Faculty

Katherine Hite

Professor of Political Science on the Frederick Ferris Thompson Chair and Chair of Political Science

Katherine Hite joined the Vassar faculty in 1997. She received her B.A. from Duke University and her Masters in International Affairs and Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University. Prior to her arrival at Vassar, she served as the associate director of the Institute of Latin American and Iberian Studies of Columbia, where she also taught courses in Latin American studies and comparative politics.  From 2008-12, Hite directed Vassar's Latin American and Latino/a Studies program.

Dr. Hite's recent work focuses on the politics of memory, as well as issues in higher education, access and equity. Her research as been supported by the Fulbright Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, and the Ford Foundation.

Hite is the author of Politics and the Art of Commemoration: Memorials to Struggle in Latin America and Spain (Routledge, 2012) and When the Romance Ended: Leaders of the Chilean Left, 1968-1998 (Columbia University Press, 2000), co-editor of The New Politics of Inequality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation (Oxford University Press, 1997), co-editor with Paola Cesarini of Authoritarian Legacies and Democracy in Latin America and Southern Europe (University of Notre Dame Press, 2004), and the author of several articles and book chapters on memory, memorials, and human rights. She is co-editing with Mark Ungar the volume, "Human Rights: Challenges of the Past, Challenges for the Future."

Dr. Hite's teaching interests include Latin American politics, social movements, and the legacies of violence for governments and societies in transition around the globe.