Get to Know Fulbright Scholar Dr. Francisco Ramirez-Trevino
Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Francisco Ramirez-Trevino arrived at UIS's campus in August 2025 from Mexico City. Dr. Ramirez-Trevino is a passionate researcher on recent Latin American history with a focus on periods of political upheaval and social transformations; histories that are often contested and difficult, yet serves are essential to understand the present. Additionally during Dr. Ramirez-Trevino's time at UIS he co-taught a graduate level seminar alongside Dr. Brian Mitchell, who holds a joint Public Humanities Fellowship withe UIS Center for Lincoln Studies and UIS History Department. The class challenged graduate history students to engage critically with complex historical moments through primary and secondary sources.
Though his stay at UIS was brief, Dr. Ramirez-Trevino's presence on campus and the classroom will be greatly missed. However before he flew back to Mexico City History Grad Assistant Syd Young was able to sit down with him for a quick interview asking him questions about himself and his time at UIS as a Fulbright Scholar.
Syd: Tell me about yourself. Who are you? What are your research interests?
Dr. Ramirez-Trevino: My name is Francisco Javier Ramirez-Trevino and I am from Mexico and live in Mexico City. I work as a professor at Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana (Metropolitan University), a prestige public university in Mexico City. In terms of my research interests, they include recent history, social memory, transitional justice, human rights, literature, and violence in Mexico and Latin America.
Syd: How did you discover your love for history?
Dr. Ramirez-Trevino: First of all, I love reading. But I would say that I use history as fuel for understanding our present, and to tell you the truth, I've found history to be a productive and challenging tool for facing our current dilemmas/ Additionally, I love history not as a cumulative repertory of wisdom, but as an exercise of making questions and trying to find answers to them, particularly questions that are difficult.
Syd: What did you like most about your time as UIS as a Fulbright Scholar?
Dr. Ramirez-Trevino: Firstly, I loved meeting all the wonderful colleagues, students, and staff here at UIS. Also, I have enjoyed the challenge of sharing my background and interests with everyone. However, I've enjoyed the surrounding environment at UIS the most, specifically the prairies, trees, snow, and the deer!
Dr. Ramirez-Trevino had the opportunity to give a lecture at UIUC this past fall, focusing on transitional justice in Mexico.
Syd: You came to UIS as a Fulbright Scholar, do you want to explain what a Fulbright scholar is and how long you've been one at UIS?
Dr. Ramirez-Trevino: I've been here at UIS since late August 2025 as the Mexico Studies Chair but sadly I'll be returning to Mexico at the end of the semester. But this position was a part of a special program by the Fulbright Binational Committee, which operates between Mexico and the United States. The program aims at bringing Mexican scholars to American universities to share their expertise across various fields, including History, Archaeology, Literature, Public Administration, Biology, Law, and many more. In my case, I have focused my studies on recent history of Latin America.
Syd: Do you have any advice for students who are interested in applying for a Fulbright scholarship?
Dr. Ramirez-Trevino: I have few pieces of advice. First, have a clear, but not rigid, idea of hat you want from your experience. Do you want a short stay? Is it a part of your graduate studies? Is it an educational exchange? Secondly, trust the people at the Fulbright program to guide you in the process, they are there to help you. Lastly, be patient and resilient, it can be a long process, but it's worth it at the end.
Syd: Any general advice for students who want to pursue history as a career?
Dr. Ramirez-Trevino: Be passionate about your choices. Work hard, read, think, talk, write, and share your worth with pride and joy!
Syd: It has been lovely talking and getting to know you this semester. Do you have any parting words or anything else you would like to share?
Dr. Ramirez-Trevino: I want to end on this. Sharing and being grateful is important in our field. I had a wonderful experience this fall semester and I could not thank everyone enough for contributing to my experience.