Thursday, October 4, 2018

Blog Post for University of Colorado and Utah State Press


My Blog Post: “We Will Be Better for It”: Critical Hope from Women of Color in Digital Spaces"

I was asked to write something in relation to the recent collection Racial Shorthand that I co-edited with Octavio Pimentel, so I wrote about the great work of Women of Color, highlighting some digital platforms and academic platforms that have supported these efforts. Feeling really grateful to UP Colorado/Utah State UP for letting me discuss this topic and draw attention to some work that should be amplified. 


Here's a longer quote:

The influence and centrality of women of color in Racial Shorthand is not limited to the contributors. Chicana poet and scholar Natalie Martinez inspired my chapter, “Digital Latinx Storytelling: Testimonio as Multimodal Resistance”, with the captivating video she composed that I include as an example of digital testimonio. One of my graduate school mentors, Adela Licona, informed my early understanding on the testimonio genre when she suggested that I read Telling to Live, a collection of testimonios by the Latina Feminist Collaborative (Del Alba et al. 2001). And I believe that my paternal grandmother, Dorothy Medina, represents one of the most influential WoC in my life, which is perhaps why I used her voice from archival family videos in the book trailer as a kind of found narration. In the trailer, her offhand comments about my family’s use of technology 30 years ago provide insights into the traditions of PoC using technology in ways that have been ignored.

Read the full article here:

https://upcolorado.com/about-us/blog/item/3537-we-will-be-better-for-it-critical-hope-from-women-of-color-in-digital-spaces