Jesus Villalobos
Jesus O. Villalobos is a Master of Arts student in the Center for Latin American Studies and the Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory at the University of Arizona. Their research examines the politics of memory as it unfolds through practices of documentation across the Americas, with particular attention to Guatemala and the U.S.–Mexico borderlands.
They hold a B.A. in Latin American Studies from Grinnell College and an M.A. in Library and Information Science from the University of Arizona, where they specialized in Archives and Special Collections and completed the graduate certificate in Archival Studies. As a Knowledge River Scholar, they developed a commitment to community-centered archival work and collaborated with the Mexican American Heritage and History Museum in Tucson on oral history and regional memory initiatives.
Jesus has presented their work at the Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting, the Society of Southwest Archivists Annual Meeting, the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Undergraduate Conference, and the Institute of Latin American Studies Student Association Conference. Outside their research, they enjoy watching films, reading nonfiction, and exploring archives, museums, and other spaces of cultural memory.
Research Interests
Archives, memory studies, visual culture, media studies, critical theory, state violence, post-conflict societies, displacement, borderlands