Michael A. Ervin, Ph. D. Assistant Professor of History, Director of Latino and Latin American Studies Central Washington University Mike Ervin was born on Long Island, grew up outside of Philadelphia, attended American University in Washington, D.C., and received his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. He only recently moved west and joined the History Department in the fall of 2002. His area of specialization is Latin America, especially Modern Mexican history. His work aims to tell the story of the middle class during the Mexican Revolution. He enjoys anything outdoors that involves his golden retriever, Chucho, and that is not life-threatening (like snakes).

Education:

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA

• 2002: Ph.D. in Latin American History
• 2002: Graduate Certificate in Latin American Studies
• 1995: M.A. in Latin American History

The American University, Washington DC

• 1992: B.A. in International Relations and Spanish/Latin American Area Studies

Teaching Experience:

Central Washington University, Assistant Professor, Fall 2002-Present

• History 102: World Civilizations, 1500-1815
  Lower-level survey course analyzing world history from Columbus to the Age of Revolutions, with special emphases on the critical reading of primary sources and the development of students' oral and written communication of original ideas.
• Latin American Studies 102: Introduction to Latin American Studies
  Lower-level introduction to the study of Latin America organized historically but taught thematically to provide students with a broad introduction to the region from economic, political, social, and cultural perspectives.
• History 386: Colonial Latin America
  Upper-level undergraduate course emphasizing the Iberian theories and Latin American realities of colonialism in an emerging Atlantic world.
• History 328/528: Modern Latin America
  Upper-level undergraduate and graduate course highlighting the impact of globalization on the daily lives of Latin Americans across two centuries.
• History 329/529: The Tropics and the Modern World
  Upper-level undergraduate and graduate course analyzing the relationship between the North Atlantic and the tropics through the lens of tropical commodities over two centuries, with an emphasis on debate and discussion of original research projects.
• History 481: Understanding History
  Upper-level undergraduate methods course emphasizing the development and completion of a capstone research project for history majors.
• History 488/588: Mexico in the Modern Era
  Upper-level undergraduate and graduate course focusing on Mexico's national-period history, with special emphases on U.S.-Mexican relations and the Mexican Revolution.
• History 464/564: Latin American Revolutions
  Upper-level undergraduate and graduate course comparing and contrasting the Mexican, Cuban, Chilean, and Nicaraguan revolutions.
• History 498/Latin American Studies 498: Many Mexicos
  Upper-level undergraduate, faculty-led study-abroad course of study in Mexico City and Oaxaca City introducing students to ancient, colonial and modern Mexico.
• History 515: State and Society in Latin America
  Graduate readings on the relationship between Latin American states and societies from the colonial period up to the present.
• History 515: The Middle Class in Latin America
  Graduate research seminar on Latin America’s modern middle class, focusing on current historiography and developing and carrying out original research projects.

Honors and Awards:

• CWU, Alumni Association, Excellence in Teaching Award, 2006
• CWU, Spheres of Distinction Grant, $66,000 in base funding for 2006-07 to begin building a Center for Latino and Latin American Studies
• CWU, College of Arts and Humanities (CAH), Grant-Writing Award, fall 2006
• CWU, Office of Grad. Studies and Research, Faculty Research Appointment, fall 2004
• CWU-CAH, Faculty Travel Grant, 2004-05, 2005-06
• CWU-CAH, Summer Scholarship/Creativity Grant, 2004 and 2005
• Andrew Mellon Pre-Doctoral Fellowship for Field Research in Mexico, University of Pittsburgh, 1999-2000
• Institute for International Education Fulbright-García Robles Student Scholarship for Field Research in Mexico, 1998-99
• Carolyn Chambers Memorial Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh, 1997
• U of Pittsburgh Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) Field Research Grant, 1996
• CLAS Cole and Marty Blasier Award for Best Grant Proposal, 1996
• U.S. Department of Education Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship Portuguese), 1994-95 and 1995-96 Central Washington University (CWU), Alumni Association, Excellence in Teaching Award, 2006

