Description

With all that has been happening in Puerto Rico over the last few years with the destructive storms, the ongoing economic crisis and the recent political mobilization that pushed governor Ricardo Rosello to resign, it is critical that we pay close attention to what is happening on on the island and in the diaspora have I’m pleased to have Dr. Marilisa Jimenez Garcia on encuentros políticos to discuss her own trajectory into academia, Puerto Rican/Latinx youth literature, and what is currently transpiring in Puerto Rico. 

Bio

Dr. Marilisa Jiménez García is an interdisciplinary scholar specializing in Latino/a literature and culture. She is an assistant professor of English at Lehigh University and a member of the See What We See coalition. She has a Ph.D in English from the University of Florida and a M.A. in English and B.S. in Journalism from the University of Miami. She was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

Marilisa’s research on Latinx literature have appeared in Latino Studies, CENTRO: A Journal of Puerto Rican Studies, The Lion and the Unicorn, and Children’s Literature. Her forthcoming book, Side by Side: US Empire, Puerto Rico and the Roots of American Youth Literature and Culture (University Press of Mississippi) examines the history of colonialism in Puerto Rico through an analysis of youth literature and culture both in the archipelago and ein the diaspora. Her dissertation on Puerto Rican children’s literature won the 2012 Puerto Rican Studies Association. She is also a Cultivating New Voices Among Scholars of Color Fellowship recipient from the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE). 

Marilisa seeks to create pathways in her research between the multiple fields of Latinx Studies, Puerto Rican Studies, children’s and young adult literature, comparative literature, and education. Her work with Teaching for Change seeks to bring together research and practical tools for classroom teachers advocating for social justice. She has worked as a classroom volunteer in Miami and New York City public schools and with The Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School’s book selection committee. 

Tune in

http://www.usalamedia.com/radio/

Sunday, September 1 5p (est)

Repeats:

Monday @ 1p (est)

Thursday @ 5p (est)

Podcast (via Spreaker): https://www.spreaker.com/episode/18984909