PhD Graduates
Fall 2024
Jecoa Ross, "From Criminal Bodies to Criminal Minds: the Texas sodomy statutes, homosexuality, and the politics of a criminal status in twentieth-century Texas." Dissertation directed by Dr. Ernesto Chávez.
Summer 2024
Malinalli X Leyva, "Modern Agriculture’s Traditional Appetites: The United States, Mexico, and Binational Mutual Aid, 1940 -1965." Dissertation directed by Dr. Sam Brunk.
Spring 2024
Angelina Martinez, "So that our children may have the opportunities that you and I did not: Segregated Mexican schooling in West Texas, 1954 - 1979." Dissertation directed by Dr. Ernesto Chávez.
RaeAnn Swanson, "Confronting Borders Creating Community: Transregional Consequences of Migration and Detention between Guatemala and Iowa, 1980 – 2018." Dissertation directed by Dr. Sandy McGee Deutsch.
Summer 2022
Cynthia Renteria, "Reimagining Paso del Norte: Historical Memory in the Borderlands, 1980-2015." Dissertation directed by Dr. Yolanda Leyva.
Cecilia Venable, “Mother Margaret Mary's Quest to Aid the Sick, Educate and Evangelize Black and Mexican Children, 1833-1907.” Co-directors Dr. Yolanda Leyva and Dr. Ernesto Chavez.
Spring 2022
Aurelio Saldana, “The Shaping of Ethnic Mexican Identity in the Segregated Schools of Presidio County, Texas, 1867-1947.” Dissertation directed by Dr. Ignacio Martinez.
Andrea Severson, “Unlaced: The Dress Reform Movement of the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century. Committee Chair.” Dissertation director: Dr. Michael Topp.
Fall 2021
Laura Uribarri, “Transboundary Air Quality Governance: A Case Study of the Paso del Norte Air Basin, 1940 – 2000.” Dissertation directed by Dr. Sam Brunk.
Spring 2020
Kevin Guay, “Trials of Belonging: Indigenous Peoples’ Struggle with Law and Power in Twentieth-Century North America.” Guay’s dissertation was directed by Dr. Jeffrey Shepherd.
Penelope Jacobus, “The Scramble for Texas: European Diplomacy and Imperial Contest in the Republic of Texas, 1835-1846.” Dissertation directed by Dr. Paul Edison.
Ian Lee, “‘The Manliness to Defend Themselves: Race and Civilian-Indigenous Warfare in New Mexico, 1598-1898.” Dissertation directed by Dr. Jeffrey Shepherd.
Gene Morales, “Mi Feria es Su Feria: How Mexican Americans Created the 1968 San Antonio HemisFair.” Dissertation directed by Dr. Yolanda Leyva.
Maria Vallejo, “On the Rio Grande: A Struggle for Land and Citizenship in San Vicente del Llano Grande, 1749 – 1930.” Dissertation directed by Dr. Jeffrey Shepherd
Fall 2019
Carolina Monsiváis, "Skirting the Law: Women in Vice During U.S. Prohibition in South Texas, 1900-1933." Dissertation committee chaired by Dr. Samuel Brunk.
Danny Santana, “Indigenous Masculinities and the Tarascan Borderlands in Sixteenth-Century Michoacán.” Dissertation directed by Dr. Ignacio Martinez.
Spring 2019
Eva Marie Nohemi Orozco, "Sinarquista Women in Mexico during the 1940s and 1950s: Hidden Hands in the Construction of Mexican Nationalist Sentiment." The director of her dissertation was Dr. Sandy McGee Deutsch.
Spring 2018
Mayra L. Avila, "La Pena Negra: Women Recall the Bracero Program, 1942-1964.” The co-directors of her dissertation are Dr. Jeffrey P. Shepherd and Dr. Larisa Veloz. Dr. Avila is a Senior Lecturer at Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas – Rio Grande Valley, in Texas.
