Hola Gators! My name is Dr. Anthony Ramirez. I’m an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies and the Assistant Director of the Center for Latino Studies.
Every summer, I head back to my hometown of El Paso, Texas, and spend time with my family, girlfriend, and friends. I use the summer to recharge, work on my side projects, and continue my research. Additionally, I’ll be teaching 3 courses this summer, all of which are asynchronous. I am teaching COMM 1302 – Mass Media, COMM 3313 – Race, Ethnicity, and Communication, and finally a graduate course, COMM 5307 – Cross-Cultural Teams.
I was just awarded a CHSS Teaching Fellowship and plan to work on various materials for it during the summer. I will also meet with Dr. DeJesus-Rivera to discuss our plans for the Center for Latino Studies in the fall. The fall semester is usually a busy one for us, especially with Hispanic Heritage Month. I can guarantee you all that we have some amazing things in mind and cannot wait for you all to hear more about these events!
I have a couple of projects that I’m working on. A lot of my research centers on popular culture, media, and representation. My main project right now is a book I have been working on for about 4 years. The book focuses on comic books and graphic novels set in the U.S.-Mexico border region and its borderlands.
I have over 40 comics and graphic novels to analyze for this project, which is why it has taken me a bit to work on it. Additionally, I have a few other smaller projects, including an essay on Blue Beetle (both the comics and the film) and a discussion of the various aspects of Latinidad and El Pasoanidad (the characteristics that make one an El Pasoan).
Another research project I’m working on is an essay that draws on resources and a series of case studies to highlight innovative ways we can approach Latinx/e storytelling in the digital age and how we can use these methods both in and outside of academia.
I mentioned my summer courses earlier, but in the Fall, I will be teaching 3 courses: COMM 1302 – Mass Media (online), COMM 2310 – Social Media and Contemporary Communication (in-person), and UHD 1301 – First Year Seminar (in-person). I really want to expand my social media course a bit more and build some additional fundamental content for my students to use. I realized, this semester, as I was teaching that course, that I needed to create more fundamental content for them to build on as we progressed through the semester.
By fundamental content, I mean creating videos and mini-lectures that students can watch at home about the various resources, programs, and platforms I use to create social media content. That was something my students asked me to do this past semester, and it has been incredibly helpful. I want to continue building on that to help my students succeed even more.
For my first-year seminar, I want to include more activities and highlight more of the resources we have on campus. I want my students to get a good grasp of what it means to be a college student and to know there are many fantastic resources for them to use and explore. Additionally, I want them to know that there are so many ways that they can be active and build community here at UHD.
Before I end this, I just want to give a quick shout-out to both Angelica and Joy from The Dateline for asking me to be a part of this. Also, shoutout to all my amazing students and colleagues. On a final note, if you want to learn more about my research or some of the things I do outside of work, feel free to follow me on Instagram at @dranthonyrramirez, and follow the Center for Latino Studies on Instagram for all our updates and events: @uhdlatinostudies.
Enjoy your summer, y como siempre, ¡Viva Gators!
