A.J. Perez

Dr. A.J. Perez is a scholar of U.S.-Mexico relations, with an interest in the transnational relationships that cross their border. He is presently completing a book based on his dissertation, Yucatán, Texas, & the Limits of US Expansion in the Gulf of Mexico, 1821-1860. His work frames the trajectory of Yucatán as a counterpoint to the more well-known story of Texas in the first half of the 19th century, and explores the key question of why Yucatán was not annexed by the U.S. despite all of its strategic advantages.

His scholarship has been supported by various institutions, including Penn State University, Baylor University, the University of Texas, Lamar University, the University of Michigan, Tulane University, the Huntington Library, & the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations.

Born and raised on the northside of Houston, Texas, Dr. Perez attended public schools and had the repeated privilege of visiting extended family in Mexico.