Dr. Marissa López

Biography

Marissa López is a Professor of English Chicana/o Studies at UCLA, specializing in Chicanx literature from the 19th century to the present, with a particular emphasis on 19th century Mexican California. She has authored several influential books, including "Chicano Nations" (New York University, 2011), which examines nationalism in Chicanx literature from the early 1800s to the post-9/11 era, and "Racial Immanence" (New York University, 2019), which explores the uses of the body and affect in Chicanx cultural production. Professor López completed a year-long residency as a Scholars & Society fellow at the Los Angeles Public Library, during which she collaborated on the development of a mobile app, "Picturing Mexican America," that utilizes geodata to display images of Mexican California relevant to users' locations. She has served as the immediate past Vice President of the Latina/o Studies Association, an academic organization that brings together scholars, students, activists, and community leaders in Latinx Studies. Furthermore, she has held several leadership roles, including Associate Director of UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center, chair of UCLA’s Committee on Diversity Equal Opportunity, and chair of the Modern Language Association’s Executive Committee on the Chicana/o Literature Committee.

Research Interests