Institution: UCLA
Position: Assistant Professor
Research: ABRIDGED C.V.
EDUCATION August 1990 - March 1994 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131. Doctor of Philosophy in American Studies (with distinction). Dissertation Title: "Mi Casa [No] Es Su Casa": The Cultural Politics of the Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation, 1965-1985 Exhibition. Winner of the best dissertation in American Studies Award for 1994. Areas: Chicano/a Art, Popular Culture, Literature, Writing. Fall 1985 - Spring 1986 University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242. 16 doctoral hours in American Studies. Spring 1981 - Fall 1983 University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968. Master of Arts in English-Creative Writing concentration. Fall 1976 - Fall 1980 University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968. Bachelor of Arts in English. Magna cum laude. EMPLOYMENT Current (as of July 1994) Assistant Professor in Chicana/Chicano Studies, UCLA. July 1994 to June 1995 Minority Scholar-in-Residence, Pomona College, Claremont, CA. Anthropology/Sociology and Chicano Studies Departments. Spring Quarter 1994 University of California, Irvine Visiting Lecturer in the Chicano/Latino Studies Program. Fall 1992 to Spring 1993 Chicana Dissertation Fellow University of California, Santa Barbara Fall 1990 - Spring 1992 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM. Teaching assistant in English and American Studies. Spring 1987 - Spring 1990 University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA. Part-time lecturer in English and ESL. August 1986 - December 1987 National Braille Press, Boston, MA. Computer braillist. Summer 1986 University of Texas at El Paso. Part-time lecturer. English department. Fall 1985 - Spring 1986 University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. Teaching Assistant. English department. Spring 1984 - Summer 1985 University of Texas at El Paso. Part-time lecturer in English and Linguistics. Fall 1981 - Fall 1983 University of Texas at El Paso. Teaching assistant. English department. Summer 1979 - Fall 1981 Instituto Interlingua, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. Taught ESL to Mexican executives and other staff members of the General Motors maquiladoras. FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS 1995 NEH Publication Subvention Grant (for manuscript under contract with University of Texas Press) 1994 Ralph Henry Gabriel Prize for the best dissertation in American Studies (American Studies Association). 1994-95 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Minority Scholar-in-Residence Program, Liberal Arts Consortium, Pomona College. 1994 Premio Aztlán for The Mystery of Survival and other stories. 1993-1994 Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship, National Research Council, Washington D.C. 1992-93 Chicana Dissertation Fellowship, Department of Chicano Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara. 1990-93 Opportunity Fellowship Program fellowship from the Office of Graduate Studies at the University of New Mexico. 1989 Massachusetts Artists Foundation Fellowship, Award in Poetry, 1989. 1985 CIC Minorities Fellowship in the Humanities,alternate. COURSES TAUGHT UCLA César Chavez Center for Chicana/Chicano Studies Chicana/Chicano Studies 10A "Introduction to Chicana/o Life and Culture" This course introduces Chicana/Chicano Studies majors to three central issues in Chicana/o culture: Identity, Gender, and Representation. Problems analyzed under the Identity rubric include labels (Chicana/o vs. Latina/o vs. Hispanic vs. Mexican, etc.), borders (both historical and linguistic), and the consequences of anti-Mexican legislation, including colonization, assimilation, and cultural amnesia. The gender section deconstructs the iconic figures of "La" Mujer, "La" Chicana, and "La" Familia, beginning with an analysis of the definitive article, "La," and ending with a survey of what Cherrie Moraga calls "Queer Aztlan." The Representation section revisits three stereotypes associated with what has come to be known in the popular media as "La Vida Loca": the Latin Lover, the pinto/gang-banger/pachuco, and the "Illegal." The discussion sections associated with the course function as both a space in which to further discuss the lectures and readings and also as a workshop in which to practice criti cal reading, writing, and editing skills. Pomona College, Claremont, CA, Spring 1995 American Studies 149cc "Exhibiting Cultures" This course examines the process and implications of multiculturalism in the mainstream art world. The guiding questions of the course are "what mission does multiculturalism serve in the arts?" and "how is multiculturalism an ethnographic method?" We investigate to what extent multiculturalism has changed the face of the art world as well as how mainstream exhibition venues and exhibiting practices alter the faces of "minority" art. Special focus on the gendered struggles of women of color in their respective art communities. Pomona College, Claremont, CA, Fall 1994 Chicano Studies 148cc "Barrio Popular Culture" This course explores the cultural politics of the barrio as expressed by Chicano art, music, and literature, particularly manifest in Chicano iconography, legends, and rituals. Special focus on