Laura E. Matthew

Laura E. Matthew is Associate Professor of History at Marquette University, specializing in colonial Latin American history with focus on Guatemala and southern Mesoamerica. Her research examines how communities rebuild identity and social bonds after migrations and during periods of radical change, particularly investigating the complex identities of Indigenous conquistadors.

Education: Ph.D. in History from University of Pennsylvania (2004); M.A. in Latin American Studies from University of Texas at Austin (1993); B.A. in Plan II/English from University of Texas at Austin (1989).

Research encompasses multiple award-winning projects:

• 'Memories of Conquest': Prize-winning study of Nahua conquistadors in Guatemala
• Nahuatl/Nawat in Central America Project: Digital archive preserving colonial documents
• Remembering Madre Rosa: Oral history project documenting Marquette Maryknolls in Guatemala
• Southern Pacific Coast trade networks: Current research on migration and commerce

Her work has been recognized with major awards including the Howard F. Cline Memorial Prize and Murdo MacLeod Prize for her book 'Memories of Conquest'. She directs the Nahuatl/Nawat in Central America digital archive and leads undergraduate research on Maryknoll Sisters' legacy in Guatemala.

Teaching areas include colonial Latin America, Mexican history, immigration history, and ethnohistory. She also developed Marquette's Interdisciplinary Latin American and Latinx Studies program.