Nathan Darmiento, a doctoral student in the Department of History at Rutgers University, successfully defended his dissertation research proposal on May 22 and has officially advanced to Ph.D. candidacy.
His dissertation project, tentatively titled Between Nations, Among Neighbors: State Security and Everyday Life in the Mexico-Guatemala Borderlands, 1938–1980, examines how communities living along the Mexico-Guatemala border transformed and navigated state policies of incorporation and security during the mid-twentieth century. Through this research, Darmiento explores the relationship between borderland communities and state power, foregrounding the everyday experiences of people whose lives unfolded between national boundaries.
Darmiento’s dissertation committee includes Aldo Lauria-Santiago, Camilla Townsend, Yesenia Barragan, and Jürgen Buchenau.
Advancing to candidacy marks a major milestone in the doctoral process and recognizes the successful completion and approval of the dissertation project by the committee.