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Hamilton (Nora Louise) collection on Latin American politics
0560
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Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: Nora Louise Hamilton collection on Latin American politics
Creator:
Hamilton, Nora, 1935-2024
Identifier/Call Number: 0560
Identifier/Call Number: /repositories/3/resources/3342
Physical Description:
2.25 Linear Feet
2 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1993-2005
Abstract: Collection consists of the research and teaching materials of Professor Emerita of Political Science, Nora Louise Hamilton.
Language of Material:
English
.
Container: 1
Container: 2
The following Biographical / Historical note was copied from an obituary written by Meredith McGroarty and published to the
USC Dornsife website. Citation: Meredith McGroarty, "Advocacy for those in need of justice marks political science professor's
40 years at USC," USC Dornsife News and Events, March 13, 2024, accessed March 29, 2024, https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/nora-hamilton-political-sciences-emerita-obituary/.
Nora Hamilton pioneered studies on Latin American communities in the United States, advocating for Central American immigrants
and others who fell victim to unfair practices.
Professor Emerita of Political Science Nora Hamilton died on Jan. 19. She was 88.
Hamilton served as professor of political science at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences from 2001 until
2007, although her time as a teacher at the university spanned four decades, from 1977 to 2017.
Her teaching, research and activism efforts focused on Latin America, immigration and Latin American communities in the United
States, with her best-known scholarship focusing on the post-revolutionary Mexican state.
Expanding her horizons
The oldest of three children, Hamilton was born to Nora (née McIntyre) and Frederick McGuire Hamilton on Sept. 27, 1935, in
Washington, D.C. The family relocated to Alabama while she was still a toddler. After the birth of her brother, Frank, and
the death of their father when Hamilton was 3, her mother married Eugene Munger Jr. and had another child, Eugenia.
Eugenia recalls that while growing up in Montgomery, her sister displayed an interest in writing from an early age, a trait
she carried into later life, as her authorship of several books attests.
Her intellectual curiosity was also on full display from a young age, Eugenia adds. "When she was a teenager, she wanted us
to take turns and have an interesting topic that we would discuss each night at the dinner table," Eugenia says. "She was
like a sponge as far as learning, and if you taught her something, even something you would not think anybody would be the
slightest bit interested in, she'd say, 'Well, I learned something.'"
Longing for more than Alabama could give her, Hamilton soon embarked on the first of a series of journeys that took her all
over the world. She stopped first in White Plains, N.Y., just outside of New York City, to attend Manhattanville College,
earning her bachelor's degree in English literature in 1957.
When she started working for the Ford Foundation after college, Hamilton's interest in political science crystallized, Eugenia
says. The foundation sent her to Chile for three years — 1966 to 1969 — to research agrarian reform, student movements and
peasant organization in the country. She next went to graduate school, earning first her master's degree in Latin American
studies from New York University and then, in 1978, her doctorate in sociology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Eugenia recalls that Hamilton spent several years in Mexico conducting research for her thesis before returning to the U.S.,
where she soon set off for Los Angeles.
Four decades at USC
At USC Dornsife, Hamilton taught courses on immigration, political development and political economy while her research focused
on international migration, Central American immigrant communities, and the impact of economic and political developments
in Mexico.
Hamilton authored several books on Mexico during her time at USC Dornsife, including
The Limits of State Autonomy in Post-Revolutionary Mexico (Princeton University Press, 1982) and
Mexico: Political, Social and Economic Transitions (Oxford University Press, 2010). She also co-authored several works on Mexican and Central American immigration to Southern
California.
Alison Dundes Renteln '91, professor of political science, anthropology, public policy and law at USC Dornsife, says Hamilton
was "a true Renaissance woman" who drew on many different disciplines but who always put justice at the center of her work.
"She and I clicked over human rights because she was sometimes an expert witness in political asylum cases," says Renteln,
who holds a JD from USC Gould School of Law and studies international law and human rights. "She attracted students who, like
her, had seen the big picture, who cared about global justice and who had this kind of humanitarian impulse."
One such student was Charles Lee, an associate professor of justice and social inquiry at Arizona State University, who earned
his doctorate in political theory and cultural studies from USC Dornsife in 2006. Hamilton served on Lee's dissertation committee
and, as the two of them shared a scholarly interest in immigration, Hamilton was a source of knowledge and guidance that was
essential during the dissertation process, Lee says.
"She was very kind, patient, unassuming and had a calming presence, and it was always a joy to chat with her about my research
on immigrant workers because she had a wealth of knowledge and insights on the subject," Lee says. "She was someone who was
committed to socially meaningful research and always being there for her students, and she influenced me to approach my own
scholarly work and my own students in the same way."
Activism for the underserved
According to her friend and longtime research collaborator Norma Chinchilla, Professor Emerita of Sociology at California
State University, Long Beach, Hamilton's commitment to her research was "inseparable" from her passion for social justice.
Soon after arriving in L.A., Hamilton joined the Los Angeles Group for Latin American Solidarity, and with them began work
as an editor with the newly formed independent journal
Latin American Perspectives.
Chinchilla notes that in the early 1980s, when many countries in Central America were being run by right-wing dictators supported
by the U.S. government, Hamilton co-founded several key organizations in Los Angeles, including the Committee in Solidarity
with the People of El Salvador, the Nicaraguan Task Force and the Central American Refugee Center.
Hamilton and Chinchilla also shared the first annual Adelante! Award from the Salvadoran American Education and Leadership
Fund in 2007, and the first annual Immigration Scholar Activist Award from USC in 2014.
USC Dornsife Professor Emerita of Sociology Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo called Hamilton and Chinchilla "key figures" in the
sanctuary movement in L.A., which aimed to understand Central American migration in the context of U.S.-sponsored civil wars.
"That work seemed to morph into their collaborative research project on Central American migration and the establishment of
Central American communities in Los Angeles. Together they were pioneers and really laid a lot of groundwork for others,"
Hondagneu-Sotelo says.
Hondagneu-Sotalo adds that although Hamilton was a great scholar, she was also a kind person who had a positive effect on
those around her.
"Nora was an exceptionally gracious person who had a very affirming, gentle presence in any committee or working group. She
was a strong scholar and political activist with leftist sensibilities, and yet a very gentle presence in any group," she
says.
Eugenia recalls a childhood episode that illustrates the sense of fairness Hamilton carried through her life as an activist
and voice for those facing injustice.
"Nora was 8 years older than I was, and her friends were starting a club, you know like kids do, and one person let her little
sister, who was a year younger than I was, join. But then they said no more little kids," Eugenia recalls. "Nora didn't say
anything to me about it, but Mama later told me Nora had gone and stood up for me, saying they were all being unfair, and
she quit because of it. That's what she was like; she fought for people who weren't being treated fairly in life."
Collection consists of the research and teaching materials of Professor Emerita of Political Science, Nora Louise Hamilton.
Materials include various publications and periodicals.
Advance notice required for access.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special
Collections at specol@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
[Box/folder no. or item name], Nora Louise Hamilton collection on Latin American politics, Collection no. 0560, Boeckmann
Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
This collection is unprocessed.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Emigration and immigration
Immigrants -- Central America
Immigration
Mexico -- Economic conditions
Mexico -- Politics and government
Hamilton, Nora, 1935-2024 -- Archives