Title: Associate Professor of Communications and Latina/o Studies
Department: Institute of Communications Research and Latina/o Studies Program
College: College of Media and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
What classes do you teach?
- Intro to Latina/o Studies
- Latina/o Media in the United States
- Mass Media and Society
What do you enjoy most about teaching at Illinois?
I thrive on the energy students bring with them into a class. Students are walking records of their communities’ histories and experiences, and I truly appreciate the opportunity to see them make the intellectual connections between their lives, the society in which they live, and the media around them.
Do you have a unique teaching method or project you assign?
I like to use a mix of methods–from lectures, to group work, to small group discussion. One particular project that students enjoy is performing a media analysis on TV shows or movies.
Describe your greatest professional accomplishment.
It has been being able to publish my book on Latinas and the media.
What sparked your interest in your field of study?
I was finishing my bachelor's degree in mass communication research and theory at Penn State University and working as editor in chief of the student paper, when the newspaper become embroiled in a major controversy regarding a columnist. I wrote about the conflict in a journal for a communications class I was taking, and the professor who is now my colleague, pulled me aside during her class on ethnicity, race, gender, and the media and said, "You should be teaching this stuff." It had never crossed my mind until then that I could get my Ph.D. and teach students about my experiences as a women of color journalist.
What's your favorite aspect of life at Illinois?
Curtis Orchard's apple doughnuts!
What book, related to your field, do you recommend reading?
Stuart Hall's Policing the Crisis.
Do you have any advice for entering students?
Don't be afraid to ask for help.