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Alyssa Garcia

Assistant Professor of Instruction in Gender & Sexuality Studies | Adviser, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences

PhD in Anthropology from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Alyssa Garcia is a Weinberg College Adviser and Assistant Professor of Instruction in Gender and Sexuality Studies. She received her BA in Cross-Cultural Psychology from Brown University and earned her PhD in Anthropology from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her teaching and research interests include Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Ethnic-Latinx Studies, Intersectionality, Critical Race Theory, Feminist Ethnography, and Applied Anthropology. Dr. Garcia’s research examines the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality in Cuba through an analysis of discourses of sex-work and the body. Her manuscript project, “Moral Discourses, Regulated Bodies: Sex, the State, and Subjectivity in Cuba,” is a historically grounded ethnography that traces chronologically the public supervision and state regulation of black female bodies in Cuba. Her selected publications include: “Federada Testimonios On the Ground: Revealing the Gendered Limits in Operationalizing the Cuban Revolution’s Campaign Against Prostitution” Meridians.(2020).; Continuous Moral Economies: The State Regulation of Bodies and Sex-Work in Cuba, Sexualities (2010); Situating Race, Navigating Belonging: Mapping Afro-Cuban Identities in the U.S., Latina/o Research Review (2009); and Counter-Stories of Race and Gender: Situating the Experiences of Latinas in the Academy, Latino Studies Journal (2005).

Courses Taught

  • Spring 2021: Latinx Feminisms (GNDR_ST 390; Co-listed with LATINO)

Articles/Chapters:

  • Under Review “A Portrait of Dominican Communities in Pennsylvania: Narratives of Secondary Migration”
  • Forthcoming   “Dominicans in Pennsylvania” Book chapter Dominican Migration in the U.S. Ed. Ramona Hernandez. Dominican Studies Institute /FUNGLOBE (City College-CUNY).
  •  Forthcoming   “Mothering an Angel in the Aftermath of Stillbirth: A Latina’s Reflection on Child loss, Grief and ‘Being Seen.” Birth, Loss, and Trouble: Women of Color Reflect. Eds. Benjamin, Clark, and Obadike. Vanderbilt University Press.
  • 2020                “Federada Testimonios On the Ground: Revealing the Gendered Limits in Operationalizing the Cuban Revolution’s Campaign Against Prostitution” Meridians. Volume 19 No1. P149-201.
  • 2012                “Latina Faculty Narratives and the Challenges of Tenure: Identifying Strategies, Institutionalizing Accountability” in Mentoring Faculty of Color: Achieving Tenure and Promotion at Predominantly White Colleges and Universities. Eds. Michelle Camacho, Dwayne Mack and Elwood Watson. McFarland Press: North Carolina
  • 2010                “Nociones de Honor, Género, y Raza: La Regulación del Cuerpo Femenino en Cuba en los Contextos Históricos Coloniales y Neo-coloniales” Sexología y Sociedad Ed. Mariela Castro, CENESEX. Havana, Cuba.  December.
  • 2010                “Continuous Moral Economies: The State Regulation of Bodies and Sex-Work in Cuba”. Sexualities. Vol 13(2) p 1-26. 
  • 2009                “Situating Race, Navigating Belonging: Mapping Afro-Cuban Identities in the U.S.” Latina/o Research Review.  Volume 7 no1-2.
  •  2005                “Counter-Stories of Race and Gender: Situating the Experiences of Latinas in the Academy.” Latino                                           Studies Journal. Palgrave Macmillan. July 3:1.