Dr. Melissa M Hidalgo is an independent scholar based in LA. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley (BA, English), the University of Chicago (MA, English), and UC San Diego (PhD, Literature). Her research and teaching interests include Mexican American and Chicana/o literature, US ethnic studies, popular culture, and queer studies. Her new project, “Irish Blood, Chicano Heart: Contextualizing Transnational Morrissey Fandom,” is a study of the historical contexts of Irish and Chicana/o-Mexican American cultural exchange, from literature and music to popular culture. Dr. Hidalgo will join the Popular Music and Popular Culture Research Cluster at the University of Limerick.