Mexican/Chicano representations in mainstream and Chicano film. The course is reading- and writing-intensive. Students are required to do field work and discuss their findings in oral presentations. University of California, Irvine, Spring 1994 Comparative Culture 120 "U.S. Hispanic Populations: Art and Literature" Core course in the Chicano/Latino Studies program, focusing on a comparative study of Chicano/Latino visual art, film, literature, theater, and music. Historical and critical lectures by guest speakers introduced students to secondary sources. University of California, Santa Barbara, Fall 1992 Chicano Studies 138 "Barrio Popular Culture" First version of course described above. University of New Mexico, Spring 1992 and Spring 1991 American Studies 185 (American Life and Thought) "Border Consciousness" This course is designed to bridge Chicano Studies and American Studies, focusing on the history, popular culture, and psychological impact of the U.S./Mexico border. Students explore Chicano/a culture as it is embodied in and expressed by the multilingual, binational border. The readings and visuals of the course offer comparative perspectives. University of New Mexico, Fall 1990 to Spring 1992 Freshman English 101 and 102 Part of the required core of courses, these classes introduced students to expository, analytic, and argumentative writing, and the practical aspects of voice, style, and positionality. University of Massachusetts/Boston, Spring 1987-Spring 1990 English 101: Expository writing (techniques of narration, description, exposition, argumentation) English 102: Research and critical writing on "The Occult" (a research course that investigated the occult sciences as an epistemology; students researched and wrote papers on topics such as witchcraft, dreams, shamanism, mysticism, reincarnation, etc.) English 102: Research and critical writing on "Greek Myths" (students researched and wrote papers on individual Greek myths and their legacy on contemporary religious thought and governance, with a special emphasis on gender dynamics) Analytical Skills 022: Inter-disciplinary, remedial skills (comprehension and analytical skills) ESL 101: Expository writing for non-native speakers of English (emphasis on syntax and logic) ESL 102: Research and critical writing for non-native speakers of English (students researched and wrote papers on rituals pertaining to their own cultures, emphasis on oral reports) University of Iowa, Fall 1985-Spring 1986 English 8G:1: Interpretation of Literature. The course covered novels, short stories, poetry, Shakespearian drama and contemporary plays. Special focus on Latin American "boom" literature.Publications: PUBLICATIONS (ACADEMIC) Books "Mi casa [no] es su casa": The Cultural Politics of the Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation, 1965-1985 Exhibition (forthcoming from the University of Texas Press). Articles "An Alter-Native Grain: Theorizing Chicano/a Popular Culture," Culture and Difference: Critical Perspectiveson the Bicultural Experience, ed. Antonia Darder, Belgin & Garvey, 1996. "The Politics of Location of the Tenth Muse of America: Interview with Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz," forthcoming in Xicana Feminist Theory, ed. Carla Trujillo, Third Woman Press. "Tortillerismo: A Review of Work by Chicana Lesbians" (956-963), in Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, vol 18, no. 4, Summer 1993, review essay. "El pueblo que pierde su memoria, pierde su destino" (225-229) in Palabras de allá y de acá: Memoria del 6to encuentro nacional de escritores en la frontera norte. Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua: Centro Editorial Universitario, 1991. PUBLICATIONS (CREATIVE WRITING, SELECTED) Books The Mystery of Survival and Other Stories. Tempe: Bilingual Review/Press, 1993. Winner of Premio Aztlán, 1994. Beggar on the Córdoba Bridge, a full-length collection of poetry in the volume Three Times a Woman: Chicana Poetry, Bilingual Review/Press, 1989. Fiction, Poetry, Personal Essay "Facing the Mariachis," in Latina: Women's Voices from the Borderlands, ed. Lillian Castillo-Speed, Simon & Schuster, 1995. "Excerpts from the Sapphic Diary of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz," in Tasting Life Twice: Lesbian Literary Fiction by New American Writers, ed. Ellen Levy, Avon Books, 1995. "Cimarrona," Literature by Latinas in the United States, ed. Roberta Fernandez. Houston: Arte Publico Press, 1994. "Los derechos de la Malinche," Cuento chicano del siglo XX, ed. Ricardo Aguilar, Universidad Autónoma de México, 1994. "Juana Inés," (69-85) in Growing Up Chicana/o, ed. Tiffany Lopez. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1993. Novel excerpt. "Literary Wetback" (288-292), "Malinchista: A Myth Revised" (212-213), and "Making Tortillas" (355-356), in Infinite Divisions: An Anthology of Chicana Literature, ed. Tey Diana Rebolledo and Eliana S. Rivero. