Class of 2017

Hello, ’17s, and happy summer! Today I’m talking about the outstanding Oscar Ruben Cornejo Casares!

Oscar is pursuing his Ph.D. at Northwestern University, where he is examining the intersection of immigration, race, gender, and social movements. Oscar wrote his undergraduate thesis on undocumented immigrants in Atlanta, and he carried his lingering questions from this study to his Ph.D. in Evanston, Illinois. He argues that the status and experience of undocumented immigrants are racialized; for example, Latinos primarily learn that they are undocumented when they are children, whereas people who come from other countries often learn through life events such as getting a driver’s license, trying to leave the country, or applying to college. What makes his study unique is the diversity of his interlocutors. Most studies have focused on individuals from Latin America and just one group at a time; however, Oscar interviews individuals from Mexico, Belize, Poland, Korea, India, Kenya, and Ghana so he can analyze the intersection of race and legal status in America. In addition to getting his work published, he hopes to make sure his work is accessible to others in the long run and that it goes beyond the walls of academia. He wants to amplify voices that have been largely neglected or forgotten.

Although his studies take up most of his time, Oscar enjoys running and genealogy. He used to run around Occom Pond at Dartmouth, but now he runs out to Lake Michigan. Oscar became interested in genealogy after participating in the Native American studies department’s off-campus program in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the American Institute of Indigenous Art. He was able to go back to the mid-1700s in some branches.

—Dorian Allen, 117 West Grant St., Apt. 123, Minneapolis, MN 55403; (973) 986-5988; dorallen@comcast.net