to my expertise and skill set.

I’m a native of the Rio Valley Grande of Texas and identify as Mexican American, a Texan living in New England. I enjoy rock climbing, graphic novels,  traveling, and am a big fan of all things horror.

Recent Publications

Articles:

“Blackness Under Dictatorship: The Vindication of Pedro Prestán in Panama, 1984-1986,” (Article in Preparation)

“Third Worldism and The Panama Canal: Liberating the Isthmus, 1971-1978.” in Latina America and the Global Cold War, Thomas Field, Stella Krepp, and Vanni Petttiná, eds. North Carolina: UNC Press, 2020.

“Oppression and Violence along the Border: The Plan of San Diego as Reported in 1915 Newspapers.” The Journal of South Texas 24 (Spring 2011): 32-47.

Dissertation:

Populist Authoritarianism: A Cultural Interpretation of Military Government in Cold-War Panama, 1968-1989

Encyclopedia Entries:

“Pedro Prestán.” Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro-Latin American Biography. Franklin W. Knight and Henry Louis Gates. eds. Vol. 5. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016:207-209.

“Floyd Britton.” Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro-Latin American Biography. Franklin W. Knight and Henry
Louis Gates, eds. Vol. 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016: 408-411.

“Panama Canal.” in Encyclopedia of American Imperialism and Expansionism in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection. Chris J. Magoc and David Bernstein, eds. Washington: ABC-CLIO, 2015: 836-839.

“Francisco Luiz da Silva Campos.” in Encyclopedia of United States-Latin American Relations. Thomas M. Leonard, ed. Los Angeles: CQ Press, 2012: 129-130.

Digital Content:

“A Minute and Over: North American Borders” Phillips Academy. YouTube: https://youtu.be/Qw8e65gkSMs

“Review of Chiefs, Scribes, and Ethnographers: Kuna Culture from the Inside and Out” by James Howe. ISTMO: Revista virtual de estudios literarios y culturales centroamericanos no.23 (Dec.2011),

http://istmo.denison.edu/n23/resenas/index. html.

“Valley Roots and Dirt: Growing up in the Rio Grande Valley and the Ambiguous Plan de San Diego.” Refusingtoforget.org (September 6, 2015).

“TCU Alum Ernest M. Ligon and the Character Research Project.” Texas Christian University, Special Collections Blog. http://blogs.lib.tcu.edu/specialcollections/page/5/

“The Bryson Club.” Texas Christian University, Special Collections Blog. http://blogs.lib.tcu.edu/specialcollections/page/4/

Media Coverage

Social Media

Country Focus

Panama and Latin America

Expertise by Geography

Caribbean, Central America, Latin America, North America, United States

Expertise by Chronology

19th century, Modern, 20th century

Expertise by Topic

Colonialism, Diplomacy, Gender, Local & Regional, Politics, Race, Rebellion & Revolution, Sexuality, Women