EPCC professor appointed to Mesoamerican research team at Harvard

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- An El Paso Community College professor is one of just 12 researchers from around the world selected for a research team at Harvard University. Monday, EPCC said Manuela Alejandra Gomez will work as an advisor and research associate of the Moses Mesoamerican Archive and Research Project (MMARP).

MMARP preserves more than 40 years of research produced by archaeologists, historians, anthropologists and scholars, EPCC said. Research includes excavations at Templo Mayor and Teotihuacan.

At EPCC, Gomez is a professor of philoshophy.

According to MMARP leadership, Gomez' work in Mexican American philosophy, borderland education and public humanities caught its eye.

"My work as a U.S.-Mexico border philosopher and educator aligns closely with MMARP's mission to promote dialogue and collaboration across the humanities,” Gomez said in a statement. “I learned English at EPCC when I was a little girl. This is how far education can get us."

She has more than 20 years of teaching experience in the U.S. and Mexico, EPCC said. Her work touches on philosophy, education, journalism, public service, and the cultural traditions of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands.

EPCC said Gomez' forthcoming book, "Intersecting Worlds in Mexican American Philosophy: Teaching and Learning from the Border," explores identities at the border. She also developed "Desenterrando Conocimientos" (Unearthing Knowledge), which recognizes community-based epistemology and intellectual labor as central to Mexican American philosophy.