Kathleen López

Kathleen López serves as Associate Professor in both the Department of Latino and Caribbean Studies and the Department of History at Rutgers University's School of Arts and Sciences. Her academic credentials include 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 López's research centers on transnational historical connections between Asia and the Americas, with particular emphasis on Chinese migration to Cuba and Caribbean societies. Her scholarly work intersects Latin American and Caribbean History, Asians in Latin America and the Caribbean, Race and Ethnicity in the Americas, Diaspora and International Migration, Latinx History, and Public Humanities. She employs both archival and ethnographic methodologies across Cuba, China, and the United States to explore these transnational connections.

Her publications reveal consistent thematic focus on migration patterns, cultural hybridity, and diasporic community formation across the Americas. López's work demonstrates methodological sophistication through its combination of historical analysis and ethnographic fieldwork, particularly regarding Chinese migration to Cuba and other Caribbean contexts.

Professor López's scholarly contributions have been recognized with:

• 2014 Gordon K. and Sybil Lewis Prize of the Caribbean Studies Association for 'Chinese Cubans: A Transnational History'
• Faculty Fellowship for the 2015-2016 Center for Cultural Analysis Archipelagoes Seminar

As an academic leader, Professor López co-directs the Rutgers Latino Studies Research Initiative, where she spearheads efforts to document Latinx history at Rutgers and throughout New Jersey. She actively participates in the SAS Global Asias Initiative, the Advanced Institute for Critical Caribbean Studies, and the Center for Latin American Studies. Additionally, she co-edits two influential book series: 'Historical and Cultural Interconnections between Latin America and Asia' (Palgrave Macmillan) and 'Critical Caribbean Studies' (Rutgers University Press).

Professor López teaches diverse courses spanning undergraduate and graduate levels including Introduction to Caribbean Studies, Introduction to Latino Studies, History of the Caribbean since 1898, History of Cuba, and specialized seminars on Global Diasporas and Latin American History. Her public history work includes co-directing the '50 Years of Latino and Caribbean Studies at Rutgers University (1973-2023)' exhibit and the 'Lucy Stone Hall Murals' project, both examining institutional history and campus activism.