An interdisciplinary group of faculty members in the College of LAS, including faculty from the Department of Latina/Latino Studies, have received a grant from the Center for Advanced Study at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to study sanctuary spaces and borderlands.
Their group, called the Borders of Sanctuary Collective, will investigate the complex socio-political, cultural, and geographic dimensions of sanctuary spaces and borderlands. Focusing on the Midwest, the collective hopes to illuminate how sanctuary operates amid contemporary migration dynamics, state policies, and grassroots resistance.
The collective plans to host a speaker series and workshops featuring internationally recognized scholars and activists whose work intersects with sanctuary, migration, and border studies. The first event on October 8, “Black and Transgender Migrations and Visions of Sanctuary”, will feature a panel discussion between professor Willie Mack (Black Studies, University of Missouri) and Devin Lowe from the Black Trans Travel Fund, which serves Black and Transgender migrants.
In year two, the collective will host a culminating event featuring scholars, activists, artists, and intellectuals from southern Illinois, St. Louis, and neighboring regions. Participants will share research, artistic work, and grassroots strategies, fostering cross-sector collaboration and solidifying regional sanctuary networks.
The collective will also curate a library of books and materials related to sanctuary, migration, and border studies that will be accessible to participants and the University of Illinois community.
The collective includes professors Gilberto Rosas (Latina/Latino studies and anthropology), Elizabeth Velásquez Estrada (Latina/Latino studies and anthropology), Gabriela G. Corona Valencia (Latina/Latino studies), Damian Vergara Bracamontes (gender and women’s studies), Junaid Rana (Asian American studies), Korinta Maldonado (American Indian studies and anthropology), Erik McDuffie, (history and African American studies), Angelica Waner (Spanish and Portuguese), Saraí Blanco Martinez (Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Associate, Latina/Latino studies), and graduate student Omar Agustin Hernandez (anthropology).