Overview
Rebeca L. Hey-Colón is jointly appointed in the Department of Literatures in English and the Latina/o Studies Program. She specializes in Afro-Latinx and Caribbean studies. Her first book, Channeling Knowledges: Water and Afro-Diasporic Spirits in Latinx and Caribbean Worlds (University of Texas Press, 2023) centers the multi-directional flows of water in contemporary Latinx and Caribbean cultural production as seen through the lens of Afro-diasporic religions. Through an interdisciplinary analysis that focuses on borders, gender, migration, and race, Channeling Knowledges pushes at the boundaries of Latinidad by centering the generative role of Black epistemologies in the Americas. Channeling Knowledges was awarded Honorable Mention for the 2024 Isis Duarte Book Prize by the Haiti/Dominican Republic section of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA).
Dr. Hey-Colón’s research has appeared in Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies, Chicana/Latina Studies Journal, Latino Studies, and Small Axe, among others. Her article, “Chronic Illness and Transformation in Gloria Anzaldúa’s ‘Puddles,’” was awarded the 2023 Adela Zamudio Prize from Feministas Unidas. She is currently developing a new research project centered on loss in Afro-Latinx, Latinx, and Caribbean cultural production.
Support for Dr. Hey-Colón’s research has been generously provided by the Visiting Faculty Fellowship at the Suzy Newhouse Center for the Humanities at Wellesley College, the Career Enhancement Fellowship from the Institute for Citizens and Scholars, and the Carlos E. Castañeda Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mexican American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.
Research Focus
- Afro-Latinx and Latinx studies
- Caribbean studies
- Afro-Diasporic religions and spirituality
- Anzaldúan studies
- Caribbean studies
- Cultural studies