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Doctoral Candidate in History

• Fields of Study

  • 19th/20th C United States
  • Asian American
  • Immigration
  • Miscegnation

• About

  I am interested in the history of race, gender, immigration, and law in the early twentieth century American West. My dissertation “Interracial Romances of American Empire: Marriage, Family, and Citizenship in early twentieth century California” explores the connections between state miscegenation laws and federal immigration policies. By looking at the connections between state and federal laws that affected Filipinos in California between the 1920s -1940s, my project shows how the formulation of law and legal rhetoric influenced constructions of Filipino identities, families, and communities and how in turn, Filipino influenced the design of law.

  Publications:

  Esguerra, M.P. (2011). Filipino Americans. In R. Bayor (Ed.), Multicultural America: An Encyclopedia of the Newest Americans (pp. 701-752). Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.

• Education

  • BA, History and Political Science, Oberlin College, 2002
  • MA, American Studies, University of Minnesota, 2005

• Grants

  • Janey and Melvin Lack Fellowship University of Michigan, Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies, 2011
  • Horace H. Rackham Merit Fellowship Five-year Award, University of Michigan, Rackham School of Graduate Studies, 2005-2010
  • Student Academic Multicultural Initiatives Grant University of Michigan, The Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, 2009