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George T. Díaz, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of History

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX

george.diaz@utrgv.edu EDUCATION

Ph.D., History, Southern Methodist University, 2010 Dissertation: “Contrabandista Communities: States and Smugglers in the Lower Rio Grande Borderlands, 1848-1945”

M.A., History, Texas A&M International University, 2004 Thesis: “When the River Ran Red: Prohibition on the Central South Texas Border, 1919 –1933”

B.A., History, summa cum laude, Texas A&M International University, 2002

PUBLICATIONS Border Contraband: A History of Smuggling across the Rio Grande. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2015. [2016 NACCS Tejas Foco Non-Fiction Book Award] [Jim Parish Award for Documentation and Publication of Local and Regional History, Webb County Heritage Foundation, 2015] “State Power and Its Agents in the North American West,” Journal of the West, vol. 54, no 1 (Winter 2015): 10. Co-edited with Aaron E. Sánchez. "'La necesidad hace lícito lo que es ilícito por ley': Contrabando en la frontera española en Norteamérica, siglos XVII-XVIII,” en La frontera en el mundo hispánico: Tierras de convivencia y espacios de confrontación (siglos XV-XVIII). Porfirio Sanz Camañes and David Rex Galindo, editors. (Quito: Abya Yala Press, 2015).

“Smugglers in Dangerous Times: Revolution and Communities in the Tejano Borderlands,” in War Along the Border: The Mexican Revolution and Tejano Communities. Arnoldo De León, ed. Houston: Mexican American Studies Center and Texas A&M University Press, 2012.

“Twilight of the Tequileros: Prohibition Era Smuggling in the South Texas Borderlands, 1919-1933,” in Smugglers, Brothels, and Twine: Historical Perspectives on Contraband and Vice in North America’s Borderlands. Elaine Carey and Andrae Marak, co-editors. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2011.

“Tracking Tequileros: The Bloody Origins of a Border Ballad,” The Journal of South Texas, vol. 17, no 2 (Fall 2004): 61.

WORKS IN PROGRESS

"’Little Mexico’: Prison life at Blue Ridge State Farm," in Mexicano Resilience: Essays in Honor of Arnoldo De León. Trinidad Gonzales editor.

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Policing the North American Borderlands: A History of Enforcing and Evading the Canada-U.S. and U.S.- Mexico Divides. Holly M. Karibo and George T. Díaz editors.

Mañana Land: Life and Death in the Mexican Prison in Texas. [Monograph]

ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRIES “Tequileros,” The Handbook of Tejano History Project. Emilio Zamora and Andrés Tijerina (eds.) Texas State Historical Association, commissioned and expected in 2015. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/jbt01

"Contraband and Smuggling," World of the Spanish Colonial American Southwest: A Daily Life Encyclopedia. 2 Volumes. David Rex Galindo and Francis X. Galán (eds.) ABC-Clio, Greenwood, commissioned and expected in 2016.

BOOK REVIEWS “From South Texas to the Nation: The Exploitation of Mexican Labor in the Twentieth Century,” Journal of American Ethnic History, [Forthcoming 2016] “Contraband: Smuggling and the Birth of the American Century,” The Historian, [Forthcoming 2016] “Americans in the Treasure House: Travel to Profirian Mexico and the Cultural Politics of Empire,” Pacific Historical Review, [Forthcoming 2016]. “From the Republic of the Rio Grande: A Personal History of the Place and People,” Journal of Borderlands Studies, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08865655.2015.1030763, First published online: (May 5, 2015). “The Informal and Underground Economy of the South Texas Border,” The Social Science Journal, DOI: 10.1016/j.soscij.2013.04.007. vol. 50, no. 2 (June 2013): 269. “Mercados en asedio: El comercio transfronterizo en el norte central de México (1821-1848),” Enterprise and Society, DOI: 10.1093/es/kht005,First published online: (January 18, 2013). “Making Mexican Black Hats: Miguel Antonio Levario’s Militarizing the Border,” H-Borderlands, https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=38061 (January 2013). “Migra! A History of the U.S. Border Patrol,” Southwestern Historical Quarterly, vol. CXVI, no. 4 (April 2013): 419.

“Smeltertown: Making and Remembering a Southwest Border Community,” Southwestern Historical Quarterly, vol. CXV, no. 4 (April 2012): 413.

