Crossroads in the Study of the Americas (CISA)

An initiative exploring possibilities for supporting trans-nationalist, interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the Americas.

The Five College Center for Crossroads in the Study of the Americas (CISA) was created in 1997 with the goal of exploring possibilities for supporting trans-nationalist, interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the Americas, and embedding these approaches into the curricula of the five campuses. With funding from Teagle and NEH, CISA engaged in many activities. It conducted course development seminars, hosted postdoctoral fellows, put on an annual student symposium, and sponsored an annual year-long seminar for early career faculty working in the field. Evidence of the impact of the original CISA center can be found in programs across the five campuses. Of the original activities, the CISA Fellows Seminar continues to this day.

CISA Seminars

The CISA Fellows Seminar gathers eight to 10 early career faculty members who work together to explore relational aspects of identity in the Americas, broadly construed to include the concepts of citizenship, migration, diaspora, and nationhood. Participants in the seminar meet two or three times each semester to share a catered dinner and present works in progress. Past participants have cited the CISA seminar as one of the most formative experiences of their early tenure in the Five Colleges. Since 2000, nearly 120 faculty have participated in the CISA Fellows Seminar. Many participants have subsequently taken on leadership roles in Five Colleges programs. Contact Ray Rennard at the information below if you have questions about the seminar. 

Past and Current CISA Fellows

Each year, CISA invites a number of new faculty to become fellows. Below is a list of current and recent CISA Fellows. (The CISA Seminar was paused for the 2020-22 academic years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.)

Past and Current CISA Fellows

Shakia Barron
Dance
Mount Holyoke College

Abby Chabitnoy
English/Creative Writing
UMass Amherst

Sylvia Cifuentes
Environmental Science
Mount Holyoke College

Jonathan Dent
Theater
Hampshire College

Anna Maria Hong
Creative Writing
Mount Holyoke College

Jallicia Jolly
American Studies/Black Studies
Amherst College

Thirii Myint
English
Amherst College

Traci-Ann Wint
Africana Studies
Smith College

Nicholas Caverly
Anthropology
UMass Amherst

Ben Gebre-Medhin
Sociology
Mount Holyoke College

Ximena Gomez
History of Art and Architecture
UMass Amherst

Anne Kerth
Afro-American Studies
UMass Amherst

Melissa Parrish
English Language and Literature
Smith College

Christine Peralta
History and Sexuality, Women's & Gender Studies
Amherst College

Sarah Stefana Smith
Gender Studies
Mount Holyoke College

Jimmy Worthy
English
UMass Amherst
 

Cameron Awkward-Rich
Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies
UMass Amherst

Sony Coranez Bolton
Spanish
Amherst College

Alexis Callender
Art
Smith College

Meredith Coleman-Tobias
Religion
Mount Holyoke College

Adam Dahl
Political Science
UMass Amherst

Fumi Okiji
Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies
UMass Amherst

Timothy Recuber
Sociology
Smith College

Corine Tachtiris
Comparative Literature
UMass Amherst

Tara Bynum
African American Literature and Culture
Hampshire College

Molly Christie Gonzalez
Dance and Dance Education
UMass Amherst

Colin Hoag
Anthropology
Smith College

Ren-Yo Hwang
Gender Studies and Critical Social Thought
Mount Holyoke

Sam Ng
Africana Studies
Smith College

Tammy Owens
Diasporic Youth Cultures
Hampshire College

Sarah Patterson
English
UMass Amherst

Erin Pineda
Government
Smith College

Ashwin Ravikumar
Environmental Studies
Amherst College

Ashley Smith
Native American and Environmental Studies
Hampshire College

John Tawa
Psychology
Mount Holyoke

Veronica Zebadua Yanez
Gender Studies
Mount Holyoke

Lloyd Barba
Latinx and Latin American Studies and Religion
Amherst College

Diana Burnett
Africana Studies
Smith College

Dasha Chapman
Critical Dance Studies
Hampshire College

Haile Cole
Anthropology
Amherst College

Thomas Dichter
Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought
Amherst College