Miguel Juarez, "From Concordia to Lincoln Center: An Urban Environmental History of Highway Building in El Paso, Texas." The director of his dissertation was Dr. Paul Edison. Dr. Juarez is presently a lecturer in the Departments of History at UTEP and El Paso Community College.
David Robles, "Chicano Revolt and Political Response: Grassroots Change in the South Texas Town of Pharr after the 1971 Riot." The director of his dissertation was Dr. Yolanda Chávez Leyva. He is presently a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies at Kansas State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é.
Fall 2017
J. Aaron Waggoner, “The New Wine: Spirit, Transformation, and Gender in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, 1960s-1990s.” The director of his dissertation is Dr. Sam Brunk. Dr. Waggoner oversees professional development initiatives in the Graduate School at UTEP.
Spring 2017
Dennis J. Aguirre, "Grito!: Cultural Nationalism and the Chicano/a Insurgency in New Mexico, 1968-1979." His dissertation director was Dr. Ernesto Chávez. Dr. Aguirre is an Assistant Professor of Mexican American Studies in the Hispanic Studies Department at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Northern Colorado.
Joanna Camacho Escobar, "Aqui Se Habla Espanol: Cultural Identity and Language in Puerto Rico." Her dissertation director was Dr. Sandy McGee Deutsch. Dr. Camacho Escobar an Undergraduate Advisor and Lecturer at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas – Rio Grande Valley, in Texas.
Melanie L. Rodríguez, "Racial Injustice in Houston, Texas: The Chicano Mobilization against the Police Killing of Joe Campos Torres." Her dissertation director was Dr. Ernesto Chávez. Dr. Rodriguez is currently working as a consultant for the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Development at the Valle Verde Campus of the El Paso Community College.
Fall 2016
Lina-María Murillo, "Birth Control on the Border: Race, Religion, Gender, and Class in the Making of the Birth Control Movement in El Paso, Texas 1936-2009." Her dissertation director was Dr. Ernesto Chávez. Dr. Murillo is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies and History at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Iowa.
Joanne Kropp, “Constructing a River, Building a Border: An Environmental History of Irrigation, Water Law, State Formation, and the Rio Grande Rectification Project in the El Paso - Juarez Valley.” Her dissertation director was Dr. Sam Brunk. Dr. Kropp presently works in the Entering Student Program and teaches classes at UTEP.
Frank De La O, "Containing Communism in West Texas, 1945-64.” His dissertation director was Dr. Ernesto Chavez. Dr. De La O is an Associate Professor of History at Midland College in Odessa, Texas.
Eloy J. Garcia, “La Hermandad de Sangre de Cristo: Church, Community, and Change in New Mexico: 1850-1912.” His dissertation director was Dr. Ignacio Martinez.
Spring 2016
Heather Sinclair, "Birth City: Race and Violence in the History of Childbirth and Midwifery in the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez Borderlands, 1907-2013." Her dissertation co-directors were Dr. Sandy McGee-Deutsch and Dr. Ernesto Chávez. She is an Assistant Professor of History at Dixie State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é in Utah.
Juana Moriel Payne, “Drama a flor de piel: fiestas, capellanías y cofradías en San Joseph del Parral, Chihuahua, siglos XVII Y XVIII.” The director of her dissertation was Dr. Sam Brunk. Dr. Moriel teaches at a charter high school in Oakland, CA.
Susana E. Aquilina, “Art, Culture-Making, and Representation as Resistance in the Life Manuel Gregorio Acosta.” Her dissertation director was Dr. Ernesto Chávez. Dr. Aquilina is a History Teacher at Loretto Academy in El Paso.
Fall 2015
Pam Krch, "Cultural Sovereignty and Cultural Violence: Native American Artists and the Dorothy Dunn Studio." Dissertation directed by Dr. Jeffrey P. Shepherd.
Timothy Nelson, "Blackdom: An African American Community in the Borderlands." The Co-directors for his dissertation were Dr. Maceo Dailey and Dr. Jeffrey P. Shepherd. Dr. Nelson is Racial Justice Coordinator for the YWCA in El Paso.
