Rosa Elena Carrasquillo

Rosa Elena Carrasquillo is Professor of Caribbean and Latin American History at the College of the Holy Cross, where she holds the inaugural Helen M. Whall Chair in Race, Gender and Social Justice. She is Co-Director of Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies and affiliated with Africana Studies and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies.

Her research centers on race, gender, and visual culture in the Caribbean and Latin America. Key interests include Black feminism, coloniality, cimarronaje (marronage), Afro-Caribbean identity, and interdisciplinary pedagogy. Her scholarship bridges historical analysis with cultural studies, focusing on marginalized voices and visual resistance.

Her recent publications reveal a trajectory from political history to visual and cultural analysis. The works explore themes of racial identity, decolonial resistance, and the politics of representation across Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Her interdisciplinary approach integrates biography, historiography, and visual theory.

• Inaugural Helen M. Whall Chair in Race, Gender and Social Justice
• Guest Co-Editor, Radical History Review (2022)

Carrasquillo advises students through her courses and mentorship in history and interdisciplinary programs. She is actively involved in public scholarship, including podcasts and community engagement through her role as Vice-President of Urbe Apie. She has not disclosed specific grant funding, but her endowed chair suggests institutional research support. She contributes to academic discourse through editorial work and public-facing scholarship.

She leads in program development as Co-Director of Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies. Her work with Urbe Apie indicates community-based research and advocacy. She integrates teaching, research, and public engagement in her academic role.