Candidate Statement:
Name: Daniel Lanza Rivers
Affiliation: Claremont Graduate University, Departments of Cultural Studies and English
Position You Are Running For: Student Governing Board Member
Other Professional and/or Activist Affiliations: The Rutledge American Women Writer's Project; Holy Names
University, Dept. of Integrative Studies Across Cultures; Foothill: a journal of Poetry; Claremont Graduate
University Writing Center
Please describe your leadership experience and involvement in the CSA and Cultural Studies:
During my years as a CSA member, I have consistently found CSA to be an organization that fosters
community and provides a collegial environment for engaging with other scholars across a variety of fields. I am
proud to say that CSA has offered me the opportunity to present my first conference paper, chair my first
conference panel, and participate in my first conference roundtable. During this time, I have found CSA to be a
valuable venue for exploring new avenues of research and forging new professional relationships. As a member
of the governing board, I would be honored to continue working with and for the association as a representative
for the interests of graduate students and young scholars entering the professional and intellectual marketplace.
What preparation and/or experiences do you have that would help you in this position?
As a graduate student of Cultural Studies and English at Claremont Graduate University, my work at the
CGU Writing Center has allowed me to work closely with other developing scholars from a range of different
disciplines. Working with other scholars on their writing and presenting has exposed me to the pleasures of
encountering ideas, methods, and research tools across a spectrum of disciplines. I believe that this experience
will prove invaluable to working closely with CLST scholars who come from different disciplinary traditions and
areas of research.
I have also gained administrative and editorial experience as an associate editor at CGU's graduate
poetry journal Foothill. My time at Foothill has provided me experience negotiating departmental roadblocks and
exploring avenues for funding, and it has also given me the chance to work with a team of scholars to curate the
creative and activist work of other graduate students in a critical and supportive environment. In bringing this
experience to CSA, I look forward to working with the council to ensure that the conference continues to exist as
a place that values hybrid work that combines creative and scholarly modes of inquiry and expression.
Finally, as an instructor, I have experience teaching at wide range of universities, departments, and
educational venues. I have taught in disciplines ranging from Cultural Studies and Communications to English
and Women's and Gender Studies. I have had the pleasure of working with cadres of professors in private and
public universities as well as in a clinical educational setting. I am selected for the governing board, I believe that
this breadth of experience has prepared me to work closely with, and learn from, scholars, activists, and
educators from a variety of different educational and professional institutions.
What would you like to accomplish while in office?
I would love to work with the organization to take measurable steps in supporting young and mid-career Cultural
Studies scholars as we work to expand Cultural Studies' presence in the current intellectual and professional
marketplace. I believe that an inherent part of this involve working together as an organization to harness the
flexibility and innovation of Cultural Studies approaches in order to make the critical rigor and creative
innovations of CLST work more legible in the intellectual and professional marketplace. This process may mean
using the annual conference as a space for scholars and job-seekers to share tactics for gaining administrative
recognition for hybrid and experimental scholarship and for preparing young scholars for the marketplace.
Please add anything else about yourself that would be of interest/use to voting members:
As a doctoral student working between and across disciplines, sub-fields, and modes of scholarship, I
am proud to be a member of an organization where I don't have to revise or contort my critical approaches to
adhere to a strict disciplinary tradition or mode of inquiry. If I am selected, I will work to ensure that CSA
continues to grow as a professional and intellectual resources for CSA members. Throughout my work for CSA, I
can commit to remaining sensitive to the non-traditional and anti-establishment aspects of the organization that
make CSA conferences a stimulating and supportive atmosphere. If I am selected for the governing board, I will
also endeavor work as an attentive and open member of the council by holding myself accountable to students
and scholars who come to CSA seeking a vehicle for deepening their engagement with the challenges and
opportunities of interdisciplinary cultural scholarship.