A wide shot of a ceramics studio, featuring students working with pottery wheels and other tools.
Christina Gomez headshot

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Christina Gomez

Professor and Graduate Director of Visual & Critical Studies

Contact

Bio

Education: BA, University of Chicago; MBA, Chicago Booth, University of Chicago Booth School of Business; MA & Ph.D., Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.  

Publications

Books

  • Mixed: Multiracial College Students Tell Their Life Stories, edited book with Andrew Garrod and Robert Kilkenny, Cornell University Press, December 2013.
  • Mi Voz, Mi Vida: Successful Latino College Students Tell Their Stories, edited book with Andrew Garrod and Robert Kilkenny, Cornell University Press, May 2007.

Articles and Chapters

  • "Finding América: Creating Space and Place for Latinx Children’s Books," in The Life & Literary Legacy of Luis J. Rodríguez, edited by J. Metcalf and B. Olguín, Edinburgh University Press Ltd, 2025.
  • "How We Get the Work Done: Helping Students Understand Labor and Costs in Art & Design Schools," in Teaching Labor History in Art and Design: Capitalism and the Creative Industries, edited by K. Pyun and V. Quan, Routledge Press, 2024.
  • "Constructive Disequilibrium and Transformative Pedagogy: Developing Global Citizens in Faraway Spaces," with A. Nalani and A. Garrod, Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, December 2021.
  • "Out for Immigration Justice: Thinking through Social and Political Change," with D. Diaz-Strong, M. Luna-Duarte, E. Meiners in Youth Resistance Research and Theories of Change, edited by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang, Routledge Press, Fall 2013.
  • "Too close to the work/There is nothing right now," with E. Meiners, M. Luna-Duarte, and D. Diaz-Strong, in Humanizing Research: Decolonizing Research with Youth and Communities, edited by Django Paris and Maisha T. Winn, Sage Publications, Spring 2013.
  • "Telling Our Stories, Naming Ourselves: The Lost María in the Academy," in Transforming the Ivory Tower, edited by Brett Stockdill and Mary Yu Danico, University of Hawaii Press, 2012.
  • "Undocumented Latino Youth: Strategies for Accessing Higher Education," with D. Diaz-Strong, M. Luna-Duarte, E. Meiners, in Understanding the Disenfranchisement of Latino Men and Boys: Invisible No More, edited by Pedro Noguera, Aida Hurtado, and Edward Fergus, Routledge Press, Fall 2011.

See all articles: https://saic.academia.edu/ChristinaGomez

Personal Statement

Christina Gómez's research focuses on racial identity construction in the United States, discrimination, and immigration. She has authored numerous articles on topics such as skin color discrimination, Latino identity formation, bilingual education politics, and the experiences of undocumented students in higher education. Gómez has received many awards and fellowships, including a Henry Luce Foundation Scholars Fellowship, a National Science Foundation Fellowship, and the Faculty of the Year Award from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2019).

Courses

Title Department Catalog Term

Description

This course examines the diversity of Latina experiences in the United States and the construction of Latina identities, social movements, artistic expressions, and political participation. The course centers around testimonios -- or life stories -- specifically focusing on understanding the struggles of Latinas in everyday life. Topics include Latina feminism, colorism/race, sexualities, educational attainment, violence against women, and labor participation.

Readings and screenings will vary but generally include 'testimonios,' essays, studies, and documentaries focusing on the experiences of Latinas in the United States. Including demographics of the Latinx Population,Fact Sheet on Latinas ¿ Health, Education, and readings from Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, and Literature that focus on Latinas experiences, studies, and policies. Books include:The Latina Feminist Group, Telling to Live: Latina Feminist Testimonios and This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, Editors: Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua. We examine issues, such as forced sterilization of Latina women in the U.S., skin color discrimination, sexual abuse, and the ongoing pay disparity that Latinas face that has barely budged within the last 30 years.

Students should expect to produce a body of work consisting of three essays during the semester, and a final presentation of a project that is shared with the class.

Class Number

1746

Credits

3

Description

This independent study course is a continuation of Thesis I and is taken with the student's primary thesis advisor to facilitate completion of the thesis. Research and approval (by the advisor and the rest of the student's committee) of the thesis topic and approach should have been completed during Thesis I. Students work closely with a thesis advisor during this semester in addition to scheduling meetings with other faculty on his or her committee whose input may prove useful in their research. This course covers the final completion and submission of the master's thesis. It is required for the Master of Arts in Visual and Critical Studies.

Class Number

2451

Credits

3

Description

This independent study course is a continuation of Thesis I and is taken with the student's primary thesis advisor to facilitate completion of the thesis. Research and approval (by the advisor and the rest of the student's committee) of the thesis topic and approach should have been completed during Thesis I. Students work closely with a thesis advisor during this semester in addition to scheduling meetings with other faculty on his or her committee whose input may prove useful in their research. This course covers the final completion and submission of the master's thesis. It is required for the Master of Arts in Visual and Critical Studies.

Class Number

2453

Credits

3