Making Space for Inclusion: A

Case Study About A Latina

Anthropologist Jannell Robles and Mariela Nuñez-Janes, Ph. D.

Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement

Program

Department of Anthropology

College of Public Affairs and Community Service

University of North Texas

Denton, Texas

Introduction

Case Study

American

Anthropological

Association (AAA)

Latina

Anthropologists

Research Project

Historical Background

History

Rosaldo’s “Chicano Studies, 1970-1984”

(1985)

AAA sponsored surveys (COSWA and

Minority Anthropologists)

Book on Black Feminist Anthropologists

Latinos in anthropology and feminist

anthropologists

Significance of Research

Little research and history

Unique “insider” perspective

Guide for future Latina anthropologists

and those working with Latina

anthropologists

Methodology

Literature Review:

Latina/o anthropologists

Chicana/o scholars and anthropology

Chicana Feminists

Feminist Anthropology

Methodology (Cont.)

Interviews

Criteria for participants

Recruitment through ALLA

Open-ended and Semi-structured

Interview included 7 major parts

Methodology (Cont.)

Survey

Recruitment of participants through ALLA

Questions

Demographic

Educational History

Current Employment

Research and Applied Interests

Experiences

Methodology (Cont.)

Case Study

Review of literature and analysis of one

interview

Coding (Richards, 2005):

Descriptive

Topical

Case Study

Confidentiality of

Informant

Biographical

Information:

Born in Costa Rica

College in

California and

Washington D.C.

Full Professor

Findings

Experiences

Awareness of inter-ethnic relations

Ethnic Politics (Zavella, 1993)

Navigating the academic system Chicano scholars on academic system (Chabram,

1998)

Findings (Cont.)

Contributions

Applied projects with the Latino Community

Latina/o Anthropologists engage in applied projects (Perez, 2007)

Inclusion of Latino Scholarship and Latino students in the discipline Long exclusion of Latino Studies in academia (Davila,

2006)

Conclusion

Multiple roles played in community and

university

Contributions

Applied anthropology (Perez, 2007; Rosaldo,

1985)

Inclusion (Davila, 2006)

Experiences

Strategies (Chabram, 1998)

Inter-ethnic relations (Zavella, 1993)

Acknowledgements

Mentor, Dr. Mariela Nuñez-Janes

Ronald E. McNair Research Program

Department of Anthropology and the

Mexican American Studies Program

References

American Anthropological Association

1973 Minority Report. Electronic document,

http://www.aaanet.org/cmtes/minority/Minreport.cfm, accessed April 25,

2008.

1997 Survey of Anthropology PhDs. Electronic document,

http://dev.aaanet.org/resources/departments/97Survey.cfm, accessed April

25, 2008.

2008 Academic Climate Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in

Anthropology. Electronic document,

http://www.aaanet.org/_cs_upload/resources/departments/17366_1.pdf,

accessed June 5, 2008.

Chabram, Angie

1998 Chicana/o Studies as Oppositional Ethnography. Cultural Studies . 4(3):

228-247.

Davalos, Karen Mary

1998 Chicana/o Studies and Anthropology: The Dialogue that Never Was.

AZTLAN: A Journal of Chicano Studies. 23(2): 11-45.

References (Cont.)

Davila, Arlene

2006 The Disciplined Boundary: Anthropology, Ethnic Studies, and the

ŅMinorityÓ Practitioner. Transforming Anthropology. 14(1): 35-43.

Perez, Gina M.

2007 Methodological Gifts in Latina/o Studies and Feminist Anthropology.

Anthropology News. 48(7): 6-7.

Richards, Lyn

2005 Handling Qualitative Data: A Practical Guide. London: Sage

Publications.

Rosaldo, Renato

1985 Chicano Studies, 1970-1984. Annual Review of Anthropology. 14:405-

427.

1993 Culture and Truth: The Remaking of Social Analysis. Boston: Beacon

Press.

Russel y Rodr’guez, M—nica

1998 Confronting AnthropologyÕs Silencing Praxis: Speaking Of/From a

Chicana Consciousness. Qualitative Inquiry. 5(1): 114-129.

Zavella, Patricia

1993 Feminist Insider Dilemmas: Constructing Ethnic Identity with ŅChicanaÓ

Informants. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies. 13(3): 53-76.