RaeAnn Swanson-Evans [email protected] - [email protected]

Education

Borderlands History- Ph.D. (Expected May 2020) Major Fields: Borderlands History, Latin American History Minor field: World History University of Texas at El Paso, Department of History

Public History- M.A. (May 2015) History- B.A. (May 2013) Anthropology- B.A. (May 2013) University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls

Research & Scholarship

Master’s Thesis Swanson, RaeAnn (2015, May). “God Will Deliver Us”: Human Rights Abuses from Guatemala to Iowa and Back, 1980-2014. Thesis submitted to meet requirements for completion of History Master’s Degree program at the University of Northern Iowa.

Conference Presentations Swanson, RaeAnn (April 2017) “Present Past,” Future Strength: Historical Memory as Resistance and Hope in Guatemala. Oral Presentation delivered at the 64th Annual Rocky Mountain Conference for Latin American Studies, Salt Lake City, Utah, April 5th- 8th, 2017. Swanson, RaeAnn (March 2016) Rubbing Shoulders in Space and Time: Maya Organizing in Guatemala Refugee Populations and the Zapatista Uprising in Chiapas, Mexico, 1980-2000. Oral Presentation delivered at the 63rd Annual Rocky Mountain Conference for Latin American Studies, Santa Fe, New Mexico, March 30th- April 2nd, 2016. Swanson, RaeAnn (February 2015) “God Will Deliver Us”: Human Rights Abuses from Guatemala to Iowa and Back, 1980-2014. Oral Presentation delivered at the 19th Annual New Frontiers Graduate History Conference, York University, Toronto, Canada, February 19th- 22nd, 2015. Swanson, RaeAnn (April, 2013) Clean Up Our Home: Ellen Swallow Richards’ Human Ecology and Emerging Environmental Ideologies, 1890-1915. Poster presentation delivered at the 20th Annual College of Social and Behavioral Science Student Research Conference, University of Northern Iowa, April 27th, 2013. Swanson, RaeAnn (April, 2013) Clean Up Our Home: Ellen Swallow Richards’ Human Ecology and Emerging Environmental Ideologies, 1890-1915. Oral Presentation delivered at the 2013 Honors Research Conference, University of Northern Iowa, April 13th, 2013.

Invited Lecture Phi Alpha Theta Honor Society (Phi-Lambda Chapter) Induction Ceremony Keynote Speaker, “Lessons from the Field: “Rivers for Life” Delegation March, 2015, Copal AA, Cobán, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.” University of Northern Iowa, April 23rd, 2015

Professional Development • Completed the Institute of Oral History and the Borderlands Public History Club’s “Oral History Workshop-The Basics,” February 26th, 2016. • Attended El Paso’s GRO Environmental Summit, September 25th, 2015.

• Participated in an Educational Delegation to Guatemala Titled, “Rivers for Life: Cultural Resistance to the Xalalá Dam,” with the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA), March 2015 • Participated in an Education Delegation to Guatemala Titled, “Women and the Construction of Justice in Guatemala,” with the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission (GHRC), August 2014 • Conducted Special Collection Research, Ellen Swallow Richards’ Papers, Sofia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, January 2013

Undergraduate Publication Swanson, RaeAnn. “America on the Verge of Change: Margaret Sanger’s Birth Control and the Population Question, 1915-1925.” Aisthesis Honors Student Journal, 5 (Summer 2012): 29-37.

Honors, Grants, and Scholarships

• John H. McNeely Graduate Student Oral History Award, UTEP, January 2017 • Natalicio Fellowship, UTEP, 2015-2016 • 2015 Burns H. Weston International Human Rights Essay Prize, University of Iowa Center for Human Rights, June 2015 • Intercollegiate Academics Fund Conference Travel Grant Recipient, UNI, Spring 2015 • Graduate College Graduate Student Opportunity Travel Grant recipient, UNI, Spring 2015 • Graduate Tuition Scholarship, UNI, 2013-2014, 2014-2015 • Nadyne Harris Research Scholarship, Spring 2013 • College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Undergraduate Research Award, Spring 2013 • Phi Alpha Theta, History Honors Society, Inducted 2011 • Omnicron Delta Kappa, Inducted 2011 • UNI College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Alderman Scholarship, 2009-2012 • Honors Program, University of Northern Iowa, 2009- 2013

Teaching Experience

Teaching Assistant (Fall 2015-Present) University of Texas at El Paso, Department of History, El Paso Texas, 79968

Supervisor: Dr. Eric Rodrigo Meringer, (915) 747-5875, Spring 2018 • Currently assisting with History 1302: U.S. History since 1865 • Communicate with the professor to discuss class expectations • Grade assignments, essays, and blue book essay exams of around 90 students • Hold weekly office hours to facilitate student inquiries and learning • Regularly facilitate group activities during class

