Biography

Professor Catherine R. Squires is the author of multiple books, including Dispatches from the Color Line (2007) and The Post-Racial Mystique (2014).Most recently she edited the collection Dangerous Discourses: Feminism, Gun Violence & Civic Life (2016). Dr. Squires serves on the Institute of Advanced Studies Advisory Board, and served as first director of the RIGS Initiative, overseeing an interdisciplinary cluster hire of five new faculty in 2015.

For the past ten years, she has collaborated on a variety of civic media and history projects at Gordon Parks High School. For the past seven years, Professor Squires has collaborated with staff, youth, and local leaders to envision and build the Hallie Q. Brown Center Community Archive to create public history education opportunities to expand understanding of Black history in Minnesota.

In 2018, Dr. Squires was named a Bush Fellow. Her fellowship focused on understanding intergenerational trauma, culturally relevant healing practices, embodied story sharing and gentle movement.

Professor Squires earned her PhD from Northwestern University. She was Assistant Professor of Communication Studies and Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, from 1999-2007. She earned her undergraduate degree in Politics at Occidental College. In addition to her work at the University and in St. Paul community, she is always on the lookout for interesting birds.

Education

PhD in Communication Studies (Northwestern University, 1999)