She received her Ph.D. in Hispanic literature at Indiana University, Bloomington. Her primary research focus is nineteenth-century Hispanic women’s narratives and representations of nation and nationalism. She enjoys collaborating in interdisciplinary research. She has published on other topics related to Mexican popular culture, and her work has been published in journals such as Hispania, Fashion, Style and Popular Culture, The Popular Culture Studies Journal, and Encyclopedia of Ethnic Clothing in the United States.