Hampshire College

Wilson Valentín-Escobar, associate professor of sociology and American studies, holds a B.A. in Sociology and Latin@ Studies from Fordham University, a Certificate in Oral History from Columbia University, and holds two Masters degrees, one in sociology and the other in American studies, from the University of Michigan. His dissertation analyzes the interstices of community art performance spaces, urban geography, social movements, and the formation of working-class Latin@ avant-gardes in New York City.

His publications have appeared in Mambo Montage: The Latinization of New York City (Columbia University Press, 1999), Situating Salsa: Global Markets and Local Meanings in Latin Popular Music (Routledge Press, 2002), as well as the Puerto Rican studies journal Centro (2004).

Before arriving to Hampshire, he worked in film and video production, had a non-commercial radio show, and was a recipient of several academic fellowships. Committed to community-centered scholarship, his research and teaching interests include American studies, U.S. ethnic studies, Latin@ and Puerto Rican studies, critical cultural studies, social and cultural theory, qualitative research methods, and oral history theory and methodology.

Leave Info
Professor Valentin will be on leave for the 2011-2012 academic year.

Affiliations
School of Critical Social Inquiry

Recent Courses
CSI-0217: Remapping Las Americas: Introduction to Latin@ Studies (Fall 2012)
CSI-131T: The Art(s) of Place/Making (Fall 2011)
Empires & Citizenship: Postcoloniality and Puerto Rican Communities (Spring 2011)
Oral History Theory and Method: Power, Agency, and History 'from Below' (Spring 2011)