Kimberly DaCosta Holton

Kimberly DaCosta Holton is a Professor at Rutgers University in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, with affiliations to the American Studies Department, Women's and Gender Studies Program, and Global Urban Studies/Urban Systems Ph.D. Program. Her research examines expressive culture, music, migration, and politics within Lusophone communities.

• Education:
  • PhD in Performance Studies, Northwestern University
  • MA in Performance Studies, Northwestern University
  • BA in Performance Studies, Northwestern University

Research Focus: Holton's work bridges
• 20th-century Portuguese and Brazilian literature
• Performance theory
• Urban festivity and ethnography
• Diaspora and memory studies
• Theoretical frameworks of globalism and space
Her current book project explores fado performance in the US, building on her Ironbound Oral History Project with over 250 interviews of Portuguese-speaking migrants in NJ/NY.

Publication Trends:
Recent works span
• Digital diaspora performance (2016)
• Transnational folklore dynamics (2005)
• Historiography of Portuguese music (2006)
• Memory in postcolonial narratives (2009)
• Urban cultural policy (2003)
• Material culture of musical heritage (2002)

• Scientific Awards:
  • Ford Foundation Fellowship
  • Social Science Research Council Fellowship
  • Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Fellowship
  • Institute for Research on Women Fellowship

Labs and Projects:
Founder and Director of the Ironbound Oral History Project, a comprehensive archive of Portuguese migrant experiences in NJ/NY. Her work intersects with urban ethnography and digital humanities methodologies.