Supervisor: Dr. Eric Rodrigo Meringer, (915) 747-5875, Fall 2017 • Assisted with History 1301: U.S. History to 1865 • Communicated with the professor and other teaching assistant to discuss class expectations • Graded assignments, essays, and blue book essay exams of around 100 students • Held weekly office hours to facilitate student inquiries and learning • Regularly facilitated group activities during class

Supervisor: Dr. Paul Edison, (915) 747-6808, Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 • Assisted with History 2302: World History Since 1500 • Responsibilities included meeting with the professor discuss grading and expectations • Graded assignments, essays, and blue book essay exams of around 85 students • Held weekly office hours to facilitate student inquiries and learning • Led two classes that consisted of lectures and group activities

Supervisor: Dr. Joshua Fan, (915) 747-8948, Spring 2016 • Assisted with History 2301: World History to 1500 • Responsibilities included meeting with the professor to discuss grading and expectations • Graded assignments, essays, and blue book essay exams of around 95 students • Held weekly office hours to facilitate student inquiries and learning

Supervisor: Dr. Scott Comar, (915) 747-5875, Fall 2015 • Assisted with History 1302: U.S. History since 1865 • Responsibilities included meeting with the professor and the other teaching assistant to discuss grading and expectations • Graded assignments, essays, and blue book essay exams of around 80 students • Held weekly office hours to facilitate student inquiries and learning

Public History Experiences

UTEP Association of Applied Border History, member September 2016 to Present, Co-Chair 2017-2018 • Scanned and digitized documents of former participants of the Bracero program • Met and worked with leaders from the Centro de los Trabajadores Agricolas Fronterizos, the Border Farm Workers Center • Participated in community activism such as the campaign to save Barrio Duranguito, Annual Marcha Campesina, among others

Community Voices: Postville Oral History Project, University of Northern Iowa, May 2014 to Present • Crafted a public history internship with Thomas Kessler of The Postville Project (www.postvilleproject.org) • Drafted a Standard Application for Human Participant Review and received Institutional Review Board approval • Interviewed and recorded 16 oral histories of Postville residents

Creekside Harmony Gardens, University of Northern Iowa, May to August 2015 • Designed, planted, and tended Summer 2015 garden with five colleagues • Held a week long day camp for 5th-8th graders • Presented “Teaching History Through a Garden” to area k-12 educators

Oral History Transcriber, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa, August 2014 to July 2015 • Transcribed the oral histories of the Community Voices project • Communicated with library supervisor and interviewees

Interpreting Iowa, Melting Pot Virtual Museum Exhibition, Fall 2014 • Gathered materials and research to create an online exhibition • Wrote panel labels and object labels • Worked with a partner and project supervisor, Dr. Leisl Carr Childers, to create a website, http://uni.edu/carrchl/wp/interpretingiowa/

Fortepan Iowa Photograph Archive, University of Northern Iowa, Spring 2014 • Gathered and digitized amateur photographs for publication • Interviewed and recorded the oral histories of the photograph owners • Transcribed the interviews

Graduate Assistant for the Rural Iowa School Archive Collection, University of Northern Iowa, Summer 2013 • Assisted in creating finding aids by identifying the location (county, township, school number or name), date, title/content information, and condition of documents in the microfilm records • Researched printed materials, microfilm records, census data to determine names and operating dates of rural school across Iowa

Volunteer Activities

“Democracy, Peace, and Justice: Views from the Border,” November 8th, 2017 • Created social media presence for the teach-in • Facilitated communication about the event via social media

6th Annual UTEP Graduate Student Research Expo, November 11th, 2016 • Assisted Expo volunteers and judges with registration and refreshments • Greeted Expo participants and helped them find their presentation room

El Paso History Day, 2016-2017 • Provided feedback to Middle School students who submitted poster presentations

UTEP Borderlands History Conference, “The State In/Of Borderlands History,” November 7th, 2015 • Assisted conference participants at the registration and welcome table

Grand Opening of the John Adam’s House, Nora Springs Historical Society, June 2011 • Showed guests through three floors of a newly donated home converted into a museum • Presented guests with information about artifacts and answered any questions

Wilder Memorial Museum, Strawberry Point, Iowa, October-November 2010 • Worked with Past Perfect software program • Used a digital camera to document artifacts

Related Experiences

Graduate Assistant for Graduate Professional and Community Development, University of Northern Iowa Graduate College, 2013-2014, 2014-2015 • Planned Graduate College events such as the Annual Graduate Student Symposium, Graduate Student Information Meeting, Thinking About Graduate School (TAGS), and the Graduate College Social Mixer • Contributed content articles for the monthly UNI Grad Student News • Marketed Events through the creation of promotional posters, social media, email correspondence, and classroom presentations • Developed and conducted professional development workshops for graduate and undergraduate students such as “Attending a Professional Conference” • Serve as secretary for the Graduate Student Advisory Board (GSAB) • Led a GSAB Graduate Student Symposium Subcommittee to raise participation and audience attendance to the event