Sonia Robles

Sonia Robles is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Delaware, affiliated with the College of Arts & Sciences. Her research focuses on wireless media, technology, and cultural dynamics in Mexico and among Spanish-speaking communities in the U.S. She specializes in Mexican radio history, particularly commercial radio stations along the U.S.-Mexico border during the 1930s-1950s, and their role in connecting Mexican immigrants with their homeland. Her book Mexican Waves: Radio Broadcasting Along Mexico's Northern Border, 1930–1950 (2019) examines how Mexican entrepreneurs built cross-border media networks.

Current projects include studies on radio advertising in U.S. Spanish-speaking communities and a history of public broadcasting in Mexico. Her work intersects with Latin American history, borderlands studies, technology studies, and gender analysis. She teaches courses on Latin American, Mexican, Borderlands, and Latinx history, emphasizing cultural and social dimensions of media.

Publications span topics like radio dramas, public health communication via radio, and biographies of radio pioneers like María Luisa Ross. Her research highlights radio’s role in shaping cultural identities, transnational communities, and state-society interactions. No academic awards are explicitly listed, though her scholarly contributions reflect strong engagement in media history and Latin American studies.