Join us on Oct. 21 at 3 PM CST for a virtual lecture led by Dr. Marianela Muñoz, part of the LAC Women Justice Series titled "Leaders Emerge! Black Women, National Politics, and Intellectual Contributions."
Zoom Registration link here
The engagement of Black women in State politics in Costa Rica stands out as a significant experience within the Latin American region, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Their participation is shaped by the intersections of race, gender, and class, and, as in other diasporic contexts, this intersectional framework also includes ethnicity—particularly the experiences of Black women as Caribbean daughters and political mothers. This presentation delves into the rich tradition of political activism among Black women, emphasizing the relationships, emotions, and leadership styles that shape both their public activism and intellectual contributions. Additionally, it offers reflections on the importance of employing interdisciplinary methodologies and broadening the concept of archives, to more fully understand the reasonsbehind and dynamics of Black women’s participation in national politics across the region.
Marianela Muñoz-Muñoz is a Professor at the School of Philology, Linguistics, and Literature at the University of Costa Rica. She holds a Ph.D. in Latin American Studies, with Doctoral Portfolios in African and African Diaspora Studies and Native American and Indigenous Studies, from the University of Texas at Austin. A Fulbright-Laspau scholar, her research focuses on Black women’s politics and political thought inside and outside the state. Other research interests include Latin American cultural and political studies; race and ethnicity in Latin America; Indigenous and Black epistemologies; feminist decolonial and Black cultural studies.