Publications:

• "The 1930 Agrarian Census in Mexico: Agronomists, Middle Politics, and the Negotiation of Data Collection," Hispanic American Historical Review 87/3 (August 2007): 537-70.
• The Art of the Possible: Agronomists and the Middle Politics of the Mexican Revolution, completed book manuscript, under review at Univ. of Nebraska Press.
• "Statistics, Maps, and Legibility: Negotiating Nationalism in Revolutionary Mexico," under review for The Americas.
• "Marte R. Gómez: Governing Agrarian Revolution in Tamaulipas, 1937-40" in William Beezley and Jürgen Buchenau, eds., Governors of the Mexican Revolution; under review at Rowman and Littlefield.
• "The Material Realities of Middle Class Life in Revolutionary Mexico: The Rise and Fall of the National Agronomic Society," under review by editors Barbara Weinstein and Ricardo López for submission to Duke Univ. Press.
• Book Reviews: Suzanne B. Pasztor, The Spirit of Hidalgo: The Mexican Revolution in Coahuila (Calgary: Univ. of Calgary Press, 2002), in Hispanic American Historical Review 84/4 (November 2004): 752-3; and Susan M. Deeds, Defiance and Deference in Mexico's Colonial North: Indians under Spanish Rule in Nueva Vizcaya (Austin: Univ. of Texas Press, 2003), in Western Historical Quarterly (Winter 2004): 519-20.
• "Agronomists, Revolution, and Reconstruction: The Making of Post-Insurrectionary Mexico," in México en movimiento: Concierto mexicano 1910-1940, Repercusión e interpretaciones (Grõningen: Centro de Estudios Mexicanos, 1997): 42-72.

Invited Lectures:

• "Being an Agronomist in Revolutionary Mexico: The Rise and Fall of the National Agronomic Society," part of "We Shall Be All: Toward a Global History of the Middle Class," University of Maryland, 27-29 April 2006, College Park, MD.
• "Data Collection in Revolutionary Mexico: Statistics, Maps, and the Negotiation of Nationalism," part of "Social Histories of Space" workshop, Yale University, 21-23 October 2005, New Haven, CT.
• "Latin American History in the 1990s," part of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Latin American Studies conference entitled "Forty Years of Excellence in Training and Scholarship in Latin American Studies, 1964-2004," 3 December 2004, Pittsburgh PA.

Other Academic Papers/Presentations:

• "The Middle Politics of the Maximato: Crossroads of the Mexican Revolution," at the XII Congress of Mexican, United States, and Canadian Historians, 6 October 2006, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
• "From Adolescents to Agraristas: The Education and Apprenticeship of Agronomists in Revolutionary Mexico," part of panel entitled "The Middle Politics of the Mexican Revolution," at the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) International Congress, 16 March 2006, San Juan, Puerto Rico (also given for CWU-CAH Faculty Speaker Series, 26 April 2005).
• "Data Collection in Revolutionary Mexico: Statistics, Maps, and the Negotiation of Nationalism," for CWU-CAH Faculty Speaker Series, 14 February 2006, Ellensburg WA.
• "Marte R. Gómez: Governing Agrarian Revolution in Tamaulipas, 1937-40," at the American Historical Association Annual Meeting, 8 January 2005, Seattle WA.
• "The 1930 Agrarian Census in Mexico: Agronomists, Middle Politics, and the Negotiation of Data Collection," at the LASA International Congress, 8 October 2004, Las Vegas NV.
• "Encounter of Class and Culture: Agronomists and Campesinos in Revolutionary Mexico," CWU Geography and Resource Management Colloquium, 12 November 2003.
• "Agronomists, Revolution, and Reconstruction: The Making of Post-Revolutionary Mexico," 7 November 1996, University of Gröningen (Netherlands), Third Annual Conference of Mexicanists sponsored by Center of Mexican Studies.

