From Literature to Legacy: A Scholar’s Journey Through History, Identity, and Advocacy
Intro to Liliana Interview Heading link
Name: Liliana Macias
Title: Cultural Worker, Educator, and Scholar
Department: History
The degree you’re pursuing: Ph.D. in History with a concentration in Gender and Women’s Studies
Interview with Liliana Heading link
What led you to pursue an education in history?
My pathway to history ironically began with my love for literature! In high school I was assigned the book One Hundred Years of Solitude by Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez and I absolutely fell in love with it! Utilizing themes of love, death, and the cyclical nature of history, Marquez tells the story of the rise and fall of the Buendia family of a fictional town called Macondo. The book centers on various histories of Latin America and the Caribbean and it inspired a curiosity in me that led me to explore those histories. Learning about Latin American history transformed my life because it expanded my knowledge of the world and propelled me to seek out my own histories as a Mexican person raised in Chicago. My love for history also helped me foster a loving family because it helped me create a strong bond with my adoptive dad who is a high school teacher. History has been at the center of the significant ways that I have grown as an individual and so for me, the pursuit of an education in history is deeply tied to my belief that history can heal us and foster immense growth and empathy. As a historian, I want to inspire a collective love for history and hope that it helps others find meaningful paths to deep connections that inspire us all to aim for a better world.
In addition to the Ph.D. you’re working on in the History department, you also received your Master’s degree from LAS. What has the experience of getting these two degrees at LAS been like for you? Are there notable differences or similarities?
Back in 2018, I received a master’s in Latin American and Latino Studies. Because my master’s was my first experience in graduate school, I would say that I came in feeling a bit intimidated. I am the first person in my extended family to receive a master’s and so as a first-generation college student unfamiliar with these processes I often felt a bit lost. However, making connections with amazing mentors helped me understand that anything worth doing will challenge us. When doing my master’s, the director of the program Dr. Amalia Pallares provided me with invaluable guidance and support. She was truly incredible and essential in me obtaining my master’s. And when I was ready to apply for a Ph.D. she once again helped guide me and wrote me a letter of recommendation for the program. I’ll never forget what she said to me when I shared that I wanted to apply for my doctorate. She said: Liliana if anyone was made to thrive in a Ph.D. program it is you! And well, the rest is history! I am now in my fourth year of my doctorate and it has been an incredible journey that I’d gladly do over again.
Could you please discuss the focus of your dissertation?
My dissertation research focuses on recentering LGBTQ+ Latines within the histories of Latine and LGBTQ+ movements in the city of Chicago. My preliminary research findings identified that the histories of LGBTQ+ Latines have been geographically bifurcated along their racial and sexual geographies. My research layers the racial and sexual geographies of LGBTQ+ Latine histories to expose intricate topographies of undercharted urban, feminist, and queer histories of Chicago.
What role does research play in your education at LAS?
Research plays an integral role in my education at LAS because it has given me the opportunity to grow as a scholar! When I completed my master’s I went on to present my master thesis at a conference at the university of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras. After presenting, the coordinators of the conference reached out to me to see if I was interested in publishing my thesis as a chapter in an anthology. I jumped at the opportunity and accomplished one of my life long goals: to be published! Eventually I submitted that chapter as my writing sample for my PhD application. The research that I conducted for my master thesis focused on LGBTQ+ Latine histories of Chicago and well it is what inspired my dissertation focus. A full circle moment!
Do you have advice for students pursuing history majors?
Follow the history and it will guide you to where you were meant to be! Oh, and that failure is part of success so don’t be afraid to fail!
What are your aspirations after completing your Ph.D.?
Being admitted into a Ph.D. in history in itself has been THE culminating aspiration because for so long it was simply out of reach that I hadn’t thought much about what my future lies beyond this accomplishment. But in the last ten years, I have worked in museums and cultural centers, lectured for my undergrad alma mater for four years, and had the privilege of supporting public history projects. This taught me that I absolutely love teaching, working with museums and cultural organizations to publicly activate histories, and that I want my scholarship to have a meaningful impact. So in preparation for the completion of my Ph.D. in history and with hopes that I can continue to do work that engages and inspires, I co-founded a nonprofit with fellow Latine cultural workers called Raices Chicago Stories Coalition which focuses on the preservation and activation of Chicago Latine stories. So one day I hope to split my time between Raices Chicago and teaching…and hopefully one day be able to say that I made history.