Summer 2015
Roland Rodriguez, "I was nothing but a lender of what I was ordered to supply…” Francisco Amangual, Trustee of the Presidio and Las Compañías Volantes in the Spanish Borderlands, 1701 – 1812. The director of his dissertation was Jeffrey Shepherd. His book is under contract with Texas A&M Press.
Spring 2015
Scott Comar, "A History of the Tigua Indians: A Borderlands Community." The director of his dissertation was Dr. Jeffrey Shepherd. Dr. Comar is presently teaching classes in the Department of History at UTEP and El Paso Community College.
Aaron Margolis, "La Otra Frontera: The Guatemalan Civil War and the Guatemalan-Mexican Border." The director of his dissertation was Dr. Sam Brunk. Dr. Margolis is an Associate Professor of History at Kansas City Community College.
Fall 2014
David Romo, "Global Microhistory of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez: Axis and Allied Propaganda and Intelligence along the U.S. - Mexico Border, 1933-1945." His dissertation director was Dr. Yolanda Chávez Leyva. Dr. Romo held a Fulbright Fellowship and was a Scholar-In-Residence at the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, NM.
Summer 2014
Nancy Gonzalez, “Reinventing the Old West: Concordia Cemetery and the Power over Space, 1800 to 1895.” Her dissertation director was Dr. Yolanda Chávez Leyva.
Spring 2014
Cristobal Borges, “Unspoken Whiteness: Racial Politics, El Jibaro, and the Creation of a Modern Puerto Rico.” His dissertation director was Dr. Sandra McGee Deutsch. Dr. Borges an Assistant Professor at North Seattle Community College.
Irma Montelongo, “Illicit Inhabitants: Empire, Immigration, Race, and Sexuality on the U.S.-México Border, 1891-1965.” Her dissertation director was Dr. Ernesto Chávez. Dr. Montelongo is presently a Visiting Assistant Professor in Chicana/o Studies at UTEP.
Fall 2013
Michael Bess, “Arteries of Desire: Technology, Gender, and Power in Mexico’s Road-Building Program and Automobile Culture, 1925-1952. His dissertation director was Dr. Sam Brunk. Dr. Bess is presently a faculty member at the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, Division de Historia, in Mexico City. His book, Routes of Compromise: Building Roads and Shaping the Nation in Mexico, 1917-1952, was published by the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Nebraska Press, 2017
Summer 2013
Yvette J. Saavedra, "Competing Visions: The Politics of Racial and Ethnic Identity Formation and Land Use in Pasadena, 1771-1923." Her dissertation director was Cheryl E. Martin. Dr. Saavedra is presently an Assistant Professor at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Oregon. Her book, Race, Identity, and Land Use in Southern California, 1771–1890, was published by the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Arizona Press in 2018.
Spring 2013
Nancy Aguirre, “Porfirista Exiles in the United States during the period of the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920.” Her dissertation director was Dr. Sam Brunk. She received UTEP Dissertation Award in March 2013. Dr. Aguirre is presently an Associate Professor of History at The Citadel.
Summer 2012
James Starling. "Catholicism in the Borderlands during a Time of Transition, 1848-1914." His dissertation director was Dr. Cheryl Martin. He is presently an Assistant Professor at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
Antonio Lopez, “In the Spirit of Liberation: The Rainbow Coalition of Chicago, 1968-84.” His dissertation director was Dr. Yolanda Chávez Leyva. Dr. Lopez is presently the Director of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, in Chicago, Illinois.
Spring 2012
Jorge Jimenez. “The Private Businesses of Porfirio Díaz and the Early Modernization of Mexico, 1876-1911.” His dissertation director was Dr. Sam Brunk.
Juan Manuel Mendoza Guerrero. “Hábitos alimenticios de los inmigrantes de El Paso, Texas, 1880-1960s: Identidad, Nacionalismo y Comunidad." His dissertation director was Dr. Sam Brunk. Dr. Mendoza is presently a professor at the Universidad Autonoma de Sinaloa, Mazatlan.
