Her primary research agenda, situated at the intersection of literary/visual studies and cultural history, is the textual recovery of Mexican American experiences in the early twentieth century, particularly around narratives of gender and cultural adaptation. She also writes about the mentoring and retention of first-generation students and students of color in higher education. Her essays have appeared in Latina/o Literature in the Classroom: 21st Century Approaches to Teaching; Journal of Latinos and Education; Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies; Bilingual Review; and Sexualities in History: A Reader.