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Welcome, I’m
Santiago Andres Garcia. I lecture at Rio Hondo College in Whittier, California,
where I teach Mexican Culture, Humanities, and Anthropology in the
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences. Among other teaching spaces, one
can also find me at Cerritos College where I teach a course on the Native
Peoples of North America, and a laboratory in Physical Anthropology.
My purpose
in life is to educate and inspire youth and their families in an effort to help
them achieve their personal and academic goals (see my Teaching Philosophy,
Five Principles of Community, and Curriculum Vitae). As a researcher, I am
adamant on revitalizing and preserving ancestral knowledge systems, and as a
social scientist, I strive to model sustainable living practices in the areas
of health, food, and family.
In 2014, I started the Mesoamerican Figurine Project of Rio Hondo College — a life long teaching and learning project where I approach the classroom as an archaeological field site. Through clay-work, group work, and narrative inquiry students of the community college document their personal and familial stories. These shared histories become the center of learning and creating new knowledge.
In 2015, the figurine project was recognized by the American Studies Association (ASA) with the Gloria E. Anzaldúa Award for Independent Scholars, Contingent, or Community College Faculty. They specifically found value with the clay-work, and how it allowed students to revitalize and sustain lost forms of ancestral knowledge. As a result, the ASA granted lifetime access to the American Quarterly journal along with an honorary lifetime membership to continue the work.
Later, in 2019, the figurine project was awarded a $40,000 grant by the American Council of Learned Societies through a Mellon/ACLS Community College Faculty Fellowship. The funding provided students with classroom supplies, book grants, and student research stipends. In addition, allowances were made for community forums, research travel, and the preparation of manuscripts for the purpose of disseminating the project outcomes. A list of publications is on the project website.
In 2014, I started the Mesoamerican Figurine Project of Rio Hondo College — a life long teaching and learning project where I approach the classroom as an archaeological field site. Through clay-work, group work, and narrative inquiry students of the community college document their personal and familial stories. These shared histories become the center of learning and creating new knowledge.
In 2015, the figurine project was recognized by the American Studies Association (ASA) with the Gloria E. Anzaldúa Award for Independent Scholars, Contingent, or Community College Faculty. They specifically found value with the clay-work, and how it allowed students to revitalize and sustain lost forms of ancestral knowledge. As a result, the ASA granted lifetime access to the American Quarterly journal along with an honorary lifetime membership to continue the work.
Later, in 2019, the figurine project was awarded a $40,000 grant by the American Council of Learned Societies through a Mellon/ACLS Community College Faculty Fellowship. The funding provided students with classroom supplies, book grants, and student research stipends. In addition, allowances were made for community forums, research travel, and the preparation of manuscripts for the purpose of disseminating the project outcomes. A list of publications is on the project website.
About My Schooling and Training
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| The banks of the Arroyo Pesquero, Southeastern Veracruz, Mexico 2008 |
In 2011, I completed my training in Anthropology at Cal State Fullerton under the supervision of Olmec archaeologist Dr. Carl J. Wendt. At CSUF my research looked at Early Formative (1250–900 B.C.) Mesoamerican inter-regional interaction between the Olmec of the Southern Gulf Lowlands of Mexico and their neighbors outside the Gulf Coast. To this day, I remain, interested in the daily behaviors and activities that occur when people and groups move from one region to another. My past and current inquires dive into the diverse social mechanisms i.e., trade, influence, migration, ritual and ceremony, that ignite the spread of ideas, goods, wealth, and health. To arrive at a better understanding of these behaviors, I rely on the interpretation of ancient cultural material (artifacts), models of interaction, and my own gaze as an Indigenous Xicano Educator.
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| The Arroyo Pesquero, Southeastern Veracruz, Mexico 2008 - Documenting clay soils. |
