USC.edu

Elda Maria Roman

Associate Professor of English
Elda Maria Roman
Email emr@usc.edu Office THH 404 Office Phone (213) 740-2808

Research & Practice Areas

Latinx and Black Cultural Production, Race and Ethnicity, Class, 20th and 21st Century American Literature, Television and Film, Popular Culture, Women of Color Feminism

Biography

My first name is Elda María. I grew up in Rhode Island and was the first in my family to attend college. As a scholar of literature and media, I research the effects of race and class across groups, disciplines, and genres. My book Race and Upward Mobility (Stanford UP, 2017) examines class dynamics in African American and Mexican American literature, television, and film from the 1940s-2000s. In this book, I analyze narratives about socioeconomic stratification and demonstrate how these narratives give form to social patterns intertwined with issues such...

Education

  • Ph.D. English, Stanford University, 6/2013
  • B.A. English, Brown University, 5/2005
  • B.A. Latin American Studies, Brown University, 5/2005

  • Research Specialties

    Latinx and Black Cultural Production, Race and Ethnicity, Class, 20th and 21st Century American Literature, Television and Film, Popular Culture, Women of Color Feminism

  • Book

    • Román, E. (2017). Race and Upward Mobility: Seeking, Gatekeeping, and Other Class Strategies in Postwar America. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Magazine/Trade Publication

    • Román, E.Qualifying Exams. Gulf Coast Journal. July 24, 2024. Winner of 2024 Nonfiction Prize. Link
    • Román, E.House of Silences. Huizache. Nov. 1, 2023. Nominated for a Puschart Prize. Link
    • Román, E.Psychic Cartographies. The Rumpus. March 28, 2023. Nominated for Best American Essays 2024. Link
    • Román, E.Struck or Shaken. Air/Light. April 12, 2022. Link
    • Gulf Coast Journal Nonfiction Prize, Fall 2024
    • Society of Fellows, University of Southern California, 2020 – 2022
    • Salz-Pollak Fellowship, English Department, University of Southern California, 2020-2021
    • McElderry Fellowship, University of Southern California, 2019-2020
    • Woodrow Wilson Early Career Enhancement Fellowship, Woodrow Wilson Foundation,, 2016-2017
    • RICSRE Graduate Teaching Fellowship. Research Institute of Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Stanford University, 2012-2013
    • Vice Provost for Graduate Education Academic Achievement Award. Stanford University, 2012-2013
    • RICSRE Graduate Dissertation Fellowship. Research Institute of Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Stanford University, 2011-2012
    • Ford Predoctoral Fellowship, Ford Foundation, 2007 – 2010
    • Beinecke Scholarship, 2004 – 2010
    • Future of Minority Studies Mellon Fellow, Cornell University, 06/2010 – 08/2010
    • Ernesto Galarza Prize for Excellence in Graduate Student Research. Stanford University, 2009-2010
    • Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, 2003 – 2005
    • Minnie Helen Hicks Premium, Brown University English Department, 2004-2005
    • Preston Gurney Literary Prize, Brown University English Department, 2004-2005
USC Dornsife faculty and staff may update profiles via MyDornsife.