Kathleen Lopez

Kathleen Lopez is an Associate Professor in the Department of Latino and Caribbean Studies and the Department of History at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, School of Arts and Sciences. She has been at Rutgers since 2009 and maintains an active research and teaching profile focusing on the intersections of Asian and Caribbean histories.

Her educational background includes a Ph.D. in History from the University of Michigan, an M.A. in Asian Studies from Cornell University, and a B.A. in History from the University of Virginia.

Professor Lopez specializes in Latin American and Caribbean History with particular focus on Asians in Latin America and the Caribbean, Race and Ethnicity in the Americas, Diaspora and International Migration, Latinx History, and Public Humanities. Her research examines transnational connections between Asia and the Caribbean, with special attention to Chinese migration to Cuba and other Caribbean societies. She explores how migration, race, and identity intersect in the formation of diasporic communities across national boundaries.

Her scholarly work reveals consistent themes of transnational migration, cultural hybridity, and the formation of ethnic identities in the Caribbean and Latin America. Lopez's research demonstrates how Asian diasporas have shaped and been shaped by the societies they've joined, particularly through examination of Chinese migration to Cuba from the 19th century to the present. Her publications show an increasing focus on comparative approaches to diaspora studies, examining connections between different Caribbean societies and their relationships with Asia.

• 2014 Gordon K. and Sybil Lewis Prize of the Caribbean Studies Association for 'Chinese Cubans: A Transnational History'

Professor Lopez serves as Co-Director of the Rutgers Latino Studies Research Initiative and is actively involved in collaborative projects recovering the history of Latinx people and organizations at Rutgers University and in New Jersey. She is engaged with multiple research initiatives including the SAS Global Asias Initiative, the Advanced Institute for Critical Caribbean Studies, and the Center for Latin American Studies. Her public history work includes co-producing exhibits on the 50 Years of Latino and Caribbean Studies at Rutgers University and the Lucy Stone Hall Murals.

She is also an editor for two book series: 'Historical and Cultural Interconnections between Latin America and Asia' with Ignacio López-Calvo, and 'Critical Caribbean Studies' with Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel and Carter Mathes.