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1993. "Elemental Journey" (64-74), in After Aztlán: Latino Poets in the Nineties. ed. Ray González. Boston: David Godine Publishers, 1992. Series of poems. "Excerpts from the Sapphic Diary of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz" (171-179), in Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, vol. XII, No. 3, 1992. "The Last Rite" (312-320) in Mirrors Beneath the Earth: Short Fiction by Chicano Writers, ed. Ray González. Willimantic, CT: Curbstone Press, 1992. "Cimarrona" (91-112), in Without Discovery: A Native Response to Columbus, ed. Ray González. Seattle: Broken Moon Press, 1992. "Juana Inés" (1-15), in New Chicana/Chicano Writing, ed. Charles Tatum. Tucson: U of Arizona Press, 1992. LECTURES & PRESENTATIONS (SELECTED) 1996 University of New Mexico Conference on Latin American Women Writers: Discourse on/of the Feminine Panel presentation: “Live Interview with Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz” 1995 San Francisco State University The Poetry Center Reading with José Antonio Burciaga Videotaped for the Poetry Archives Santa Monica, CA Midnight Special Bookstore Read from Latina: Women's Voices in the Borderlands Madrid, Spain Conference: Annual meeting of the Associación Hispánica de Humanidades Presented: "Derechos de la Malinche" and participated in a round table with other Chicana writers Smithsonian Institution IUP Latino Graduate Student Qualitative Research Seminar Keynote speaker: "Alter-Nativity and the CARA Exhibition" University of Texas, Austin Conference: "Beyond Identity: Interpreting Latino/a Art in the 21st Century" Presented: "Alter-Nativity and the CARA Exhibition" University of California, Los Angeles Conference: Text to Text Presented: "Tomatoes and Chocolate: Borders of Gender in Like Water for Chocolate and Fried Green Tomatoes" Spokane, WA National Association of Chicano Studies Presented: "Out of the House, the Halo, and the Whore's Mask: The Gender Politics of the CARA exhibition" 1994 University of California, Los Angeles Symposium on Chicano Aesthetics Presented: "Out of the House, the Halo, and the Whore's Mask: The Gender Politics of the CARA Exhibition" Willamette University, Salem, Oregon Conference: "Chicanos and Multiculturalism" Presented: "From Cultural Schizophrenia to Border Consciousness in Cheech Marín's Born in East L.A." University of New Mexico Premio Aztlán ceremony Fiction reading and book signing, The Mystery of Survival University of New Mexico Commencement Speech, May 14, 1994 1993 American Studies Association Convention, Boston, MA Panel: "Faces of Quality: The Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation Exhibit" University of California, Irvine Conference: "Culture and Society in Dialogue: Issues in Chicana Scholarship" Fiction reading and book signing, The Mystery of Survival. University of California, Santa Barbara Chicano Studies Department Colloquium on Chicano/a art and popular culture 1992 University of Texas, El Paso Writer in Residence, Creative Writing program and Chicano Studies Readings on campus and in the community, meetings with students, colloquium 1991 Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua and Las Cruces, NM Binational Writers' Conference VI Encuentro Nacional de Escritores en la Frontera Norte Presented: "El pueblo que pierde su memoria pierde su destino" University of New Mexico Conference: Aphra Behn Society Second Annual Meeting Presented: "Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: The Tenth Muse of America." 1990 University of New Mexico Conference: "After Columbus: Cultural Diversity in the Southwest" Panels: "Multicultural Voices in the Arts" and "Media, Sexism, Racism, and Popular Culture" 1989 Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA Poetry reading and book signing, Beggar on the Córdoba Bridge. 1988 Harvard University, Cambridge, MA Benefit for Harvard Chicano Graduate Student Union. Poetry reading. 1987 "Cónclave latinoamericano," Boston, MA Conference of Latino artists and writers in Massachusetts Panel presentation on "Literary Wetback." International Women's Week, University of Colorado, Boulder Lecture on "The Embalmed Daisy of Aztlán." 1985 Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua Primer Congreso Binacional de Mujeres Universitarias Lecture on "Narrativa personal del desarrollo de una escritora chicana fronteriza." PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS American Studies Association Modern Language Association National Association for Chicano Studies SERVICE Facilitated writing workshops for the annual conference of Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social (MALCS), Aug. 1995; Organized "Puro Corazón: A Symposium of Chicana Art" at Pomona College, Spring 1995, featuring Carmen Lomas Garza, Yolanda López, and Delilah Montoya; Thesis advisor for "Deconstructing/ Reconstructing Fotonovelas," a thesis in Chicano Studies at Pomona College, 1995; External examiner for a dissertation in Psychology at the Fielding Institute of Psychology in Santa Barbara, 1994; Facilitated writing workshops for the Tomás Rivera Center's Dissertation-Completion Project in San Antonio, July, 1993, July, 1994, and July, 1995; Organized the Spring Colloquium Speakers Series, University of California/Irvine, Chicano/Latino Studies; Facilitated a poetry workshop for the Women's Union, Pomona College, Spring, 1994; Lectured in literature, history, and theater classes at Pomona College, 1993; Organized the CARA Exhibition panel at the American Studies Association Convention, 1993. Facilitated a colloquium on Chicana lesbian identity for the National Association of Chicano Students, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1992.
