Karma R. Chávez, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Arizona State University, 2007  Office: Room 235	Assistant Professor Communication

Research:
My current research generally explores the rhetorics of marginalized groups in contexts of neo-liberalism. Particularly, my work meets at the intersections of queer theory, feminist post-structuralist theory, and critical race theories. My most recent work examines social movements and coalition building, and I am most interested in the relationships between sexuality and immigration.

Sample Publications:

• Chávez, Karma R. (forthcoming 2010). "Spatializing Gender Performativity: Ecstasy and Possibilities for Livable Life in the Tragic Case of Victoria Arellano." Women’s Studies in Communication

• Chávez, Karma R., Sara McKinnon, Lucas C. Messer and Marjorie Hazeltine. (2009). "Home: Hospitality, Belonging and the Nation." Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies

• Chávez, Karma R. (in press, 2009). "Exploring The Defeat of Arizona’s Marriage Amendment and the Specter of the Immigrant as Queer." Southern Communication Journal

• Chávez, Karma R. (2009). "Re-mapping Latinidad: A Performance Cartography of Latino/a Identity in Rural Nebraska." Text and Performance Quarterly 29.2: 166-183.

• Chávez, Karma R. and Cindy L. Griffin (2009). "Power, Feminism, and Coalitional Agency: Inviting and Enacting Difficult Dialogues." Women’s Studies in Communication 32.1: 1-14.

• Chávez, Karma R (2009). "Between the Lines: Identifying the Needs of LGBTQ Immigrants and Refugees in Southern Arizona." Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona LGBT Institute.

• Chávez, Karma R. (2009). "Embodied Translation: Dominant Discourse and Communication with Migrant Bodies-as-Text." Howard Journal of Communications 20.1: 18-36.

• Chávez, Karma R. (2008). "Breaking Trances and Engaging the Erotic: The Search for a Queer Spirituality." Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies. 4.2. liminalities.net

• Chávez, Karma R.(2004). "Beyond Complicity: Coherence, Queer Theory, and the Rhetoric of the ‘Gay Christian Movement.’" Text and Performance Quarterly 24.3/4: 255-75.

Methods:
I use critical/cultural qualitative methods including rhetorical criticism, field methods, personal narrative and performative writing.

Authors:
Judith Butler, Gloria Anzaldúa, Eithne Luibhéid, Aimee Carrillo Rowe, Lauren Berlant, Gayatri Spivak, Aiwha Ong, Michel Foucault, Patricia Hill Collins.

Teaching Style:
I am all about deep, reading-based discussions that connect theory to our lives inside and outside the classroom.