Crossroads in the Study of the Americas (CISA)
An initiative exploring possibilities for supporting trans-nationalist, interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the Americas.
The Five College Center for Crossroads in the Study of the Americas (CISA) was created in 1997 with the goal of exploring possibilities for supporting trans-nationalist, interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the Americas, and embedding these approaches into the curricula of the five campuses. With funding from Teagle and NEH, CISA engaged in many activities. It conducted course development seminars, hosted postdoctoral fellows, put on an annual student symposium, and sponsored an annual year-long seminar for early career faculty working in the field. Evidence of the impact of the original CISA center can be found in programs across the five campuses. Of the original activities, the CISA Fellows Seminar continues to this day.
CISA Seminars
The CISA Fellows Seminar gathers eight to 10 early career faculty members who work together to explore relational aspects of identity in the Americas, broadly construed to include the concepts of citizenship, migration, diaspora, and nationhood. Participants in the seminar meet two or three times each semester to share a catered dinner and present works in progress. Past participants have cited the CISA seminar as one of the most formative experiences of their early tenure in the Five Colleges. Since 2000, nearly 120 faculty have participated in the CISA Fellows Seminar. Many participants have subsequently taken on leadership roles in Five Colleges programs. Contact Ray Rennard at the information below if you have questions about the seminar.
Past and Current CISA Fellows
Each year, CISA invites a number of new faculty to become fellows. Below is a list of current and recent CISA Fellows. (The CISA Seminar was paused for the 2020-22 academic years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.)
Past and Current CISA Fellows
Shakia Barron
Dance
Mount Holyoke College
Abby Chabitnoy
English/Creative Writing
UMass Amherst
Sylvia Cifuentes
Environmental Science
Mount Holyoke College
Jonathan Dent
Theater
Hampshire College
Anna Maria Hong
Creative Writing
Mount Holyoke College
Jallicia Jolly
American Studies/Black Studies
Amherst College
Thirii Myint
English
Amherst College
Traci-Ann Wint
Africana Studies
Smith College
Nicholas Caverly
Anthropology
UMass Amherst
Ben Gebre-Medhin
Sociology
Mount Holyoke College
Ximena Gomez
History of Art and Architecture
UMass Amherst
Anne Kerth
Afro-American Studies
UMass Amherst
Melissa Parrish
English Language and Literature
Smith College
Christine Peralta
History and Sexuality, Women's & Gender Studies
Amherst College
Sarah Stefana Smith
Gender Studies
Mount Holyoke College
Jimmy Worthy
English
UMass Amherst
Cameron Awkward-Rich
Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies
UMass Amherst
Sony Coranez Bolton
Spanish
Amherst College
Alexis Callender
Art
Smith College
Meredith Coleman-Tobias
Religion
Mount Holyoke College
Adam Dahl
Political Science
UMass Amherst
Fumi Okiji
Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies
UMass Amherst
Timothy Recuber
Sociology
Smith College
Corine Tachtiris
Comparative Literature
UMass Amherst
Tara Bynum
African American Literature and Culture
Hampshire College
Molly Christie Gonzalez
Dance and Dance Education
UMass Amherst
Colin Hoag
Anthropology
Smith College
Ren-Yo Hwang
Gender Studies and Critical Social Thought
Mount Holyoke
Sam Ng
Africana Studies
Smith College
Tammy Owens
Diasporic Youth Cultures
Hampshire College
Sarah Patterson
English
UMass Amherst
Erin Pineda
Government
Smith College
Ashwin Ravikumar
Environmental Studies
Amherst College
Ashley Smith
Native American and Environmental Studies
Hampshire College
John Tawa
Psychology
Mount Holyoke
Veronica Zebadua Yanez
Gender Studies
Mount Holyoke
Lloyd Barba
Latinx and Latin American Studies and Religion
Amherst College
Diana Burnett
Africana Studies
Smith College
Dasha Chapman
Critical Dance Studies
Hampshire College
Haile Cole
Anthropology
Amherst College
Thomas Dichter
Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought
Amherst College
Bill Girard
Anthropology
Mount Holyoke College
Dominique Hill
Black Studies
Amherst College
Flavia Santos de Araujo
Africana Studies
