Professor in the Departments of American Culture, Romance Languages and Literatures, and Women's Studies at the University of Michigan
About
Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes is a professor in the Departments of American Culture, Romance Languages and Literatures, and Women's Studies at the University of Michigan and the former director of the Latina/o Studies Program (2011-2016). He teaches courses on Puerto Rican, Hispanic Caribbean, and US Latina/o studies; queer of color studies; women's, gender, and sexuality studies; and theater and performance. He received a PhD in Spanish from Columbia University (1999), an MA in Spanish (also from Columbia, 1992), and a BA in Hispanic studies from Harvard College (1991).
Current Work:
"Translocas: The Politics of Puerto Rican Drag and Trans Performance" is an interdisciplinary performance studies project focusing on drag and transgender expressive cultures. By analyzing vernacular categories such as "loca" and "draga," neologisms such as "transloca" and "translatina," and the work of select performing artists, La Fountain-Stokes shows how these dialogue and challenge leading conceptualizations in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States.
Research Area Keyword(s):
Performance, culture, sexuality, Puerto Rico, Diaspora
