Gisselle Perez-Leon

PhD Candidate

Latin America and the Caribbean


I specialize in 20th c. Mexican history. My dissertation, "Border Civics: Urban Planning and Municipal Politics in Ambos Nogales, 1880-1980," is a historical case study of urban development in two cities divided by the international boundary, told from the point of view of Sonoran residents. 

I posit that zooming into Ambos Nogales' local history yields key insights on urban settlement, environmental management, and race relations at the U.S.-Mexico border. I rely primarily on the collections of the Archivo Histórico Municipal de Nogales (AHMN), but have conducted extensive research in Arizona, Hermosillo, and Mexico City. My fieldwork has been generously supported by the Fulbright-Hays Program, the Center for Global, International & Area Studies, and the Center for Race and Gender, among others.

Prior to graduate school, I worked as Paralegal for the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) Racial Justice Program, and the New York Legal Assistance Group's (NYLAG) Tenants' Rights Unit. I welcome inquiries from fellow first-generation students pursuing graduate study in History.


Research Interests

  • Urban History
  • Borderlands Studies
  • Ethnic Studies

Prizes and Awards

2023          Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad  

2022          Reinhard Bendix and Allan Sharlin Fellowship for Global, International & Area Studies

                   UC Berkeley Center for Race and Gender Research Grant

                   Dr. Iris Hui Memorial Graduate Student Scholarship

2021          UC Berkeley Mentored Research Award

2020          Graduate Remote Instruction Innovation Fellowship

2019          Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award

2018          The New York Metro Leaders' Fellowship

Teaching

Instructor of Record

          Atlantic Foodways, Freedom Summer Collegiate

Graduate Student Instructor

          History 146: Women and Gender in Latin America

          History 8B: Modern Latin America

          History 142: Cuba in World History

Graduate Student Reader

          History 125B: African American History and Race Relations