Smith College
Scott Blinder
Political Science
UMass Amherst
Sarah Hines
Latin American and Latino/a Studies
Smith College
Leila Kawar
Legal Studies
UMass Amherst
Jina Kim
Critical Social Thought
Mount Holyoke College
Sancha Medwinter
Sociology
UMass Amherst
Allison Page
New Media Studies
Hampshire College
Kimberlee Perez
Communication
UMass Amherst
J.T. Roane
Africana Studies
Smith College
Alexis Salas
Art History
Hampshire College
Kevin Young
History
UMass Amherst
Wendy Bergoffen
American Studies/Sexuality, Women's and Gender Studies
Amherst College
Rachel Engmann
African Studies
Hampshire College
Aneeka Henderson
Sexuality, Women's and Gender Studies
Amherst College
Jesus Hernandez
Spanish,Latina/o, and Latin American Studies
Mount Holyoke College
Kirsten Leng
Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies
UMass Amherst
Jonathan Obert
Political Science
Amherst College
Ana Soltero Lopez
Spanish,Latina/o, and Latin American Studies
Mount Holyoke College
Vanessa Rosa
Spanish,Latina/o, and Latin American Studies
Mount Holyoke College
Mecca Jamilah Sullivan
Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies
UMass Amherst
Meghan Armstrong
Spanish and Portuguese
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Stephen Dillon
Queer Studies
Hampshire College
Dania Francis
Afro-American Studies and Economics
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Emily Redman
History
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Sam Redman
History
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Shani Roper
Afro-American Studies
Smith College
Libby Sharrow
History and Political Science
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Vanessa Walker
History
Amherst College
Julio Capo
History
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Sarah Cornell
History
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Tara Daly
Spanish,Latina/o, and Latin American Studies
Mount Holyoke College
Christine DeLucia
History
Mount Holyoke College
Cora Fernandez-Anderson
Critical Social Inquiry
Hampshire College
Tanisha Ford
Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies
University of Massachusetts Amherst
David Hernandez
Spanish,Latina/o, and Latin American Studies
Mount Holyoke College
Bettina Judd
Africana Studies/Gender Studies
Mount Holyoke College
Kiara Vigil
American Studies
Amherst College
Micaela Diaz-Sanchez
Spanish,Latina/o, and Latin American Studies
Mount Holyoke College
Daniel LaChance
Political Science/Legal Studies
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Rachel Martin
History/Heritage Studies
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Khary Polk
Black Studies
Amherst College
Jonathan Rosa
Anthropology
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Britt Rusert
Afro-American Studies
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Heidi Scott
History
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Angela Willey
Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Alberto Ameal-Perez
Languages, Literatures, and Cultures/Spanish & Portuguese
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Jane Anderson
Anthropology
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Judith Flores Carmona
Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Critical Literacies and Pedagogy
Hampshire College
John Drabinski
Black Studies
Amherst College
Leigh-Anne Francis
Five College Fellow in African American and African Studies
Mount Holyoke College
Andrea King
Mendenhall Fellow in the Study of Women and Gender
Smith College
Chantal Norrgard
History
Mount Holyoke College
Dawn Peterson
History
Smith College
Manuela Picq
Loewenstein Fellow in Political Science
Amherst College
Ana Rona
Spanish, Latina/o, and Latin American Studies
Mount Holyoke College
Payal Banerjee
Sociology
Smith College
Laura Furlan
English
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Jennifer Fronc
History
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Jeannette Lee
American and Caribbean Literature
Hampshire College
Edward Melillo
History
Amherst College
McKinley Melton
African American Studies
Hampshire College
Noriko Milman
Sociology
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Elizabeth Pryor
History
Smith College
Svati Shah
Women's Studies Program
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Contact Us
