Janett Barragan Miranda Postdoctoral Fellow History
- Degrees
- Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara
- Languages Spoken
- Fluent in Spanish -- verbally, writing, reading
- Bio
- Janett Barragan Miranda is a Postdoctoral Fellow for Academic Diversity in the College of Arts and Sciences. Her project titled, Hungering for Equality: Mexican Americans in the Post-World War II Era examines how governmental efforts to end hunger era came to characterize and construct notions of racial difference for Mexican Americans. The “rediscovery” of hunger comprises a number of reports, films, task forces, legislations, and conferences on hunger. These efforts responded to the post-WWII economic boom, which led to dominating perceptions of affluence throughout the U.S. In the shadow of this image, however, poverty prevailed giving way for hunger to remain a constant ailment plaguing the country. My study examines how efforts to end hunger reinforced Americanization notions that there was one proper way of eating. This was done through the materials provided by food assistance programs including, menus, pamphlets, and posters used to promote to participants, primarily women, how to make meals. The directors of food assistance programs used metrics constructed through nutrition science, which widely excluded ethnic foods. Further, the study details the copious responses by the Mexican American community, which challenged notions that it was Mexican people, culture, and their food, rather than the socioeconomic circumstances and larger structural barriers that led to hunger and malnourishment. Barragan Miranda received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara in Chicana and Chicano Studies. She also spent a year conducting research as a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University in the History of Science Department.
- For the Media
- To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.
Teaching
Spring 2021
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HIST-396 Selected Topics:Non-Recurring: Hist of the U.S.-Mexico Border
Summer 2021
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HIST-215 Soc Forces Shaped Amer