Public Talks/Presentations:

• "A Day Without a Mexican," presentation of the film as part of the Videmus Lecture and Film Series, 2 May 2006, Ellensburg WA.
• "Day of the Dead in History and Practice," presented as part of Day of the Dead celebration that brought nearly 150 junior high school students (Mattawa school district, 85% Latino) to CWU campus, 2 November 2005, Ellensburg WA.
• "Teaching The Tortilla Curtain," presented to University 101 teachers as part of the One Book/One Campus program, 14 September 2005, Ellensburg WA.
• "City of God," presentation of the Brazilian film of same name as part of the Videmus Lecture and Film Series, 9 May 2005, Ellensburg WA.
• "Globalizing the Latin American Left: Toward a Post-Dependency Paradigm," part of CWU World Social Forum, 6 May 2005, Ellensburg WA.
• "José Guadalupe Posada: Precursor of the Mexican Revolution," in celebration of traveling exhibit entitled "José Guadalupe Posada: My Mexicó" (on tour from the University of Hawaii at Manoa), 1 April 2005, Ellensburg WA.
• "Terror and Torture in Latin America: A Cold War Case Study," part of a public forum entitled "Terror and Torture in the American Mind," 27 May 2004, Ellensburg WA.
• "Rebellion in Chiapas," presented as part of CWU's International Education and World Languages Day, 14 May 2004, 13 May 2005, and 12 May 2006, Ellensburg WA.
• "Cinco de Mayo in Historical Perspective," 5 May 2004, Ellensburg WA. Mexico, 1996 and 1998-2000

Research Experience:

• Mexico, 1996, 1998-2000, fall 2004, and summer 2005
  Carried out research in Mexico City, Texcoco (Mexico State), and Zamora (Michoacán). Archives Consulted: Public/Private Archives of Marte Gómez; National Archives; National Library; Libraries of the Autonomous University of Chapingo and its Graduate Studies College; Ministry of Agrarian Reform Archives; Private Archives of President Plutarco Elías Calles; Private Archives of Ramón Fernández, Colegio de Michoacán.
• Washington DC, 1991
  Researched transportation issues in support of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations for head of U.S. Transportation Delegation, Nancy MacRae. Professional Membership:

Professional Service and Membership:

• CWU, Director, Latino and Latin American Studies program (2007-)
• CWU, Director, Latin American Studies program (2005-07)
• CWU, Co-Director of the Latin American Studies program (2004-05)
• CWU, Member, President’s Diversity Council (2006-)
• CWU, Co-Chair, Diversity Council’s Commission on Latino Affairs (2005-)
• CWU, Faculty Senate Academic Affairs Committee (2003-06)
• CWU, History Department Library Representative (2004-)
• CWU, History Department Personnel Committee (2003-04)
• CWU, Search Committees
  Latino Politics and Studies (Chair; 2006-07)
  Islamic World/Non-Western History (2005-06)
  Non-Western History (2004-05)
  History/Ed (2003-04)
  Spanish Search Committee (2003-4)
• LASA 2006, Panel Chair and Organizer, "The Middle Politics of the Mexican Revolution"
• Co-Organizer (with Djordje Popovic), "Pulling Back the Tortilla Curtain," 3 November 2005, as part of One Book/One Campus program; and "Terror and Torture in the American Mind," 27 May 2004, a public forum regarding the Iraq prison abuse scandal
• Reviewer, World History Textbook (Coatsworth, et al.), Wadsworth Publishing
• Reviewer, Pacific Northwest Quarterly
• Member, American Historical Association
• Member, Conference on Latin American History
• Member, Latin American Studies Association
• Member, Association of Washington Historians (Board Member 2002-05)
• Participant, General Education Fall Faculty Development Workshop (2003)
• Judge, Washington State History Day (2003, 2004)

Languages:

• Mastery of Spanish
• Reading Comprehension of Portuguese