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>> ix Acknowledgments This has been a difficult book for me to write, and because it was, I had to rely on many people during all its stages. While I claim all its flaws and shortcomings , the people I acknowledge in these pages helped me conceptualize and clarify all its best and most interesting parts. First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge Liz Gonzalez, my first-rate research assistant; I would not have been able to come close to deadlines without her. I extend my appreciation to her with deep sincerity. Kevin Dolan’s early edits provided me with expert help in clarifying my arguments and making the book clearer overall. His assistance, too, was invaluable. Eric Zinner, the best editor ever, has been more than supportive of this project. I am so grateful for all his help, his patience, and his persistence. I also thank Eric for choosing my excellent reviewers. My anonymous reviewers and my non-anonymous reviewer, James Kyung-Jin Lee, pushed the book in important directions I didn’t even know it could go. I believe it is a much better book because of their comments and critiques, recommendations and encouragement, and I really appreciate the care and attention that each person provided. At the University of Illinois, I’ve been lucky to have support from the Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society and from the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities, where I completed my postdoctoral fellowship . I thank the university for granting me humanities release time, and I thank the Latina/Latino Studies department for awarding me much needed course release right before tenure. I’ve been fortunate and privileged to work with exceptional faculty on this campus. I would like to recognize my colleagues Ricky T. Rodríguez, Eileen Díaz McConnell, Mireya Loza, Jonathan Inda, Julie Dowling, Edna Viruell-Fuentes, Gilberto Rosa, Alejandro Lugo, Rolando Romero, Arlene Torres, William Berry, Yutian Wong, Junaid Rana, Moon-kie Jung, Susan Koshy, Yoon Pak, Nancy Abelman, Esther Lee, Caroline Yang, Augusto Espiritu, Lisa Nakamura, Kent Ono, Karen Flynn, Ruth Nicole Brown, David Roediger, Antonia Darder, Jose Capino, Adrian Burgos, Dara Goldman, Clarence Lang, Erik McDuffy, Mark Perry, C. L. Cole, and Sundiata Cha-Jua. I also thank Siobhan Somerville for making the campus x > xi Tiongson—I thank both for going through all the hard parts of graduate school with me and for making it worthwhile. I also feel indebted to Grace Hong, Rod Ferguson, Chandan Reddy, Victor Bascara, Gregory Lobo, Dylan Rodríguez, Rachel Buff, Suzanne Oboler, Jane Rhodes, Jordana Rosenberg, and Mike Murashige for producing and supporting paradigm-shifting work that has been really important to my intellectual development as a scholar. I thank Jodi Melamed for exchanging her amazing work with me and providing me with thoughtful comments. I thank Helen Jun for being brilliant and giving, for making sure I don’t take myself too seriously, and for always making it worth waiting for the next high tide. Ruby Tapia always gave me the help I never could ask for and that I didn’t always know I needed. I thank Ruby for being a beautiful writer, profound scholar, and beloved friend, whom I can always count on to take my side. When I first came to Urbana-Champaign, people told me it was like the Berkeley of the Midwest. That’s not true at all, but because Urbana-Champaign lacks the wonderful distractions of urban spaces, I’ve made relationships here that nurture and sustain me. I thank Steve Hocker for intellectually engaging conversations and delicious desserts. I thank Ian Sprandel for feeding me, fixing my clothes, worrying about me, and for keeping me smart outside my areas of knowledge and always in the most entertaining way possible . I thank Luciano Molina-Sprandel for reminding us to let hope happen and for motivating us to look for everyday magic. I thank Soo Ah Kwon for her friendship, support, and remarkable ability to make sure we’re all on task. I also thank Soo Ah, Dustin Allred, and Max for hosting gourmet dinners and spontaneous activities afterward to burn all the calories. I am thankful to Fiona Ngô for being a wonderful writing partner, careful reader, and easygoing deadline enforcer. I am grateful to her for being generous with her time, for keeping me on track, and for helping me let the work go. Fiona has read many parts of the manuscript at various stages, and for this I...

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