Jacqueline Barrios

My name is Dr. Jacqueline Jean Barrios and I am APASA’s Faculty-in-Residence. A little background! I was born in Singapore and grew up all over Southeast Asia (Sabah, Manila-my parents are Filipino!), then immigrated to Los Angeles as a teenager. As a Pinay immigrant undergrad at UC Berkeley, I studied English literature and creative writing, especially interested the experiences of immigrants and BIPOC folx in the US.  The other part of my education came from a vibrant Asian-American student org scene at Cal which integrated with an amazing Asian-American studies program. I learned so much from this “alternative curriculum” — rallying for Ethic Studies, producing epic cultural nights, editing literary magazines volunteering bilingual ed programs in San Francisco. 

This pushed me to pursue an MA in education and a teaching credential, which jump-started my career as a public school teacher in South LA, where I continued to advocate for immigrant communities, first-gen students, and BIPOC cultural and political visibility. After many years in the classroom, I returned to graduate school and earned my PhD in English Literature from UCLA, with a focus on the global 19th century and urbanism, in particular, the ways geographies of East Asian Pacific Rim are entangled with the British capital. 

My research and teaching is deeply shaped by my identity as an immigrant and teacher in urban public schools. I founded LitLabs,  a public humanities project hub which started with projects I directed (film festivals, productions, exhibitions)that centered the history and daily life of South LA teens in creative engagements  with the 19c long-form novel. I co-founded the DIGITAL SALON, and am leading the formation of a global Urban Humanities Network. I can talk to you more about any of these fields and how they might intersect with your studies - education, design and the arts, community engagement, urban and spatial research.

I’m excited to bring my background, passions and interests to my new role as a resident faculty at APASA and as an Assistant Professor of Public & Applied Humanities here at the University of Arizona. I look forward to meeting you, learning about your own journeys and being one of your links to UArizona faculty.  I can’t wait to collaborate with you on events, happenings and cool new projects! I’d love to support what you are doing, so do reach out (email or check me out at office hours at the center) and share what’s going down in your world.