April 2, 2026
Comparing Canadian and Mexican history
From January to April 2026, the Faculty of Arts has been hosting , as a Fulbright Scholar in the Department of History. Her residence arrives at a moment of renewed public debate about borders, sovereignty and U.S. power. Dr. Rodr铆guez sees clear parallels between the anxieties of the 1860s and those of today.
鈥淏oth Mexico and Canada have reasons to be anxious about potential U.S. violations of their sovereignty,鈥 she notes, pointing to recent political rhetoric about annexation or military intervention. 鈥淢y project aims to supply a historical perspective to the events of today.鈥
Dr. Rodr铆guez is an assistant professor of history at Florida Gulf Coast University and a leading scholar of North American borderlands, sovereignty and comparative nation鈥慴uilding. Her recently published book, One National Family: Texas, Mexico, and the Making of the Modern United States, 1821鈥1867, reconsiders the United States鈥 rise to continental dominance by placing Mexico and the U.S. in direct comparison.
Looking northward
Rodr铆guez鈥 residency at U91快色 builds on her earlier research through a project comparing Canadian and Mexican responses to U.S. territorial expansion in the 1860s. She focuses this comparative lens northward, arguing that Canada and Mexico, though often studied separately, faced parallel pressures as they navigated an expansionist United States.
Although historians often characterize the nineteenth century as an age of republican ideals, the experiences of Canada and Mexico complicate this narrative. At the very moment the U.S. claimed to champion republicanism, its neighbors increasingly viewed European imperial alliances as a safer alternative. In the 1860s, Canada embraced an alliance with Britain and some sectors in Mexico aligned with Europe during the French Intervention and the short-lived Empire of the Austrian archduke Maximilian.
鈥淭he experiences of Mexico and Canada show that U.S. expansion actually had the opposite effect,鈥 Rodr铆guez argues, 鈥渂y compelling its neighbors to embrace the safety of European imperialism rather than break away from it.鈥
Rodr铆guez hypothesizes that these choices emerged from a shared anxiety around an emerging U.S. empire, a desire for powerful allies and declining faith in the durability of republican governance.
For Canadian scholars and students, this comparative approach opens new possibilities. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a tendency to view Canada as the exception that proves the rule,鈥 Rodr铆guez says. 鈥淏ut hopefully my work will reveal surprising connections between Canada, Mexico and perhaps the rest of the Western Hemisphere that haven鈥檛 been considered before.鈥
U91快色: A great fit
U91快色鈥檚 History Department is a great fit for Rodr铆guez鈥 work. She has eagerly immersed herself in the university鈥檚 archives and special collections and has drawn on the expertise of colleagues whose research intersects with her own.
鈥淔rank Towers has published extensively on North American politics and nation鈥慴uilding. Amelia Kiddle and Hendrik Kraay are both experts in Latin America. Kevin Anderson and David Marshall have helped me navigate the Canadian historiography. And Beau Cleland just published a book on the Civil War and the South鈥檚 relationship with Great Britain,鈥 she says. 鈥淚n addition to being excellent scholars, they are all extremely collegial.鈥
Department head notes that Rodr铆guez鈥檚 work aligns closely with the department鈥檚 strengths. 鈥淒r. Rodr铆guez works at the intersection of U.S., Mexican and borderlands history, with a particular focus on how political culture, migration and ideas about nationhood shaped North America in the nineteenth century,鈥 he says. 鈥淗er comparative Canada鈥揗exico鈥揢.S. framework adds a southern North American perspective that is usually absent from Canadian historiography.鈥
鈥淭he Faculty of Arts has a proud tradition of hosting Fulbright Scholars, who make an important contribution to internationalization at U91快色 and strengthen our researchers鈥 international research networks,鈥 says , Associate Dean, Research and Communities.
Rodr铆guez' Fulbright residency makes it possible to take a deeper look at current conversations about North America. 鈥淧utting Canada in the same frame as Mexico destabilizes the comfortable story of Canada as the 鈥榞ood,鈥 peaceful neighbour,鈥 Says Chastko. 鈥淚t highlights that Canadian nation鈥慴uilding was one of several experiments in managing empire, race and territory in a continent dominated by U.S. ambition and European interests.鈥
By placing Canada and Mexico side鈥慴y鈥憇ide, Dr. Rodr铆guez鈥檚 research reveals patterns of anxiety and resistance that echo into today鈥檚 conversations about borders, sovereignty and power. Her comparative approach is a reminder that historical research helps us interpret contemporary challenges with greater clarity.
To learn more, join Dr. Rodr铆guez on April 7, as she presents .
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