MALCS Archive

(MALCS) Women Active in Letters and Social Change

CFP: Gloria Anzaldua conference 5/16/09

Call for Proposals

El Mundo Zurdo: An International Conference
on the Work and Life of Gloria E. Anzaldúa

Sponsored by
The Society for the Study of Gloria E. Anzaldúa (SSGA) and the Women’s Studies Institute at the University of Texas at San Antonio

May 16-17, 2009

May 15, 2009—Special Pre-conference Trip to the Rio Grande Valley

The Society for the Study of Gloria E. Anzaldúa seeks submission of proposals for papers, panels of 3-4 papers, roundtables, workshops, or performances for its First International Conference on the work and life of Gloria E. Anzaldúa on the fifth anniversary of her passing.

We welcome proposals involving all facets of Anzaldúa’s life and work. The following tracks are merely suggested conceptual groupings for panel and performance presentations:

· BORDERS—explorations of border theory, borderlands ethos and other concepts of Anzaldúan thought focused on this key concept of her work
· GENDER AND SEXUALITY STUDIES—el mundo zurdo and the atravesados, key to Anzaldúa’s thinking and application of her philosophical work
· EDUCATION—pedagogical concerns surrounding her literary and philosophical works. Some questions that may arise: what are some challenges of teaching Anzaldúa? How does Anzaldúa’s thought apply to teaching?
· INTERNATIONAL AND TRANFRONTERA—The effects of globalization and market economies on culture. What is the status of Anzaldúa studies at the international level?
· SPIRITUALITY—Explorations of Anzaldúa’s spiritual teachings. How can we heal the earth and ourselves?

Guidelines
Proposals must include the following:
· 250-word proposal narrative
· 100-word abstract suitable for publication in the conference program book
· Submissions for Panels must include proposals and abstracts for each paper and the name, address, phone number(s), e-mail address, and institutional affiliation of each participant
· Audio/visual needs
· Contact person’s name, address, phone number(s), e-mail address, and institutional affiliation

All materials must be electronically date-stamped by February 15, 2009. Proposers will be notified of acceptance by March 15, 2009.

Please send questions about the conference, the trip to the Valley or the submission process to:

New film on 30s Repatriation

My name is Lourdes Serrano and I am the promoter of MeChicano Films. I am currently in charge of a very interesting and educational project,

A Forgotten Injustice is Vicente Serrano’s opera prima, and the first documentary that uncovers the story of almost two million Mexican Americans and U.S. citizens, who were forced out of the United States during the Great Depression in the 1930s. These people were forced to leave because of one reason: They were of Mexican descent. In order to avoid making the same mistakes in our efforts to find a solution to today’s immigration problem, we have to look back and learn from A Forgotten Injustice.

A Forgotten Injustice is the result of an extensive investigation headed by journalist Vicente Serrano. Serrano traveled across the country and Mexico to capture the experiences of these men and women, many still living in extreme poverty in rural areas in Mexico. Some of the survivors are coming back to the U.S almost 80 years later. “They should apologize for what they have done to us before we die and before the government commits the same mistakes,” exclaimed Emilia Castañeda who was born in Los Angeles and forced to leave the U.S with her family in the 30s.

A Forgotten Injustice includes interviews with historians, politicians and survivors. Among them, Former California State Senator Joseph Dunn, John Coatsworth, Dean, School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, Hilda Solis, US Representative, Raymond Rodriguez, Professor of History, emeritus, Long Beach City College, Francisco Balderrama, co-author of Decade of Betrayal, Ernesto Nava Villa, Son of Pancho Villa, and John Eastman, Dean, Chapman University School of Law.

Sincerely,
Lourdes Serrano
MeChicano Films

Educ'l Systems Fails Chicana/os….new report

Faced with dismal high school and college graduation rates for Chicana and Chicano students, educators, policy-makers, community leaders and other stakeholders must do more to increase the number of Chicanos attaining high school, college and graduate degrees, according to a UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center report.

Out of 100 Chicana and Chicano students who start elementary school, only 46 graduate from high school, eight receive a bachelor’s degree and only two earn a graduate or professional degree, according to statistics based on 2000 U.S. Census Bureau and other educational data sources. Less than one Chicana and Chicano of the 100 earns a doctorate.

