Languages, Cultures, and Race: Sonia López-López

Assistant Professor Sonia López-López co-authored with Spencer W. Martin a refereed chapter in Digital Culture and the U.S.-Mexico Border: Rhetorics on Human Mobility (Routledge, November 2024) edited by Rubria Rocha de Luna (graduated from WSU, MA in Hispanic Studies) and Maricruz Castro Ricalde. In their chapter “‘Mi entrevista en Juárez’: The Digital Rhetoric of YouTube and TikTok, Immigration Videos” — López-López and Martin argue that “[m]any U.S. immigrant visa applicants, petitioners, and other participants discover — and actively participate in — vibrant online communities formed on the basis of their shared experiences during the long processes of document gathering, applications, and wait times leading up to an oft-long-awaited interview in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. This chapter deploys a digital rhetoric framework to analyze YouTube and TikTok videos featuring both testimonies of immigrant visa applicants who have attended a consulate interview and instructive content created by immigration lawyers and consultants on these platforms.