News & Events

The Department wishes to congratulate the 2009 winner of the Graduate Teaching Award in Chicano Studies, Alexandra Mendoza Covarrubias. She has taught an array of core courses for the department including: the Introduction to Chicana/o Literature, Transnational Chicana/o Theory, and Chicana/o Music and Art. Popular with students, Mendoza Covarrubias has consistently earned above average evaluations and has inspired students to think more critically about important issues relevant to the Chicana/o-Latina/o community as well as the larger society. A graduate student in American Studies, Mendoza Covarrubias is currently completing her dissertation entitled: "Birthing Resistance: Adolescent Chicana Motherhood and the Violence of Everyday Life." Because she combines rigorous, interdisciplinary research in Chicana/o Studies scholarship with Freirean pedagogical techniques and high expectations for thoughtful student engagement in the classroom, we are proud to have her as an instructor in our department.