Maria Cristina Garcia
Professor
Office: 455 McGraw Hall
Phone: (607) 255-6598
Fax: (607) 255-0469
E-Mail: mcg20@cornell.edu
Office Hours: TBA
Research and Teaching Interests
My research and teaching interests revolve around the study of refugees and immigrants. My first book, Havana USA, examined the migration of Cubans to the south Florida after Fidel Castro took power in 1959. In the course of just one generation Cuban exiles created one of the most powerful ethnic lobbies on Capitol Hill, and created the wealthiest Latino business community in the nation. Havana USA examines the evolution of this political and economic influence and addresses such questions as: why were Cubans the beneficiaries of one of the most generous immigration policies in US immigration history? How did the Cubans come to play such key roles in the foreign policy of the United States? Why have Cuban Americans become so influential in local, state, and federal elections? Have Cubans Americans redefined what it means to assimilate in the United States?
My second book, Seeking Refuge, examined Central American migration to Mexico, the United States, and Canada during the political upheaval of the 1980s and 1990s. I examined how each of these three governments responded to the presence of Salvadoran, Guatemalan, and Nicaraguan refugees within its borders, and how these policies influenced the character and flow of migration across the region. In addition, the book tells the story of the individuals, groups, and organizations that responded to the refugee crisis, and worked within and across national borders to shape a more responsive refugee policy. It was the pressure exerted by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and the grassroots organizations that worked first-hand with the victims, as well as the refugees themselves, that forced these states to address the refugee crisis. Collectively these individuals and organizations established domestic and transnational advocacy networks that collected testimonies, documented the abuses of states, re-framed national debates about immigration, pressured for changes in policy, and ultimately provided a voice for the displaced and the excluded.
Courses
| Fall 2008: | 2250 |
U. S. Mexico Border |
|---|---|---|
4850 |
Immigration: History, Theory, & Practice | |
| Spring 2009: | On Leave |
Other Courses Taught at Cornell
Refugees, Asylum, and Human Rights (to be offered in 2009)
Latinos and the Hispanic Caribbean (to be offered in 2009)
Oral History (to be offered in 2009)
Immigration: History, Theory, and Practice (Service-learning course)
US-Cuba Relations
The US-Mexico Border: History, Culture, and Representation
Immigration and ethnicity in 20th century U.S.
Introduction to Latino History: Colonial period to 1898
Introduction to Latino History: 1898 to the present
The Immigrant City 1900/2000
Comparative Migration to the Americas
20th Century Responses to American Diversity
Introduction to American History: Reconstruction to the present
Education
Ph.D University of Texas, Austin, 1990
M.A. University of Texas, Austin, 1984
B.A. Georgetown University, 1982
Recent Publications and Awards
Books
Seeking Refuge: Central American Immigration to Mexico, the United States, and Canada (University of California Press, 2006).
Havana USA: Cuban Exiles and Cuban Americans in South Florida, 1959-1994. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.
Articles and Book Chapters
"Latin American Populations in the United States," Encyclopedia of Latin American History, (20,000 word entry, forthcoming 2009).
Refugees or Economic Immigrants? The Politics of US Refugee Policy and Immigration from Latin America" in A Companion to Latino Studies. Juan Flores and Renato Rosaldo, eds. (Blackwell Press, 2007).
Canada a Northern Refuge for Central Americans," Migration Information Source (Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, April 2006), <http://www.migrationinformation.org>www.migrationinformation.org <http://www.migrationinformation.org>.
"'Dangerous times call for risky responses': Latino Immigration and Sanctuary, 1981-2001," in Latino Religions and Civic Activism in American Public Life Gastn Espinosa, Virgilio Elizondo, and Jesse Miranda, eds. Oxford University Press, 2004.
"Exiles, Immigrants, and Transnationals: Cubans in the United States," in The Columbia Anthology of Latino History. David G. Gutierrez, ed., Columbia University Press, 2004.
"Cuban American Prose, 1975-2000" in Mario Valds, ed., Latin American Literary History Oxford University Press, 2004.
"Havana USA" in Latino/a Thought: Culture Politics, and Society. Francisco H. Vzquez and Rodolfo D. Torres, eds., Rowman and Littlefield, 2003.
Grants and Fellowships
Radcliffe Institute, 2005-2006 (declined)
Fellow, Society for the Humanities, Cornell University, Fall 2000.
Canadian Studies Research Grant, 1999.
George Bush Center for Presidential Studies Research Grant, Fall 1997.
Louisville Institute Research Grant, Summer 1997.
Abba P. Schwartz Research Fellowship for Immigration Studies, John F. Kennedy Foundation, 1993.
Research Grant, John F. Kennedy Foundation, 1992.
Fulbright, United Kingdom, 1991-92.
Links
Joint appointments:
Latino Studies Program
Teaching affiliations with:
American Studies Program
Latin American Studies Program