Rachel Buff

Rachel Buff is a Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), affiliated with African and African Diaspora Studies, Gender and Women's Studies, and Jewish Studies. She holds a PhD in American Studies from the University of Minnesota (1995) and a BA from Brown University (1985). Her research focuses on migration, immigrant rights movements, and transnational cultural politics, with particular attention to the Cold War era and contemporary issues like sanctuary spaces and border resistance. She previously served as Chair of UWM’s History Department (2022–2024).

Teaching interests include U.S. survey courses, immigration history, and the historical intersections of empire and migration. Her work bridges academic scholarship and public engagement, with essays published in Academe, Jacobin, and Truthout. Current projects include a collection of essays titled Lost in the Red Scare and a bilingual historical glossary of migration terms.

Research emphasizes the global dimensions of U.S. immigration policy, exploring how Cold War-era repression and McCarthyism shaped modern immigrant advocacy. Her publications analyze deportation histories, refugee rights, and the legacies of anti-immigrant policies. She collaborates across disciplines to address contemporary migration crises through a historical lens.