Michael Matthews
Professor of History
Department: History and Geography
Email: mmatthews6@elon.edu
Phone number: (336) 278-6424
Professional Expertise
Brief Biography
Growing up between Vancouver, Canada, Lima, Peru, and Barcelona, Spain, Michael Matthews developed an early childhood interest in how global forces of capitalism articulate themselves in different ways at the local level (although he didn't even know it). He received his doctorate in History from the University of Arizona (a degree signed by the former Secretary of Homeland Security) and he has taught Latin American and World History for over twenty years. He is the author of Sex and Love in Porfirian Mexico City: A Social History of Working-Class Courtship (University of Florida Press, 2025), The Civilizing Machine: A Cultural History of Mexican Railroads, 1876-1910 (University of Nebraska Press, 2014) and the co-editor of Mexico in Verse: A History of Music, Rhyme, and Power (University of Arizona Press, 2015). He has also published multiple essays in English and Spanish. He continues to research the lives of the working class in Porfirian Mexico City. In his free time, Dr. Matthews enjoys cooking and painting and hosts a weekly (and incredibly popular) pub trivia night in Chapel Hill, NC.
News & Notes
Education
Ph.D. University of Arizona, 2008
M.A. Simon Fraser University, 2002
B.A. Simon Fraser University, 2000
Employment History
Professor of History, Elon University (2020-present)
Associate Professor of History, Elon University (2014-2020)
Assistant Professor of History, Elon University (2008-2014)
Instructor, University of Arizona (2006)
Instructor, University of Arizona (2004)
Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Arizona (2002-2007)
Graduate Issues Officer and Chair of Graduate Council, Simon Fraser University, (2001)
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Simon Fraser University, (2000-2001)
Editorial Assistant at the International History Review, (1997-2001)
Courses Taught
HST 2210: The World in the Twentieth Century
HST 3010: Research Methods in History
HST 3490: Comparative Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean
HST 3510: Modern Mexico
HST 3530: Colonial Latin America
HST 3540: Modern Latin America
HST 379: Crime and Criminality in Latin America
HST 4610: Imperialism in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
HST 4680: The Mexican Revolution
HNR 2430: (Hi)Stories of Twentieth-Century Dictatorships in Latin America
GST 2520: Costa Rica Study Abroad: Language, Culture, and Ecotourism
COR 3560: Globalization and Empire: Imperialism and its Legacies in London
IGS 4610: Imperialism in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
Leadership Positions
Associate Chair, Department of History and Geography (2019-2024)
Associate Coordinator, International and Global Studies (2014-2018)
Coordinator, Latin American Studies (2013-2017)
Chair, Distinguished Scholar Award Sub-Committee (2012)
Faculty Advisor, International Studies Society (2008-2011)
Current Projects
Dr. Matthews is continuing his work on the social and cultural history of modern Mexico.
Publications
BOOKS
PEER-REVIEWED ESSAYS
“The Porfirian Years (1876 to 1911).” In The Oxford Handbook of Mexican History, edited by William Beezley. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021.
- **Honorable Mention for the Sturgis Leavitt Award for best article or book chapter on a Latin American subject published in 2017 by a member of the Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies.
"Railroads in the Mexican Imagination during the Porfiriato and the Revolution." Reprinted in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mexican History and Culture (3 vols.), edited by William Beezley. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018: 3:155-170.
“Railroads in the Mexican Imagination during the Porfiriato and the Revolution.” In The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History, edited by William Beezley. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.
“The Track from Beyond the Grave: Challenges to Porfirian Policymaking in Popular Verse.” In Mexico in Verse: A History of Music, Rhyme, and Power, edited by Michael Matthews and Stephen Neufeld. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2015.
“Introduction: A Brief History of Mexican Music and Poetry” (written with Stephen Neufeld). In Mexico in Verse: A History of Music, Rhyme, and Power, edited by Michael Matthews and Stephen Neufeld. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2015.
“Una historia cultural del auge de los ferrocarriles en la época porfiriana: Patrimonio intangible del cambio tecnológico en México.” In Paisajes culturales y patrimonio en el centro-norte de México, siglos XVII al XX, edited by Carlos Rubén Ruiz Medrano, Carlos Alberto Roque Puente, and Luis Edgardo Coronado Guel. México: El Colegio de San Luis-Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH), 2014.
Presentations
2025 "New Books in Mexican History: Sex and Love in Porfirian Mexico City." Paper presented at the Southeastern Council for Latin American Studies, Mexico City, Mexico.
2024 "The Preference for Illegitimacy: Amasiato among the Working Class in Porfirian Mexico City." Paper presented at the Southeastern Council for Latin American Studies, Ashville, North Carolina.
