My Research
My research is motivated by a search for connections, patterns, and imbrications in the historical fabric that makes up America. I search out connections between aesthetic forms, cultural traditions, and ideas across time and space. My approach to research is transcultural, trans-medial and trans-national and I am attracted to the reexamination of established historical narratives, truths, and dogmas especially when these narratives occlude more than they reveal. In my work, I draw on performance studies, semiotics, philosophy, and text analysis to make sense of artifacts and events.
Latest Academic Publications
Dissertation, 2021
Through a critical examination of mobility as a social, cultural, and historical concept in and through Chicana/o communities in Southern California, Transit-Oriented Performance Through Chicana/o Spaces in Southern California argues mobility to be a consubstantial element in Chicana/o subject formation.
Aztlan, 2019
In this article I recount the process of working on a commission from Center Theatre Group to
research and write pedagogical materials based on the 40 th anniversary of Zoot Suit and its
enduring influence and legacy. In it I argue that this play and the community for whom it was
created can only be understood in a genealogical context.
Latest Pedagogical Publications
Center Theatre Group, 2017
In September 2016, I was approached by Center Theatre Group’s (CTG's) educational department with a commission to write a set of dramaturgical and instructional materials for the 40th anniversary of Zoot Suit. This Discovery Guide was handed out to all the youth who attended the play as part of CTG’s educational department’s outreach to low-income high schools.
Center Theatre Group, 2009
In this discovery guide, I distilled the relevant themes from a Culture Clash production set on an
American Indian reservation in the Southwest. It follows the fate of Army Captain Siler who has
returned from Iraq with a secret she just can't keep. Determined to set the record straight about
the "friendly-fire" death of the tribal chief's son, she discovers she is considered a dangerous
outsider rather than a messenger of truth.
Latest Book Reviews
In this book review I highlight the important contributions this text makes towards elevating Aztec philosophy to its rightful place among the world's most recognized contributors to metaphysics. With this texts Chicana/os can have a coherent and incisive explanation of the world view that helped shape who they have become.
In this book review I highlight the important contributions this text makes towards elevating Aztec philosophy to its rightful place among the world's most recognized contributors to metaphysics. With this texts Chicana/os can have a coherent and incisive explanation of the world view that helped shape who they have become.
Essays
HowlRound is a free and open platform for theatremakers worldwide that amplifies progressive, disruptive ideas about the art form and facilitates connection between diverse practitioners.
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