Marissa Ambio

Marissa Ambio serves as Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies and Director of Latin American and Latine Studies at Hamilton College, where she joined the faculty in 2017. Her scholarly work centers on 19th-21st century Latino literature with emphasis on transnational print culture, Cuban emigre periodicals, and identity formation. Recognized with the John R. Hatch Excellence in Teaching Award and multiple research grants, she actively shapes curriculum development and interdisciplinary initiatives across campus.

Her educational background includes:

• Ph.D., Columbia University
• M.Phil., Columbia University
• M.A., Columbia University
• B.A., Williams College

Her research interrogates Nuyorican literature, U.S. Latino spiritualities, and Latino children's literature while challenging conventional literary taxonomies. Specializing in Heritage Spanish pedagogy, Latin American modernismo, and the crónica journalistic genre, she examines masculinity, race, and cultural hybridity through works by Junot Díaz and Piri Thomas. Her scholarship on Cuban emigre press during the Ten Years' War reveals nation-building through transnational print networks.

Ambio's publication trajectory demonstrates deepening engagement with diasporic narratives and visual resistance strategies. Her 2023 chapter 'Diaspora' in Latin American Literature in Transition complements recent analyses of Nicholasa Mohr's children's literature and Junot Díaz's narrative silences, forming a cohesive exploration of Caribbean diaspora experiences through shifting literary forms and cultural contexts.

Her scholarly distinctions include:

• Joseph T. Crescenti Best Article Prize for 'Cuba’s Laborante' (Latin American Research Review)
• Dr. Edgardo Yordán Humanities Faculty Research Grant
• Mellon Mays Fellowship Travel Research Grant
• Paul H. Klingenstein Fellowship (Columbia University)

As co-director of a 2023-2025 NEH Humanities Initiatives grant, she develops an interdisciplinary curatorial studies minor with student internships at partner institutions including the Wellin Museum of Art and Everson Museum. Her service encompasses the Latin American and Latine Studies Program Committee, Judicial Board, and Hispanic Studies' Encuentros journal as Managing Editor.

She leads the Curatorial Studies Initiative through partnerships with regional cultural institutions while coordinating Mesa de español language tables and Hispanic Studies teaching assistants to foster immersive language experiences.