Hispanic Heritage Month
Photo Courtesy K. Kendall
Karina Rodriguez | THE RIDER
A UTRGV political science professor encourages people to read works by the late award-winning author Gloria Anzaldúa, a University of Texas Pan-American alumna who wrote about feminism, cultural identity and queer theories.
Anzaldúa’s book, “Borderlands/La Frontera,” is one of Professor William Sokoloff’s requirements for a lower-division political science course.
The author, who was born in Harlingen in 1942, received many awards, including the Lambda Lesbian Small Book Press Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Fiction Award and a Sappho Award of Distinction. She died in 2004.
Sokoloff said Anzaldúa’s use of different languages in her works makes her very special.
“I would say bridging and code-switching,” he said. “I think these ideas have very important political applicability in terms of the capacity, the capacity to mediate between different languages.”
Bridging is the process of teaching in dual languages. Code-switching is the practice of using two different languages interchangeably.
People from the Rio Grande Valley can find many of their own experiences in Anzaldúa’s works because she wrote about topics centered on the Hispanic culture. As a Rio Grande Valley native, Anzaldúa provided a powerful voice in her works that can resonate through many generations in the Valley.
“So, I wish she was more influential, actually,” Sokoloff said. “It’s very rare to encounter students that know anything about Anzaldúa before they arrive at UTRGV. So, I think that is an unfortunate reality. In terms of broad influence, I am not so sure she has that, even in the Rio Grande Valley. But for me, what makes her powerful is her voice as a writer.”
Throughout Anzaldúa’s career, she discussed many important issues in regard to gender roles, the LGBTQ community and Hispanic culture. Since she discussed sensitive topics, some of her works have faced some criticisms.
“She does say some rather provocative things about sort of Mexican culture, at least her experience of it in the valley and she is quite critical,” Sokoloff said. “This is a source of a lot of controversy. She states, for example, that … certain aspects of Mexican culture cripple the lives of women.”
The professor said he agrees with the author on some topics.
“I am inclined to say I don’t agree with everything she says, but I can tell you what I do agree with,” Sokoloff said. “ I agree with her that women need to have more options. I believe her that there’s a queer in all of us whether we want to acknowledge it or not and that masculinity and femininity are in flux.”
Despite her controversial writing, he believes that Anzaldúa’s works should be read more in general and even instructionally.
“This institution is one of the dominant Hispanic-serving institutions in the country, and yet, there is not an undergraduate degree in Mexican American Studies,” Sokoloff said. “So, this is curious, but it’s really about the lack of the support from the administration, as far as I understand it, for such degree.”
Sokoloff said more people should read Anzaldúa’s work.
“I would encourage people to read Gloria Anzaldúa,” he said. “I think she is a brilliant writer, a genius. Her voice as an author is amazing. She writes with passion and subtlety. She is an author in the most radical sense of the word in terms of creating something new out of her engagement with past traditions.”
Sokoloff also believes that the world would be a better place if more people read her works.
“I would encourage people to read her,” he said. “Unfortunately, the people that really need to read her are the least likely to read her work. It’s possible that her ideas really don’t have the impact they could if they were simply in the Rio Grande Valley. I think they could have an impact here, but I think a broader engagement of her work in the university curriculum throughout the country and the world would actually be quite positive.”
