Research Interests

I am passionate about researching the history of marginalized and underrepresented groups, amplifying their voices, and uncovering stories that had been untold. My interest is researching student movements in twentieth-century Mexico, given their centrality to understanding later struggles for democratization and human rights. I aim to study the presence and role of women in student movements during the 1960s. I want to research how women’s geographical location, class, and education shaped their gendered experiences during the student movements and their impacts.

A significant part of the literature on student movements in Mexico focuses on the emblematic event of October 2, 1968, also known as The Massacre of Tlatelolco. The vast scholarship on the subject has highlighted students’ challenges to state authoritarianism and their demands for political freedoms in the context of government repression, censorship, and abuse. However, for the most part, the scholarship on student movements focuses on the experiences of male activists, highlighting their role as leaders, thus obscuring other actors who did not have a leadership position but whose presence was essential. Scholars as Gloria Tirado Villegas, Deborah Cohen, Lessie Franzier and Susan Drapper challenge the dominant male memory and brings to light that focusing on the male minimizes the importance of women’s involvement.1 They highlight women’s political contributions and question the traditional argument, and the construction of history based on the male versions.

My preliminary research project aims to excavate the archives for the presence and voices of women in student movements during the 1960s. What was their role during the protest organization, the creation of goals, and confrontations with the government? In what ways were they persecuted, and how did gender play a role in their public portrayal as troublemakers? Can the archives help us tell the women’s version of the events and examine their participation and experiences? I want to identify events where women were present during the 1960s movements in Mexico City and other states. I hope to gather more information about specific individuals, particularly known activists, and search for further evidence of women collectives participating in the student movements.