Matthew Spangler

 

Professor

Department of Communication Studies

Matthew Spangler

 

 

 

Current Research Activities

How are immigrants—particularly undocumented people, refugees, and asylum-seekers—represented through the literary, performing, and cinematic arts? And what are the implications of these acts of representation for public policy as it relates to these immigrant communities? My work focuses mostly on contemporary (post 1970) immigration to the United States and Ireland.

Research Connections to Current Events

Many of our students at SJSU are themselves immigrants or the sons and daughters of immigrant parents, so the time I spend in the classroom directly inspires my research.

Personal Connections to Research

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area, where nearly 40% of the people living here are foreign born and where we have large communities of refugees and undocumented people, has influenced my interest in immigration studies. But so did the time I was living in Dublin, Ireland, from 1998 to 2000 for my M.Phil. degree in Theatre at Trinity College, when historically high numbers of migrants were then moving to Ireland.