Curriculum vitae

  • Assistant Professor of Communication & Media

    University of Guam | Unibetsedåt Guåhan

    2021 – Current

  • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Communication Studies | (2021)
    Auckland University of Technology (AUT) | Te Wānanga Aronui O Tāmaki Makaurau
    Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand

    Master of Arts (MA) in English | (2017) University of Guam | Unibetsedåt Guåhan
    Mangilao, GU

    Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Communication Studies and Public Relations | (2014)
    University of Guam | Unibetsedåt Guåhan
    Mangilao, GU

  • Cruz, M. L. (Forthcoming, 2025). “Weaving Translocal Solidarity: Examining the Role of Social Media in Sovereignty and Demilitarization Activism in Guåhan.” Routledge Handbook of Social Media and Language.

    Cruz, M. L. (2022). “News media Complicity in the Reproduction of American Colonialism in Guåhan During the COVID-19 Pandemic." Journal of Rhetoric, Politics & Culture 1(2), 71–95. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/869728.

    Cruz, M.L. (2022). “I Fanhigaiyan: Weaving an Alternative Journalism Praxis from Chamoru Decolonization Media Activism.” AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801221118024.

    Cruz, M. L. (2021). An(i)ti: An examination of settler discourse and politics in Guåhan (Doctoral thesis). Auckland University of Technology (AUT). https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/items/1acbbbf9-0926-4f0c-b885-6c6f36f552b4

    Bevacqua, M.L., & M.L. Cruz. (2020). “The Banality of American Empire: The Curious Case of Guam, USA.” Journal of Transnational American Studies 11(1). https://escholarship.org/uc/item/361824dg.

    Cruz, M.L. (2020). “Chamoru Digital Activism and the Anti/Colonial Media Binary in Guåhan.” Media Fields Journal 15. http://mediafieldsjournal.org/chamoru-digital-activism/.

    Cruz, M.L. (2020). “Saying the Quiet Parts Out Loud: Guåhan, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and the Role of Journalism in Reproducing Colonization in the Time of COVID-19.” AAPI Nexus Journal: Policy, Practice and Community 17 (1&2). http://www.aapinexus.org/2020/10/10/saying-the-quiet-parts-out-loud/.

  • Cruz, M. L. (2024, July 4). Weaving translocal solidarity: Examining the role of social media in sovereignty and de/militarization activism in Guåhan. IAMCR 2024: Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand.

    Cruz, M. L. (2024, July 2). Pacific perspectives on decolonising media and communication. Presentation hosted by the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies and the UNESCO New Zealand National Commission.

    Cruz, M. L. (2021, April 9). An(i)ti: An examination of settler discourse and politics in Guåhan. AAPS Postgraduate and Early Career Researcher’s Symposium, Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand.

    Cruz, M. L. (2021, March 9). Decolonization efforts in an age of digital media. 49th Class Annual Research Conference, Mangilao, GU.

    Cruz, M. L., Perez, A., San Nicolas, J., & Quinata, L. (2021, February 19). I Hinanao-ta Exhibit. 2021 Marianas History Conference, Mangilao, GU.

    Cruz, M. L. (2018, June 24). An open panel discussion on human rights in non-self-governing territories. 12th UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Geneva, Switzerland.

  • Introductory Courses:

    • CO210: Fundamentals of Communication — Fall 2021 – Current

    • CO226: Media Writing — Spring 2021 – Current

    Intermediate Courses:

    • CO240: Photo Journalism — Fall 2022 – Current

    • CO336: Broadcast Journalism — Spring 2022 – Current

    • CO385: Print Media Experience — Spring 2022 – Current

    • CO386: Mass Media Experience: Broadcasting — Fall 2021 – Current

    Advanced Courses:

    • CO326: Advanced Reporting — Spring 2022 – Current

    • CO450: Communication Theory & Research — Fall 2023

    • CO498: Communication Internships — Intercession 2021 – Current

    Additional Teaching Contributions

    • SW408: Advocacy for Social Justice, Environmental Justice Student Volunteer Program — 11 March 2021 – 6 May 2021

    • Press Forward: Closing the Gaps in Local News Coverage Recipient for The Triton’s Call – 2024

    • Auckland University of Technology Doctoral Scholarship – 2019