Reading Assignment: Your reply (under Comments) is due before class on Wednesday, January 25. Remember, you don’t need to answer all or even any of the questions, but your response should demonstrate you’ve done and thought about the readings.
Maylei Blackwell, “Spinning the Record: Historical Writing and Righting,” ¡Chicana Power! 14 – 42.
Maylei Blackwell writes about the histories of Chicana feminism as constructed by both Chicano histories and Anglo feminism. Are either of these histories ones you had encountered before? Where and when did you hear (prior to this course) about Chicana feminism? When did you think it emerged?
What are the Chicano histories of Chicana feminism? According to Blackwell, how has it been historicized within Chicano scholarship? Are these histories you had heard before? What does Blackwell mean by “vendida logic”?
What is Blackwell referring to when she discusses “East Coast regionalism”? What effect does this have on Chicana feminist history? What are some of the problems Blackwell identifies with the way women’s history has constructed / depicted feminism in the 1960s and 1970s? Whose history gets written? How can we read an alternate history?
Blackwell compares her methods of historiography to the styles and techniques of a DJ — how does she see that working? Does the metaphor make sense to you or does compare things that aren’t comparable? Discuss some of the “gender insurgencies” Blackwell highlights.