A PhD candidate in the American Studies department at UNM, a Fellow at the Center for Southwest Research, and part Time faculty at CNM.

Joshua Heckman-Archibeque grew up in a Chicano household in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Josh's culture and identity have influenced their research and career path. Josh joined the New Mexico Air National Guard (like their abuelo) at 19 to help pay for their undergraduate tuition. Josh started their academic career at Central New Mexico Community College (CNM), and their Philosophy and History professors profoundly impacted their career. After graduating with an Associate in Liberal Arts, Josh transferred to the University of New Mexico and Majored in Philosophy and American Studies. El Centro de la Raza, MEChA, advisors, and their friends in the Service Learning program guided them through undergrad, and they were only successful with the support of others. Josh's professors at UNM encouraged them to apply to graduate school. Josh went on to earn their MA in American Studies at UNM and is currently a Ph.D. candidate. Josh is a Part-Time faculty with CNM, and this semester, Josh started working with Mellon and Extended Pathways to teach Introduction to Chicana and Chicano Studies at CNM. Josh is proud to introduce CNM students to the humanities. Josh is humbled to be guiding the students who have come after them and to give back to my community.

Humanities is critical to understanding ourselves, our communities, and our world. The humanities allow students to research and learn about their communities' social relations and material conditions and challenge dominant ideologies. The humanities give students the tools to be community leaders and address community problems.

The humanities allowed Josh to study at El Colegio de Mexico, the University Guadalajara in Mexico, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, and the Digital Humanities Summer Institute at the University of Victoria in Canada. Josh's research has taken them across the Southwest to conduct oral history interviews of nuevomexicano elders on New Mexico history and to conduct online and physical archival research in the Southwest.