The Latina/o Studies Workshop would like to invite you to a talk by Vanessa Cruz Nichols (PhD candidate in Political Science, Univ. of Michigan) titled "Crisis or Challenge? Latino Political Participation and Finding Opportunities Under Political Threat". For more information please contact Orquidea Morales <obmora@umich.edu>.

Political activists and journalists focus on communicating policy missteps as potential threats to one’s interests, in effect “sounding the alarms.” However, the use of fear at times immobilizes people because they do not feel equipped to respond to the crisis. Cruz's research aims to re-assess the common belief that threat mobilizes people to participate in the American political system.

Vanessa Cruz Nichols is a Political Science PhD candidate from the University of Michigan, where she specializes in American Politics. Vanessa's research interests fall within the scope of political participation, public opinion, identity politics and race and ethnicity politics.