No social study that does not come back to the problems of biography,
of history and of their intersections within a society,
has completed its intellectual journey. – C. Wright Mills
In early December Margie took her very first trip to El Salvador to embark on a research project that would examine the economic forces behind the pre-1970s migration of Salvadorean women to the U.S. In her research proposal, “Gendered Migration from El Salvador”, Margie writes:
The intersection of socio-historical structures in the lives of individuals today speaks to a notion of historical "ghosts" that continue to pattern the lives of individuals. In our rapidly changing globalizing existence, there is much talk about the "end of history", that the general social processes that dominated our historical development during the period of industrial capitalism no longer has a hold on us. This research project challenges this notion.
The intersection of socio-historical structures in the lives of individuals today speaks to a notion of historical "ghosts" that continue to pattern the lives of individuals. In our rapidly changing globalizing existence, there is much talk about the "end of history", that the general social processes that dominated our historical development during the period of industrial capitalism no longer has a hold on us. This research project challenges this notion.
1 comment:
I don't really do this sort of thing well, but a friend of mine today asked me this question:
"how do you learn to not be afraid? I feel like it's just getting beat around a bit by life until you discover through experience that you'll be okay?"
And this is what I responded:
"Sounds bad, doesn't it?
I had a very good friend in WY who helped. She was a Latina assistant professor who had grown up in South Central running drugs. Never went to high school, but got a PhD from UCLA.
She didn't take shit from anyone, even times when I thought that maaaaybe she was a bit (or a lot) over the line. But she always stayed absolutely true to what she believed in--she just said and did what she thought was right and handled the consequences. And I figured, if this woman who has been through--and in some cases continues to experience--poverty, racism, sexism, drug addiction, death, and great personal tragedy can look at life square in the eye and tell it to go fuck itself, I can be assertive about what I believe in too.
She's the one who died on Christmas this year. And recently, I've been thinking that the world might be just a little bit better place if we could all be just a little bit more brave and fearless like Margie Zamudio."
So, I don't know if I was able to help my friend, but you were definitely able to help yours, Margie.
Post a Comment