Bill Girard
Anthropology
Mount Holyoke College

Dominique Hill
Black Studies
Amherst College

Flavia Santos de Araujo
Africana Studies
Smith College

Scott Blinder
Political Science
UMass Amherst

Sarah Hines
Latin American and Latino/a Studies
Smith College

Leila Kawar
Legal Studies
UMass Amherst

Jina Kim
Critical Social Thought
Mount Holyoke College

Sancha Medwinter
Sociology
UMass Amherst

Allison Page
New Media Studies
Hampshire College

Kimberlee Perez
Communication
UMass Amherst

J.T. Roane
Africana Studies
Smith College

Alexis Salas
Art History
Hampshire College

Kevin Young
History
UMass Amherst

Wendy Bergoffen
American Studies/Sexuality, Women's and Gender Studies
Amherst College

Rachel Engmann
African Studies
Hampshire College

Aneeka Henderson
Sexuality, Women's and Gender Studies
Amherst College

Jesus Hernandez
Spanish,Latina/o, and Latin American Studies
Mount Holyoke College

Kirsten Leng
Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies
UMass Amherst

Jonathan Obert
Political Science
Amherst College

Ana Soltero Lopez
Spanish,Latina/o, and Latin American Studies
Mount Holyoke College

Vanessa Rosa
Spanish,Latina/o, and Latin American Studies
Mount Holyoke College

Mecca Jamilah Sullivan
Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies
UMass Amherst

Meghan Armstrong
Spanish and Portuguese
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Stephen Dillon
Queer Studies
Hampshire College

Dania Francis
Afro-American Studies and Economics
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Emily Redman
History
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Sam Redman
History
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Shani Roper
Afro-American Studies
Smith College

Libby Sharrow
History and Political Science
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Vanessa Walker
History
Amherst College

Julio Capo
History
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Sarah Cornell
History
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Tara Daly
Spanish,Latina/o, and Latin American Studies
Mount Holyoke College

Christine DeLucia
History
Mount Holyoke College

Cora Fernandez-Anderson
Critical Social Inquiry
Hampshire College

Tanisha Ford
Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies
University of Massachusetts Amherst

David Hernandez
Spanish,Latina/o, and Latin American Studies
Mount Holyoke College

Bettina Judd
Africana Studies/Gender Studies
Mount Holyoke College

Kiara Vigil
American Studies
Amherst College

Micaela Diaz-Sanchez
Spanish,Latina/o, and Latin American Studies
Mount Holyoke College

Daniel LaChance
Political Science/Legal Studies
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Rachel Martin
History/Heritage Studies
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Khary Polk
Black Studies
Amherst College

Jonathan Rosa
Anthropology
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Britt Rusert
Afro-American Studies
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Heidi Scott
History
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Angela Willey
Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Alberto Ameal-Perez 
Languages, Literatures, and Cultures/Spanish & Portuguese
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Jane Anderson 
Anthropology
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Judith Flores Carmona
Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Critical Literacies and Pedagogy
Hampshire College

John Drabinski 
Black Studies
Amherst College

Leigh-Anne Francis
Five College Fellow in African American and African Studies
Mount Holyoke College

Andrea King
Mendenhall Fellow in the Study of Women and Gender
Smith College

Chantal Norrgard
History
Mount Holyoke College

Dawn Peterson 
History
Smith College

Manuela Picq
Loewenstein Fellow in Political Science
Amherst College

Ana Rona
Spanish, Latina/o, and Latin American Studies
Mount Holyoke College

Payal Banerjee
Sociology
Smith College

Laura Furlan
English
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Jennifer Fronc
History
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Jeannette Lee
American and Caribbean Literature
Hampshire College

Edward Melillo
History
Amherst College

McKinley Melton
African American Studies
Hampshire College

Noriko Milman
Sociology 
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Elizabeth Pryor
History
Smith College

Svati Shah
Women's Studies Program
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Contact Us

A smiling man with short hair, blue collared shirt, and blue jacket.

Ray Rennard

Director of Academic Programs