Mérida M. Rúa
Office Hours (Fall 2012): Tuesdays from 12:30-2:30 and on Wednesdays from 11-1pm
Education
B.A. University of Illinois (1993)
M.Ed. University of Illinois, Education Policy Studies (1995)
Ph.D. University of Michigan (2004)
Areas of Expertise
U.S. Latina/o Studies
Urban history and urban ethnography
Comparative approaches to race, ethnicity, citizenship, and space
Identity and community formation
Migration and social networks
Courses
LATS 105 (F)
Latina/o Identities: Constructions, Contestations, and ExpressionsAMST 201 (S)
Introduction to American StudiesLATS 220 / AMST 221 / ENVI 221 (F)
Introduction to Urban Studies: Shaping and Living the CityAMST 405 / LATS 405 (S)
Home and Belonging: Displacements, Relocations, and Place-MakingLATS 408 / AMST 408 (S)
Envisioning Urban Life: Objects, Subjects, and Everyday PeopleScholarship/Creative Work
Book and Edited Volume
A Grounded Identidad: Making New Lives in Chicago’s Puerto Rican Neighborhoods (Oxford University Press, 2012).
Editor, Latino Urban Ethnography and the Work of Elena Padilla (University of Illinois Press, 2011).
Articles and Book Chapters
Co-author with Arlene Torres, “Introduction: At the Crossroads of Urban Ethnography and Puerto Rican Latinidad.” In Latino Urban Ethnography and the Work of Elena Padilla (University of Illinois Press, 2011).
“Footnotes of Social Justice: Elena Padilla and Chicago Puerto Rican Communities” In Latino Urban Ethnography and the Work of Elena Padilla (University of Illinois Press, 2011).
Co-author with Lorena Garcia, “Processing Latinidad: Mapping Latino Urban Landscapes through Chicago Ethnic Festivals.” Latino Studies, 5, 3 (2007): 317-339.
“Colao Subjectivities: PortoMex and MexiRican Perspectives on Language and Identity.” Centro: Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Special issue on Puerto Rican Chicago 13, 2 (2001): 117-133.
Encyclopedia and Online Entries
Co-author with Arlene Torres, “Urban Anthropology.” Oxford Bibliographies Online: Anthropology, edited by John L. Jackson (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012).
“Elena Padilla.” Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States, edited by Deena González and Suzanne Oboler (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005)
“Latinidades.” Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States, edited by Deena González and Suzanne Oboler (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005)
Committees
American Studies Program (2010-2013), Chair
Latina/o Studies Program (2011-2013)
Thesis students:
Luz Gómez ’08 (Latina/o Studies), “Golden Cages: An Ethnography of Acatlán de Juárez, Jalisco, México and its ‘Hijos Ausentes,’1986-2008.”
Sabrina Howard, “Doing Business with Racial Uplift,” American Studies, 2011-2012.
