Sacred Iconographies in Chicana Cultural Productions - (Comparative Feminist Studies) by C Román-Odio (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

This book examines the iconography of the Virgin of Guadalupe as a force for social justice and feminist emancipation within Chicana cultural productions from 1975-2010. In these productions the Virgin serves as a paradigm to unlock the histories of conquest and colonization, racism, and sexual oppression in the US-Mexico borderland and beyond.

Review Quotes

"Sacred Iconographies in Chicana Cultural Productions is a clearly organized and well-written book with a powerful argument that academic and non-academic audiences can appreciate. ... overall this is worthwhile book that I highly recommend for its path breaking analysis of mestiza spirituality in cultural productions that hopefully other Latina/o studies scholars will build upon in the near future." (Mari Castaňeda, Latino Studies, Vol. 13 (3), September, 2015)

"Impressive in its impressive command of sources from many different fields. I recommend it." - Anthropos

"This landmark publication advances the fields of de-colonial liberation, divinity and cultural studies. In these pages our guides are 'anti-icons ' who stand against systems of domination, the divine mothers Tonantzin, Mary, Coatlaxopeuh, the Virgin de Guadalupe, thefeminine and the matrilineal, here to teach us twenty-first-century spiritualties of dissent. Today these figures are facilitating an emerging planetary culture that functions beyond and without borders. This book's method makes their presence visible - but only if readers are able to think in and through a de-colonizing feminism that is at once spiritual, political, global, and Chicana." - Chela Sandoval, author of Methodology of the Opressed

"Sacred Iconographies in Chicana Cultural Productions examines methodological and pedagogical strategies for understanding how La Virgen de Guadalupe has served and continues to serve as a venue for artistic and literary expressions of Chicana feminist ways of knowing. Theorizing from the margins to the center and back, Román-Odio unpacks the cultural, political, and social expressions of Tonantzin/Guadalupe the mediator who advocates for those residing in nepantla as she makes visible the religious and cultural practices empowered scholars, artists, and activists have confronted and navigated as they negotiated new social relations informed by a spiritual mestizaje. In that transformational process, Román-Odio examines local and global imaginaries whereby Chicana thinkers, painters, and artists have created coalitions for social change in the context of commitment to self and community. Throughout its narrative, Sacred Iconographies in Chicana Cultural Productions offers multiple entry points into the study of Third World Feminisms in the United States, Latin America, and the world, as Román-Odio avails us a bridge for understanding social change, with the end-goal of dismantling the oppression of women of color. She also articulates theories and practices for enacting a social justice informed by love." - Josie Méndez-Negrete, Associate Professor, Mexican American Studies, College of Education and Human Development, University of Texas at San Antonio

About the Author

Clara Román-Odio is Professor of Spanish and Latin American Literature and Director of Latino/a Studies at Kenyon College, USA.