Sergio Lemus

Specialty: - Ethnography - Theories of race - Materiality - The body - Mexican Migration - Border Theory - Bio/necro/politics, and class Current Research Projects: As of Fall 2021, Dr. Lemus is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology. He obtained his doctoral degree in Anthropology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2015. Dr. Lemus focuses on the transformative impact of labor on Mexican migrant communities. His upcoming book, Los Yarderos: Mexican Yard Workers in Transborder Chicago (2025), explores how Mexican, working-class migrants experience race, class, gender, and color hierarchies and the changing economic landscape by working as gardeners. Dr. Lemus is also researching the intersection of health and culture among Mexican immigrants, specifically how working-class Latinos navigate and make choices on their health. This study sheds light on the broader socioeconomic and political factors that influence how Latino/a patients are perceived and treated in the U.S. Overall, Dr. Lemus' research delves into immigration through three key lenses: the experiences of Mexicans across borders, the cultural dynamics within these communities, and the impact of health and disease on class, gender, and shifting political contexts. Dr. Lemus is currently accepting graduate students with similar research interests.

2025 Lemus, Sergio. Unwanted journeys: The Politics and Practice of Busing Migrants from Texas to Chicago. Anthropology and Humanism 00(0): e70062. Lemus, Sergio. Los Yarderos: Mexican Yard Workers in Transborder Chicago. University of Illinois Press, 2025. 978-0-252-08866-7. Clement, Viviane, Sergio Lemus, and Emma Newman. "In search of health: medical tourism at the US-Mexico border/lands." Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change 22, no. 1 (2024): 118-136. Lemus, Sergio, Díaz, Vanessa, and Ryan Mann-Hamilton. "Uncertain Future (s): Latinidad, Anthropology, and Institutions." (2022).