https://alexarodriguezphd.com/home daily 1.0 2025-09-29 https://alexarodriguezphd.com/research daily 0.75 2025-10-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61bd0b5bf0a5f64f99ede7fa/1641917326542-IXQ6LL4K9KUCJIV743X3/Postdoc_Research_Symposium_11_18_21-8117.jpg Research - Crafting Dominicanidad: Education and Citizenship during the US Occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916-1924) (forthcoming with University of North Carolina Press) Crafting Dominicanidad traces the various notions of citizenship in the Dominican Republic that were articulated and shaped during the 1916 US occupation. Using the documents of the Military Government, Department of Justice and Public Instruction, as well as letters written by concerned parents and community members, this book explores how Dominicans across the country used this moment to reflect, discuss, and practice Dominican citizenship. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61bd0b5bf0a5f64f99ede7fa/37e7553f-6652-4108-9ebe-2b1484c376e4/IMG_9602.jpg Research - Dominican Voices Project/Proyecto Voces Dominicanas Dominican Voices Project/Proyecto Voces Dominicanas is a bilingual digital archive that consists of audio and videotaped interviews of Dominicans born and raised in the Dominican Republic between 1920 and 1960. The project preserves local histories and educates students, teachers, and the general public in the Dominican Republic and the US about the history of education and childhood during the early 20th-century Dominican Republic. https://alexarodriguezphd.com/about daily 0.75 2025-10-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61bd0b5bf0a5f64f99ede7fa/0af71d90-24d4-4553-b9d6-77d5205632bd/MEDIUM_CROP_Alexa_Rodriguez_Headshot_2024_March_1.jpg About Dr. Alexa Rodríguez is an Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia and a 2024-26 postdoctoral fellow for the National Academy of Education and Spencer Foundation. Her research examines schools, migration, and the formation of racial and national identities in both Latin America and the United States. She is currently working on a book manuscript, Crafting Dominicanidad (forthcoming with University of North Carolina Press), an intellectual history that examines how Dominicans used public schools to articulate and circulate competing notions of racial, class, and national identity during the early twentieth century. She is also director of the digital humanities project, Dominican Voices Project/Proyecto Voces Dominicanas, a bilingual digital archive that consists of audio and videotaped interviews of Dominicans born and raised in the Dominican Republic between 1920 and 1960. The project preserves local histories and educates students, teachers, and the general public in the Dominican Republic and the US about the history of education and childhood during the early 20th-century Dominican Republic. Her work has been published in Paedagogica Historica, History of Education Quarterly, Latino Studies, City & State New York, Clio and the Contemporary, and the blog of the History of Education Society in the UK. Dr. Rodriguez was formerly a Mellon Postdoctoral Research Associate at UVA. Prior to joining UVA, Dr. Rodriguez worked as a postdoctoral research associate in the Dominican Studies Institute of the City University of New York (CUNY DSI). Dr. Rodriguez completed her Ph.D. in History and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, her M.S. Ed. in Educational Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and her B.A. in History and American Studies at Fordham University. Dr. Rodriguez was also a 2020 dissertation fellow for the National Academy of Education and Spencer Foundation. https://alexarodriguezphd.com/guide-to-the-archives daily 0.75 2025-09-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61bd0b5bf0a5f64f99ede7fa/1639805630927-ZGHSGRXGP0HCRQF75NYJ/A.+Rodriguez+Photo+3.JPG Guide to the Archives Although every archive is different, I have found a few things have helped make my trips successful: Do research on the archive. Going to the archive’s website and/or talking with people who have traveled to the archive before, can help you learn about the archive’s policies and plan for your trip beforehand. Be sure to look at the hours, holiday schedules, computer and photo policies and whether there is a dress code. Contact archivists. Reach out to archivists to introduce yourself and your research interests, and to inform them of your upcoming trip. Sometimes archivists will tell you about collections that might be of interest and you can start with them as soon as you arrive. Make a research plan. Think through your research questions and what types of documents you are looking for. If you have access to an archival guide, use this to plan what collections, boxes, and folders you would like to examine during your trip. Create a system for organizing the materials you collect. Whether you develop a table or spreadsheet to track the documents you have examined and photos you have taken, or use Evernote, Microsoft OneNote, or Word to transcribe your notes, make sure you develop a system that works for you. Take notes on your reflections. After a long day at the archive, the last thing you might want to do is to spend more time on the computer. However, writing down major actors, patterns that emerge, or things that caught your attention when your ideas are still fresh will be valuable when you return. You might also consider writing a short report once your trip is complete to help synthesize your findings. Send thank you notes. We rely on archivists to assist us as we conduct our research. A little gratitude goes a long way.