Photo of Sostaita, Barbara

Barbara Sostaita, PhD

Assistant Professor

LALS

Contact

Building & Room:

UH 1515

Address:

601 S. Morgan St

Office Phone:

(312) 996-2297

About

Barbara Sostaita is a scholar of religion and global migration. She grew up undocumented in the south, the daughter of a minister who taught her how religion informs and shapes migrant-led organizing. Professor Sostaita holds a doctoral degree in Religious Studies with a Certificate in Women's and Gender Studies from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her forthcoming book, Sanctuary Everywhere, is an ethnographic study of fugitive care practices in the Sonoran desert. This book and her other projects consider how people on the move—including migrants, artists, and organizers—engage with the sacred to cross and transgress borders. Her work has been published in academic journals such as American Religion and Southern Cultures, and in magazines like The Nation and Teen Vogue. At UIC, she teaches courses on Latinx religions, transnational migration, and undocumented social movements.