BIO

Silvia Rodriguez Vega is an Assistant Professor at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) in the Department of Chicana/o Studies. Previously, she was both a UC Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow and a New York University Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Applied Psychology at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. She holds a Ph.D. in Chicana and Chicano Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Master’s from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She received her B.A. in Political Science and Transboder Latina/o and Chicana/o Studies from Arizona State University.

Silvia is a community engaged artist and scholar. Her research explores the ways anti-immigration policy impacts the lives of immigrant children through new methodological tools centering art and creative expression. Specifically, her research highlights the understudied preadolescent children of immigrants—both U.S.-born citizens and undocumented immigrant children. Through creating and teaching a bilingual multidisciplinary theater class at a local elementary school in South Central, Los Angeles her data included family, child, and teacher interviews, class observations, artwork and performance videos, from recently arrived Mexican and Central American children ages 11 to 13. Before that, Silvia collected 150 drawings from immigrant children in Phoenix, Arizona during the tenure of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s deportation campaigns.

Silvia’s writing has been published in Latino Studies, Aztlán: The Journal of Chicano Studies, the Association of Mexican American Educators Journal, and theHarvard Journal of Hispanic Policy. At UCLA, Silvia’s research was funded by the Ford Foundation, as well as the Institute of American Culture and the UC MEXUS research grant.

More broadly, Silvia is also concerned with issues of structural inequality, service-learning, immigration policy, mixed-status families, transborder relations, undocumented youth and children, and arts and artivism through performance and digital media.

4 responses

  1. Silvia:
    Mi nombre es Arnaldo Ruiz. Soy peruano, ingeniero, Master en Econmia y escritor, pero, como tu, indocumentado viviendo la pesadilla de esta situacion, es mas, muy dura ya que mis hijos, uno de ellos de excelentes calificaciones no ha podido seguir sus estudios (tiene 19 anos). Quisiera poder hablar contigo para que me des algunas ideas sobre como ayudarlo con cualquier tipo de beca o idea, y no solo a el sino a otros. Te felicito y le he mostrado el video de tu presentacion en Don Francisco a todos para que se inspirenm en ti. Ah, yo soy escritor y te puedo ayudar gratis a corregir, cuando lo requieras, tu libro. Ahora estoy corrgiendo mi novela sobre el tema que ya paso las doscientas paginas. Que Dios te bendiga.

    Arnaldo

  2. hola my name is rocio and my dream has always been to go to harvard. my question is how did you do it? how did you get into harvard…? i know that having a great positive attitude es bueno pero…? yo pense q si no tenias papeles no podias… veo q estoy bastante equivocada… ? por favor mandame un mail para q se me quite la curiosidad… igual en el futuro podremos cambiar juntas todas estas leyes absurdas q hay contra los imigrantes… por ques en mis ojos TODOS TODOS somos imigrantes… y I am with you SI SE PUEDE!!

  3. You are an inspiration ! I believe full heartedly that you will get the funds needed. God gots you! Praying for you and sending out requests to support you. Cant wait to celebrate with you in May! =)