2022 "Love and Vigilance: The Everyday Manifestations of State Power in Porfirian Mexico City’s Vecindades." Paper presented at the Southeastern Council for Latin American Studies, Charlotte, North Carolina.
2020 "Sex in the City: Working Class Courtship in Porfirian Mexico City's Vecindades." Paper presented at the Southeastern Council for Latin American Studies, Austin, Texas.
2019 “Shameless Love: Rejecting Honor in Porfirian Mexico City." Paper presented at the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
2019 Commentator “Rails of Progress: Modernity and Railroads in Nineteenth and Early Twentieth-Century Latin America.” Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
2018 "Is this Modern Love? Working-Class Courtship in Porfirian Mexico." Paper presented at the Latin American Studies Association, Barcelona, Spain.
2018 "Like a Virgin: Medical Exams and Modern Love in Porfirian Mexico." Paper presented at the Southeastern Council for Latin American Studies, Nashville, Tennessee.
2017 "Hymens, Honor, and the State: Regulating Courtship in Porfirian Mexico City." Paper presented at the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies, Salt Lake City, Utah.
2017 "True Romance? Sex, Love, and State Power in Porfirian Mexico City." Paper presented at the Southeastern Council for Latin American Studies, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
2016 “Rapto and Runaways: Authentic Love among the Poor in Porfirian Mexico City." Paper presented at the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
2016 "How to Get Away with Murder: Honor, Sexuality, and the Emergence of Criminal Science in Porfirian Mexico." Paper presented at the Southeastern Council for Latin American Studies, Cartagena, Colombia.
2015 “Deadly Words, Deadly Deeds: Honor, Sexuality, and Uxoricide in Porfirian Mexico.” Paper presented at the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies, Tucson, Arizona.
2014 “Costa Rican Study Abroad: Teaching Central American History in Comparative Perspective.” Paper presented at the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies, Durango, Colorado.
2012 “Rhythm, Rhyme, and Railroads: Challenges to Porfirian Policymaking in Popular Verse.” Paper presented at the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies, Park City, Utah.
2011 “Festivals of Progress: Railway Inauguration Ceremonies in Porfirian Mexico.” Paper presented at the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
2011 Commentator “Verse, Identity, and Power: Exploring the Role of Music and Poetry in Modern Mexico.” Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
2010 “El Camino de Ultratumba: Porfirian Railway Development in Popular Verse.” Paper presented at the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies, Boulder, Colorado.
2009 “La Loco-matona: Porfirian Railway Development and the Catholic Opposition.” Paper presented at the Southeastern Council for Latin American Studies, New Orleans, Louisiana.
2008 “The Price of Progress: Popular Perceptions of the Railway Accident in Porfirian Mexico.” Paper presented at the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies, Flagstaff, Arizona.
2007 “De Viaje: Elite Views of Modernity and the Porfirian Railway Boom.” Paper presented at the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
2004 “Robbers and Railroads: Towards a Social History of Porfirian Development." Paper presented at the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
2003 “The Murder of Doña Guadalupe Ornelos: The Problem of ‘Order and Progress’ in Porfirian Mexico.” Paper presented at the Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies, Tempe, Arizona.
Invited Lectures
2025 “Sex, Death, and Posada’s Penny Press: A Skeletal Modernity.” Delivered at the Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas at Austin.
2012 "La historia cultural del auge de los ferrocarriles en la época porfiriana: patrimonio intangible del cambio tecnológico en México." Delivered at the Semanario Internacional: Paisajes Culturales y Patrimonio in San Luis Potosí, México.
2010 “The Art of Implementing Revolution: Lázaro Cárdenas and the Mexican Muralist Movement.” Delivered at A Hundred Years after the Mexican Revolution for the Consulate General of Mexico in Raleigh in partnership with North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue's Office of Hispanic/Latino Affairs at the State Capitol Building in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Professional Activities
Rocky Mountain Council of Latin American Studies – Member of Executive Committee
Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies
Latin American Studies Association
Service Activities
Fulbright Campus Committee (2024-present)
International and Global Studies Advisory Committee (2011-2021)
Latin American Studies Advisory Committee (2009-2013, 2017-2021)
Sexual Assault and Gender Issues Committee (2014-2021)
Promotion and Tenure Committee (2018-2019)
Latinx/Hispanic Working Group (2017-2018)
GEC Advisory Committee (2014-2018)
National Fellowships Advisory Committee (2012-2015)
Faculty Research and Development Committee (2011- 2013)
Distinguished Scholar Award Sub-Committee (2011- 2013)
Organizing member of International Education Week (2010)
Curriculum Committee (2009-2010 – one-year appointment)
Phi Alpha Theta History Essay Contest Committee (2009-2010)
Library Committee (2009-11)
Skills
LANGUAGES
Advanced Proficiency: Spanish
Reading Proficiency: Portuguese