“Handmade Brick for Texas: A Mexican Border Industry, Its Workers, and Its Business,” Southwestern Historical Quarterly, vol. CXV, no. 3 (January 2012): 306.

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PREVIOUS POSITIONS HELD Fall 2012 - Summer 2016 Assistant Professor of History Department of History, Sam Houston State University Fall 2011- Spring 2012 Visiting Scholar and Visiting Assistant Professor of History Center for Mexican American Studies, University of Houston Fall 2010 - Spring 2011

History and Mexican American Studies Fulltime Temporary Faculty Department of History and Philosophy, South Texas College

TEACHING EXPERIENCE Graduate Courses

Smuggling in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands - Online History of Texas Incarceration The American West –Online Texas History - Online

Undergraduate Classes Texas and the Southwest

Texas and the Southwest - Online Recent U.S. History, 1945 to Present U.S. History to 1877 U.S. History since 1877 Mexican American History Intro to American Studies: Smuggling in the Borderlands

MASTERS THESES SUPERVISED

Nick Rizzi, “Only in Arizona: Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the Rise of Conservative Politics, and Fear in the Sunbelt Borderlands.” Proposed completed fall 2016. Chair

INVITED LECTURES AND BOOK FESTIVALS “”The Border”: What You Think You Know May Not Be True, and What is True May Not be What You Think,” Lone Star Book Festival. Lone Star College, Kingwood (April 2016) Panelist

“The Things They Carried: The Story Border Objects Tell,” San Antonio Book Festival. San Antonio Public Library (April 2016) Panelist

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“Contrabandistas and Consumers: Smuggling in Old Laredo," Laredo Gateway Rotary Club (January 2016)

Panelist, “Crossing the Line: A Comparative Look at the History of Drug Smuggling along the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada Borders,” Tarleton State University (November 2015)

“’Dope Gets By’: The Origins of Drug Smuggling across the Rio Grande,” Committee for the Awareness of Mexican American Culture Presentation, Texas A&M University (November 2015)

“Prohibition and Porous Borders: Unintended Consequences of the 18th Amendment,” Constitution Day Presentation, East Central University (September 2015)

"Telling Stories and Making History: How Smuggling Made Me a Prof," Talk for McNair Scholars, Sam Houston State University (September 2014)

“'La necesidad hace lícito lo que es ilícito por ley': Contrabando en la frontera española en Norteamérica, siglos XVII-XVIII,” La Frontera en el Mundo Hispánico, La América Hispania. Tierras de Convivencia y Espacios de Confrontación, symposium at Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (June 12-13, 2013) Panelist, "Understanding the Violence along the U.S. Mexico Border: The Historical and Societal Context of Contemporary Realities," Panel Discussion & Satellite Exhibition for "Baroque on the Border,"

Talento Bilingüe de Houston (March 2012)

“My Heroes Have Always Been Contrabandistas: Corridos as Reflections of Popular Attitudes on Smuggling in the Lower Rio Grande Borderlands, 1880s-1940s,” Latino Faculty Council, University of Houston (October 2011) "Smuggling, Violence, and Business on the U.S.-Mexico Border: Past and Present," The Houston Seminar’s Course, Trouble in the Borderlands (September 2011) “Colluding with Contrabandistas: Doing Transnational History,” History Department Seminar Series, University of Texas at El Paso (March 2011) “Smuggling in Dangerous Times: Revolution and Communities in the Tejano Borderlands,” War Along the Border: The Mexican Revolution and its Impact Upon Tejano Communities Symposium, University of Houston Center for Mexican American Studies. (September 2010) "Los Tequileros: History, Memory and Remembering the Disputed Past," 31st Annual Texas State

Hispanic Genealogical and Historical Conference, Houston, Texas (September 2010) CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (PAST AND FORTHCOMING) “Brown and Behind Bars: Mexicans and Mexican Americans in Texas Prisons before 1945,” The Western Historical Association Annual Meeting. St. Paul, Minnesota (October 2016) Presenter

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“Faith Healing, Smuggling, and the Formation of Identity in the Texas-Mexico Borderlands,” Texas State Historical Association Annual Meeting. Irving, Texas (March 2016) Chair and Commentator

“’Mañana Land”: Mexican Prisoners at Blue Ridge State Farm,” National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies Tejas Regional Conference. Houston, Texas (February 2016) Presenter "The Smuggler's Lament: History and Corridos de Contrabando,” Where Rivers Meet Symposium. University of Incarnate Word. San Antonio, Texas (October 2015) Presenter

