Making Immigrants Visible in Lampedusa: Pope Francis, Migration, and the State

In July 2013, the recently elected Pope Francis chose Lampedusa for his fist pastoral visit. A tiny island, part of the Sicilian region yet closer to Tunisia than to Italy, Lampedusa has at times become hyper-visible in the media and national discourses surrounding immigration while at other times it is ignored — part of Italy’s geographic and social margins. I trace stories of migration to Lampedusa through the objects and speech employed by Pope Francis. I examine the once discarded wooden migrant boats and their transformation into visible representations of migration. During the papal Mass, these sacred, liturgical objects born from trash became part of Pope Francis’ visual challenge to the invisibility of migrant deaths. I explore the genealogies of the liturgical objects used at Mass, specifically the altar, chalice, ambo, and ferula, to understand how discourses of migration and religion intersect to challenge Italian state practices of migration management

Rethinking generational categories at the border for Latino immigrants

In studies of immigration, generation is typically considered a static categorical system. I argue, however, that generation is a fluid construct and must be understood as place-based. Drawing on fieldwork conducted among Latino/as along the Texas–Mexico border, I seek to explore what current framings of generation leave out. Many in Laredo, Texas, see this border as allowing or preventing movement; these perceptions impact the constructions of generational categories. Cross-border travel, conceptualizations of place and immigration, and mixed-generational unions shape immigrant experiences, and in turn, affect concepts of generation. I conclude by offering ideas and inviting discussion on how the concept of generation can be re-worked to move beyond blunt categories and be re-conceptualized from the perspective of immigrants

Lampedusa: “An Island Full of Pain; It Carries the Weight of the World’s Indifference” *

Creative essay about 2013 immigrant shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa, Ital

On Feeling Depleted: Naming, Confronting, and Surviving Oppression in the Academy

Originally published in http://thefeministwire.com/2014/08/feeling-depleted-naming-confronting-surviving-oppression-academy

Bodyminds Like Ours: An Autoethnographic Analysis of Graduate School, Disability, and the Politics of Disclosure

An autoethnographic account of negotiating disability and disclosure intersectionally in graduate school by four disabled graduate students