Contemporary Radical Voices: Chicana Feminism on the US Mexico Texas Border at the Turn of the 21st Century

FAIN: HB-289653-23

Stephanie M. Alvarez
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (Edinburg, TX 78539-2909)

Research and writing for a book on Chicana feminist practices as responses to U.S. policy in Rio Grande Valley border region. 

This project will analyze ways in which Chicana artists, poets and community organizers from the US – Mexico border region of the Rio Grande Valley have responded to the rise in anti-Latina/o policies through Chicana feminist practices in their work. Using qualitative research methodologies, I propose to conduct extensive individual interviews with local poets, artists and community organizers. I further propose to carry out a careful review of archival print, digital and other mediums detailing the public works of these Chicanas. Finally, I will undertake an exploration of the collective works of both local poets and artists that center and/or speak to the lived experiences along the U.S.-Mexico border. Guiding these interviews and reviews will be an aim to better understand not only how these Chicanas’ work is informed by Chicana feminist thought but also how their work contributes to developing new theories about Chicana feminisms.