Other: COURSES (SYLLABI) January ‘96 Chicano Studies 131/UCLA INSIDE 1 class policies 2 syllabus 3 assignment information 4 dates to remember Barrio Popular Culture Bienvenidos! This quarter we will be examining the everyday life of the barrio--its beliefs, objects, practices, heroes, images y demas. By focusing on the barrio as a metaphor for community and “familia,”we will construct a model by which to organize a study of Chicano/a popular culture, thus putting the barrio on the map of Cultural Studies. Through literature, film, oral history, and critical analysis, we will build the foundation of Chicano/a popular culture and analyze how this abstract framework is represented in three-dimensional form by the popular arts, formulas, rituals, icons, and stereotypes of the barrio. We have nine books to get through in ten weeks, and that breaks down to about a book per week. You will also have typed weekly responses to turn in for the newsletter on weeks 2-5 and 7-9. A take-home midterm and a final project involving a survey will also be required, as will your participation in class activities, discussions, and quizzes. Prof. Alicia Gaspar de Alba Office: 7242 Bunche Hall Phone: 310-206-3491 Office hours: M, W 4-6 Requirements: Weekly Responses (7) 25% Midterm 25% Final Project 30% Quiz Average 10% Participation 10% All of your books are available at Sisterhood Bookstore, 1351 Westwood Boulevard. They’re open 7 days a week from 10-8. 310-477-7300. Popular Culture, edited by Jack Nachbar and Kevin Lause The Signs of our Time, by Jack Solomon Drink Cultura: Chicanismo, by Jose Antonio Burciaga So Far From God, by Ana Castillo El Teatro Campesino, by Yolanda Broyles-Gonzalez Maravilla, by Laura del Fuego Chicanos and Film, edited by Chon Noriega Pedacito de mi corazon, by Carmen Lomas Garza The Devil, Delfina Varela, and the Used Chevy by Louie Garcia Class Policies 1. Attendance: Two free absences. For every absence after the first two, your course grade will be lowered by half a point . 2. Assignments: You’ll be allowed ONE late weekly response, but it must be turned in the following week. If it’s not turned in within a week, I will not accept it. No late midterms or final projects accepted! 3. All written work prepared outside of class must be typed. 4. Expect pop quizzes on your reading. 5. Midterm: Book Review. Your take-home midterm will be a review of Louie Garcia Robinson’s novel, The Devil, Delfina Varela and the Used Chevy. The specific assignment for the review will be given out on the fourth week of the quarter. I suggest you get started reading the novel as soon as possible and take notes on what you read. If you wait until the night before the midterm is due to write your review and read the novel, I can guarantee you a low grade on the midterm. Get yourself on a reading schedule that balances the weekly reading assignments for the class and a chapter or two of the novel. 6. Final Project: Survey. To complete this project you will be required to do fieldwork in a local barrio. You will focus on a specific topic, write a questionnaire that you will administer to two groups of people--a peer group at UCLA and residents of the barrio you select. You will also have to collect “data” such as popular images, objects, and other represenations of your topic. You will have to analyze your finidngs in a typed final paper. Due on the last day of class. More about this on the next page 7. You can earn extra credit by attending extracurricular Chicano/a events. 8. My pet peeves are tardiness, leaving the class early, racist, sexist and/or homophobic remarks, lack of preparation, and “trying to get by,” as opposed to seriously engaging in the course. Syllabus Week 1 1/8 “Barrio Popular Culture Does Not Exist” 1/10 Bring something that represents the barrio to class Week 2 1/15 PC: 1-54 1/17 PC: 82-109 Response #1 due Week 3 1/22 Signs: Ch’s 1,5,6 1/24 Signs: Ch/s 8. 