Dr. Damian Vergara Bracamontes is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His work bridges Latinx Studies, Critical Prison Studies, and Queer/Trans of Color Critique, focusing on migration, gendered violence, and resistance frameworks. Education: Ph.D. in American Studies, Yale University (2020) WGSS Certificate, Yale University (2017) M.A. in American Studies, Yale University (2017) B.A. in Ethnic Studies (Magna Cum Laude), University of California San Diego (2013) A.A. in Social and Behavioral Sciences, San Diego City College (2010) Vergara Bracamontes' research interrogates the intersections of Latinx migration, carceral systems, and queer/trans identities in the 20th-21st centuries. His publications and workshops address: Critical responses to immigration enforcement Queer kinship as resistance Decolonizing trans studies Community-based defense strategies Chicano movement historiography Scientific Awards: 2019 Public Scholar Award (Yale University) for societal impact of academic research As an educator, he has been recognized on the Teachers Ranked Excellent list since 2021, teaching courses on intersectional power structures, policing, and queer theories.