Fall 2010
Will Guzmán. "Border Physician: The Life of Lawrence A. Nixon." His dissertation director was Dr. Maceo Dailey. Dr. Guzman is the Director of the Lee Hagan Africana Studies Center at New Jersey City Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é. His book, Civil Rights in the Texas Borderlands: Dr. Lawrence A. Nixon and Black Activism, was published by Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Illinois Press, 2015.
Winifred Dowling. "The Border Home Front: World War II along the U.S.-Mexico Border." Her dissertation director was Dr. Charles H. Martin. Dr. Dowling is presently retired in El Paso.
Gladys Hodges. "Production of Architectural Space in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, 1880-1930." Her dissertation director was Dr. Cheryl Martin. Dr. Hodges is presently retired.
John Paul Nuño. "A Borderlands People: Cultural Ethnogenesis, Identity Formation, and Racial Construction among the Black Seminoles of Florida, 1754-1842." His dissertation director was Dr. Jeffrey P. Shepherd. Dr. Nuno is an Associate Professor of History at California State Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é – Northridge.
Spring 2010
Chew-Smithart, Selfa. "Race, Gender, and Modernity: The Removal of Japanese and Japanese Mexicans from the Mexican Borderlands during World War II." Her dissertation director was Dr. Maceo Dailey. Dr. Chew has been the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies at the College of Liberal Arts at UTEP since 2022. Her book, Uprooting Community: Japanese Mexicans, World War II and the U.S. - Mexico Borderlands, was published by the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Arizona Press, 2015.
2009
Gary Kieffner, “Riding the Borderlands: The Negotiation of Social and Cultural Boundaries for Rio Grande Valley and Southwestern Motorcycling Groups, 1900 – 2000.” His dissertation director was Dr. Carl Jackson. Dr. Keifner is presently an Associate Professor, Fiji National Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é.
2008
Nancy Nemeth-Jeserun, “The Third Life: Sixteen Holocaust Survivors in El Paso.” Her dissertation director was Dr. Sandra McGee-Deutsch. Dr. Nemeth-Jesurun was a Visiting Faculty in the Humanities and Jewish Studies Programs at UTEP. She is presently retired in El Paso.
2006
Jeff Lucas, “Twentieth Century Mexico through the eyes of Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama.” His dissertation director was Dr. Sam Brunk. His book, The Rightward Drift of Mexico’s Former Revolutionaries: The Case of Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama was published by Edwin Mellen Press in 2010.
Julia Maria Schiavone Camacho, “Traversing Boundaries: Chinese, Mexicans, and Chinese-Mexicans in the Formation of Gender, Race, and Nation in the Twentieth Century Borderlands.” Her dissertation director was Dr. Cheryl Martin. Her book, Chinese Mexicans: Transpacific Migration and the Search for a Homeland, 1910-1960, was published by the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of North Carolina Press, 2012. Dr. Schiavone-Camacho is presently an Assistant Professor at Antioch College.
Ann Gabbert, “Defining the Boundaries of Care: Local Responses to Global Concerns in El Paso Public Health Policy, 1881-1941.” Her dissertation director was Drs. Michael Topp and Paul Edison. Dr. Gabbert is the Associate Director for the Entering Student Program at the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas – El Paso.
PhD Dissertations in Progress
Sheron Caton, “The Life and Myth of Teresa Urrea.” The director of her dissertation is Dr. Sam Brunk.
Freddy Jaimes Jaimes, “Pre-Narcos: The Origins of Drug Trafficking in Latin America, 1940-1970.” The chair of his dissertation is Dr. Charles Ambler.
Angelina Martinez, “Presente on the Margins of a Nation: Segregated Schooling on the Texas Border, 1954-1975.”
Maria Schrock, "An Environmental History of the Rio Conchos." The director of her dissertation is Dr. Sam Brunk.