“’Leave this crooked business alone!’ Border Peoples Struggle against Drug Smuggling in the early 20th century,” Southwest Council of Latin American Studies. San José, Costa Rica (March 2015) Presenter “Border Contraband: Understanding Smuggling across the Rio Grande,” Southwest Fulbright Symposium. San Antonio, Texas (July 2014) Presenter “The United States Army on the Texas-New Mexico Borderlands,” Texas State Historical Association Annual Meeting. San Antonio, Texas (March 2014) Chair “Making Borders Ports: The U.S. Customs Service on the Rio Grande, 1848-1881,” The Western Historical Association Annual Meeting. Tucson, Arizona (October 2013) Presenter “Laredo Tejanos and Conflict,” Texas State Historical Association Annual Meeting. Fort Worth, Texas (February 2013) Chair and Commentator “Racial Violence and the Law on the Texas Gulf Coast,” East Texas Historical Association. Galveston, Texas (February 2013) Chair and Commentator “On the Edge of the Law: Mexican Americans in Federal and State Law Enforcement, 1870s-1941,” National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies Tejas Regional Conference. San Marcos, Texas (March 2012) Presenter “Tequileros, Tariffs, and Armed Threats: Mexican and U.S. Views of Contraband Trade in the Lower Rio Grande Borderlands, 1920-35,” The Western Historical Association Annual Meeting. Oakland, California (October 2011) Presenter “Twilight of the Tequileros: Prohibition Era Smuggling in the South Texas Borderlands, 1919-1933,”

Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies Annual Conference. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (March 2011) Presenter

“Treacherous Trade: Smuggling and National Security in the U.S./Mexico Borderlands, 1938-1945,” Texas State Historical Association Annual Meeting. El Paso, Texas (March 2011) Presenter “Creating a Contrabandista Community: Smuggling Along the U.S.-Mexico Border, 1848-1881,” National

Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies Tejas Regional Conference. McAllen, Texas (February 2011) Presenter

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“Smugglers in Dangerous Times: Illicit Trade in Revolution and War on the Lower Rio Grande Borderlands, 1910 -1920,” South Texas Historical Association Annual Meeting. Laredo, Texas (November 2009) Presenter

“Contrabandista Communities: The Moral Economy of Smuggling in the Two Laredos, 1890- 1900,” The Western Historical Association Annual Meeting. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (October 2007) Presenter

“Tracking Tequileros: The Bloody Origins of a Border Ballad,” The Texas State Historical Association Annual Meeting. Fort Worth, Texas (March 2005) Presenter

RESEARCH, GRANTS AND HONORS 2011- 2012, Visiting Scholar and Visiting Assistant Professor of History, Center for Mexican American Studies, University of Houston 2010, Office of Research and Graduate Studies Research Day Award, Southern Methodist University

2009, Bill Clements Dissertation Fellowship, Clements Center for Southwest Studies, Southern Methodist University

2006, Wellington Advisory Travel and Research Grant, Clements Center for Southwest Studies, Southern Methodist University

2004-09, Clements Center for Southwest Studies, Southern Methodist University Ph.D. Fellowship

SCHOLARLY SERVICE

Article Reviewer, Journal of American History (2016)

Manuscript Reviewer, Texas A&M Press (2016)

Chair, Texas State History Association’s Hernández Research Fellowship in Latino History (2015-2016)

Article Reviewer, Journal of Texas Archeology and History (2016)

Article Reviewer, Social History of Alcohol and Drugs: An Interdisciplinary Journal (Fall 2015)

Co-Coordinator, East Texas Historical Association Conference (Spring 2015)

Article Reviewer, Journal of the West (Spring and Summer 2014)

Article Reviewer, Journal of Consumer Culture (Spring 2014)

Article Reviewer, Florida Historical Quarterly (Summer 2013)

Article Reviewer, The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs (Winter 2015 -16)

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Nominating Committee, Premio Estrella de Aztlán Lifetime Achievement Award for Arnoldo De León 2013

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Alcohol Drugs and History Society

American Historical Association

Latin American Studies Association

National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies

South Texas Historical Association

Texas State Historical Association

Western Historical Association

LANGUAGES English and Spanish