Patricia Ventura
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Understanding everyday life in the United States has been my goal since my family immigrated here from Brazil when I was five. It is no wonder I became a scholar in American cultural studies and have spent my research and teaching career developing ways to understand everyday life in this country. When I came to the United States, I needed to learn English, but what was more difficult than the language was understanding the customs of kids at my school in a crusty cowboy town in Central Florida that was being rapidly transformed by the various cultures of people like my family who moved to the area from other parts of the country and the world. Trying to understand the impact of these movements and flows, and how my own family’s moves were part of those larger social transformations, I came to see all people as both agents and observers in the cultural shifts within everyday American life.
Understanding how to navigate those flows motivates my writing, my teaching, and my work as chair of English studies at Spelman College. But whether I am teaching or writing, I bring the insights I learned throughout my life by making connections to places far beyond my home and deep within it.
Understanding how to navigate those flows motivates my writing, my teaching, and my work as chair of English studies at Spelman College. But whether I am teaching or writing, I bring the insights I learned throughout my life by making connections to places far beyond my home and deep within it.