In contrast, of every 100 white elementary school students, 84 graduate from high school, 26 graduate with a bachelor’s degree and 10 earn a professional degree, researchers said. Compared with other major racial and ethnic groups, Chicanas and Chicanos, who are the fastest growing segment of the student population in California and all major cities west of the Mississippi, have the lowest educational attainment of any group.

“Education is a crucial determinant for success in our society,” said co-author Daniel Solórzano, a UCLA professor of education and the center’s associate director. “What we see happening for Chicanos and Chicanas, however, is that they drop, or are pushed, out of the educational pipeline in higher numbers than any other group. While it is easy to blame the students, the responsibilities reside in the educational system itself.”

Solórzano and Tara J. Yosso, an assistant professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a visiting scholar at the UCLA center, identified several conditions that impede the flow of Chicanas and Chicanos through what researchers termed “the educational pipeline.”

Story continues at UCLA site….

CA Congresswoman Hilda Solis named Obama's Secretary of Labor

When Barack Obama set out to choose his secretary of Labor, his top priority was probably not recruiting an emblematic Angeleno. But in tapping Hilda L. Solis, a Democrat who represents a portion of the San Gabriel Valley in Congress, that’s just what he’s done.

The Latina daughter of immigrants, a product and champion of the labor movement, a staunch environmentalist, an ardent feminist and one of the gutsiest elected officials in American politics, Solis personifies the best of the new Los Angeles. [Read more…] about CA Congresswoman Hilda Solis named Obama's Secretary of Labor

A podcast interview with Michelle Habell-Pallan

In this month’s podcast Jerry Garcia talks to Professor Michelle Habell-Pallan about Chicano and Mexican pop music and pop culture from from rock and roll through punk to hip hop. Professor Michelle Habell-Pallan is an associate professor of the Women’s Study Center at the University of Washington. She is author of Loca Motion: The Travels of Chicana and Latina Popular Culture and co-editor of Latino/a Popular Culture with Mary Romero as well as a series of influential articles. Most recently, she has curated the award-winning  traveling exhibit American Sabor:  U.S. Latinos in Popular Music, a collaboration between the University of Washington and The Experience Music Project Museum. The show is currently at the Miami Science museum.

Listen to the podcast by clicking here

Virginia Grise launches award-winning play at Cal-Arts

The CalArts School of Theater will present blu, a new play by Virginia Grise, named runner up for the 2008 Latino/a Playwriting Award at the Kennedy Center’s American College Theater Festival.  The play tells the story of two Chicanas leading their family to unearth sacred rituals and restore balance despite barrio realities of gang violence. Blu was written by Virginia Grise and will be directed by Jon Rivera.

Virginia Grise is a Chicana cultural worker-writer, performer and teacher from San Antonio, Texas. She has worked as a curator, artist and activist facilitating organizing efforts among women, immigrant, Chicano, working class and queer youth. Virginia has taught writing as a public school teacher, in community centers and in the juvenile correction system. She is currently teaching playwriting to high school students in East Los Angeles, through the CalArts Community Arts Partnership (CAP). As part of the Latino/a Playwriting Award Virginia was awarded a Kennedy Center summer fellow residency with Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center to further develop the script for this production of blu.

Dates:
Wednesday, December 3 through Saturday, December 6, 2008 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 6, 2008 at 2:00 p.m.
Monday, December 8 through Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 8:00 p.m.

Place:
Ensemble Theater II (E407) at CalArts (24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia).

Admission is free and by reservation only. For reservations, please visit the CalArts events site and click on blu.

Jon Lawrence Rivera most recently directed The Joy Luck Club by Susan Kim, adapted from the novel by Amy Tan (East West Players), Sea Change by Nick Salamone (Davidson/ Valentini Theater) and The Third From The Left by Jean Colonomos (2008 NY Fringe Festival). He is the recipient of two Ovation Award nominations for directing the musical Songs For A New World by Jason Robert Brown at Ventura’s Rubicon Theatre (Santa Barbara Independent Award, best director) and for directing the Los Angeles premiere of Dogeaters at SIPA (Maddy Award, best director). He is the founding artistic director of Playwrights’ Arena and his productions have garnered over 80 local and international awards.

Espinoza gives first Molina lecture at UCSD

The 1st Annual Gracia Molina de Pick Latina Feminism Lecture was presented at UCSD last week….

The lecture presented by Dr. Dionne Espinoza was titled, “Out of the Movement Kitchen: Women’s Activism in Chicano Movement Organizations and the Rise of Chicana Feminisms”.

more here