Gina Pérez

  • Professor of Comparative American Studies

Areas of Study

Education

  • BA, University of Notre Dame, 1990
  • MA, Northwestern University, 1996
  • PhD, Northwestern University, 2000

Biography

Gina Pérez is a cultural anthropologist and was one of the first faculty hired in the Comparative American Studies (CAS) Program in 2003.

She is the author of two award-winning books—The Near Northwest Side Story: Gender, Migration and Puerto Rican Families (2004, University of California Press) and Citizen, Student, Soldier: Latina/o Youth, JROTC and the American Dream  (2015, New York University Press). She is also the coeditor of two anthologies: Beyond el Barrio: Everyday Life in Latina/o America  (coedited with Frank Guridy and Adrian Burgos Jr., 2011, New York University Press) and Ethnographic Refusals, Unruly Latinidades (coedited with Alex Chávez, 2022, University of New Mexico Press, School for Advanced Research Advanced Seminar Series).

Her research interests include Latinas/os, youth, militarism, gender, migration, urban ethnography, and faith-based organizing. Her new project focuses on sanctuary movements and multiethnic faith-based organizing among Latina/o communities in Ohio.

Like other CAS faculty, Pérez teaches at all levels of the curriculum and seeks to connect her research and teaching by developing new courses that reflect new intellectual interests in the field of American studies, Latina/o/x studies, and her own research.

She also regularly offers courses that are grounded in community-based learning and research methods, theories, and practice that connect students to Latina/o/x communities in Lorain and throughout Northeast Ohio. With the support and guidance of the Oberlin College Libraries’ staff, Pérez also works with students to develop their skills of public and community engagement by developing web-based platforms like Omeka to share research findings with a broader public.

 

Fall 2024

Theories and Methods in American Studies — CAST 200
Sanctuary and Solidarity — CAST 336
CAST Senior Honors I — CAST 501

Spring 2025

Latinas/os in Comparative Perspective — CAST 201
Latinas/os in Comparative Perspective — GSFS 201
CAST Senior Honors II — CAST 502

Notes

Gina Pérez Essay Appears in "Plain Dealer"

October 9, 2024

Professor of Comparative American Studies Gina Pérez's essay, "We Have Better Stories To Tell About Immigration," appeared in the Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com on October 6, 2024.

Gina Pérez Book Release Covered for Latino Lorain History Project Celebration

October 2, 2024

The Elyria Chronicle Telegram covered the five-year anniversary of the Latino Lorain History Project and the release of Professor of Comparative American Studies Gina Pérez's new book Sanctuary People: Faith-Based Organizing in Latina/o Communities. The Latino Lorain History Project is a a collaboration with the Lorain Historical Society, El Centro de Servicios Sociales and Oberlin College faculty and staff, including Professors Pablo Mitchell and Gina Pérez and the Bonner Center.

Gina Pérez Featured on Podcast

July 23, 2024

Professor of Comparative American Studies Gina Pérez was featured on The Revealer, an award-winning online magazine and podcast that explores religion and its many roles in society and people’s lives, to discuss her new book Sanctuary People: Faith-Based Organizing in Latina/o Communities.

Gina Perez participates in podcast

September 7, 2020

Gina Perez, professor of comparative American studies, appeared on the roundtable podcast In the Thick to discuss the case of Vanessa Guillen and the issues of sexual assault, structural racism, and a culture of impunity in the United States military.

News