9, 10 Response #2 due Week 4 1/29 PC: 169-185 Drink: 6, 14, 21, 75 1/31 PC: 236-244 Ch&F: essays in Part I Response #3 due Midterm assigned Week 5 2/5 PC: 314-343 Drink Cultura 2/7 Groupwork: a barrio legend Response #4 due Week 6 2/12 Midterm DUE Teatro: Ch. 1 2/14 Teatro: Ch’s. 3, 4 Week 7 2/19 PC: 376-386 Maravilla 2/21 Maravilla Response #5 due Week 8 2/26 PC: 414-429 So Far From God 2/28 PC: 445-462 So Far From God Response #6 due Week 9 3/4 Pedacito 3/6 Foundation Lecture Response #7 due Week 10 3/11 Signs: Ch’s 3, 11 3/13 Final project DUE Weekly Responses Your seven weekly responses are typed, single-spaced, one-page reaction papers. You will be reacting to the readings, the lectures, the film clips--in short, to anything we cover in class. Some will be “open” responses, meaning you can react to whatever you choose, others will be responses to specific assignments that I’ll give you a week in advance. The important thing to remember about these reaction papers is that they are your personal feelings and insights about an issue or topic. Thus, they are both emotional and analytical responses, and will always be written in the first-person, “I.” Do not write more than one page if you can help it, but also, don’t hand in one half-page paragraph and expect to receive full credit. Use the whole page, but use it wisely. This means don’t repeat yourself and don’t summarize anything; don’t tell me what a specific novel or film is about, since I already know what it’s about. Tell me your feelings and insights about that novel or film. Another thing to re member is that I will grade you down for grammar and spelling mistakes, so be careful. You may be required to see a writing tutor on a regular basis. Keep all your responses and handouts in a folder labeled Barrio Popular Culture, and keep your class notebook in this folder too. Remember: it pays to be organized! Final Project You will receive the assignment for this project in the fifth week of classes. This will give you five weeks to do the work. The work consists of selecting a topic, generating a questionnaire, consulting with me during office hours once you have your list of questions ready, administering your questionnaire to the two groups indicated, analyzing your data, writing a report of your findings, and collecting material for the scrapbook. Your report must be typed, of course. The three-dimensional “scrapbook” must include objects and/or images that represent your survey topic. You will sign up for a topic next week. It’s not too early to start thinking about who your respondents are going to be, or what barrio you’re going to visit. Ideas for the Scrapbook Once you select your topic, you’ll have a better idea of what to include in your scrapbook, but let me give you an example of what I’m looking for. First of all, it should contain no more than ten items, carefully selected. Let’s say you chose “Food” as your survey topic and you asked your respondents to talk about their favorite foods. Items for a scrapbook based on the topic of food could include my grandmother’s recipe for bunuelos, a photograph of my mother cooking mole, a plate of tamales brought in on the last day of class for the presentation of my topic, clippings from the L.A. Times about Easter foods in the Chicano/a community (such as sopa de lentejas and capirotada), a copy of Like Water for Chocolate, which is based on traditional Mexican recipes, and advertisements for well-known Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants in L.A. All of this would be my scrapbook for my survey topic. Do you get the idea? You should keep in mind that you will present your scrapbook on the last day of class, so be s ure you bring everything on that day. I can’t take your scrapbook with me, just your report and questionnaires, but I will evaluate you on the quality and creativity of the items you select. Dates to remember 1/17 Response #1 due 1/24 Response #2 due 1/31 Response #3 due Midterm assigned 2/7 Response #4 due Final Project assigned 2/12 MIDTERM DUE (Book Review on The Devil, Delfina Varela) 2/21 Response #5 due 2/28 Response #6 due 3/6 Response #7 due 3/13 FINAL PROJECT DUE Presentation of Scrapbooks
Contact: agdealba@ucla.edu