Sofía Stacchiola
Sofía Stacchiola
MA Student
Sofia Stacchiola (she/her) is from Long Island, New York. She graduated from Cornell in May 2025, earning a BA in American Studies and Spanish, with a minor in Latina/o Studies. It seems she loved American Studies very much, because she decided to do a Master’s in it at GW. She focused on transnational histories of the US, especially Latine histories, although she tried to learn a little bit about everything. Her research interests include US histories of (im)migration, geopolitics, and citizenship, as well as the relationships between different communities.
Tell us the most interesting thing you've learned related to American studies?
It’s really really difficult to choose just one, but in my last semester of undergrad I took a course called War and Revolution in 20th Century Latino History. Something that was fascinating to me were the differences in how the US handled migration from Cuba and Chile during their respective authoritarian regimes. In short, for a variety of geopolitical and plain political reasons, Cubans were for the most part given an easier entry and acclimation to the US than Chileans. I think it’s interesting to study these histories because it helps us better understand the dynamics in the US about immigration and immigrants.
What are you currently reading?
I just finished The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, and am currently reading The Round House by Louise Erdrich.
If you were an animal, what animal would you be and why?
I hope I’d be a pegasus, because they’re whimsical and it would be cool to fly and run fast.