Cave Dwelling

I haven’t been visiting LatinoLikeMe this year with the same regularity as I have in years past. It’s not like I don’t have things to share or comment on, but this past academic year was a busy one for me and other things had to take priority. Its amazing how the momentum of your day can shift around a normal pattern until days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into months, and then, before you know it, you have a new routine.

And so I hope I can come out of the academic cave in the weeks ahead as I try to create some new habits for myself, including sharing more here and less in other venues.

In the meantime, I guess I should update you on some of the more significant events of my work life.

I am now, officially, a tenured professor. The tenure process was one of the least pleasurable events I have encountered in my life. It’s important to keep it in perspective—after all, nobody died–but being judged for your livelihood in this market is never a comforting thing. But it’s done! And so now I am discovering what it is like to start envisioning the next phase of my career, as an Associate Professor of Chicana/o~Latina/o Studies and History at Pomona College.

The academic year ahead looks to be an exciting one. I have my first book coming out in fall of 2013! Latinos at The Golden Gate is a history of Latino community formation in San Francisco. It will be published by The University of North Carolina Press. In the months ahead it will go into the “production process” which is a very exciting and largely unknown thing for me. I’ll share what I can as that process unfolds.

Until then, thank you to any regular readers I still have out there and welcome to any new visitors. See you soon…