Lisa Marie Cacho

Lisa Marie Cacho is an Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Virginia, specializing in the relational dynamics of race, gender, sexuality, and criminalization. Her work bridges critical race theory, immigration studies, and queer of color critique.

• Education: Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies, University of California, San Diego.
• Previous Affiliation: Taught in the Latina/Latino Studies Department at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, as a Conrad Humanities Scholar.

Her research explores how systemic inequality and criminalization intersect with marginalized communities, particularly Latinx and racialized groups. She examines police violence, immigration policies, and the denial of human value through historical and contemporary frameworks.

Recent work includes the edited volume Colonial Racial Capitalism (2022) and the article How Police Abuse the Charge of Resisting Arrest (2022). Her book Social Death (2012) established foundational insights into racialized rightlessness and carceral systems.

Scientific Awards:
• American Studies Association’s 2013 John Hope Franklin Publication Prize
• Conrad Humanities Scholar distinction

Cacho teaches interdisciplinary courses in Latinx studies, criminalization, and feminist/queer critiques. She has engaged in public scholarship through collaborations like the Education Justice Project, teaching incarcerated men at Danville Correctional Center.