The Masks We Wear: Rebel, Resist, Refuse

• In Event: World-Making Feminist Pedagogies and Praxes

Abstract

We are called to explore the use of masks as a decolonial tool in academic spaces as Latin American women, Mestizas, and Neplanteras scholars. Drawing inspiration from Anzaldúa and Marcos, we present our theoretical conceptualization of masking as a way to navigate white Eurocentric dominant spaces while challenging traditional expectations. The masks we use serve as a means of resistance, allowing us to traverse colonial practices/traditions and produce decolonial scholarship. Through pláticas and testimonios, we create spaces for collective knowledge production, embracing our mestiza identities, and disrupting dehumanizing colonial structures in academia.

Authors

• Freyca Calderon-Berumen, Pennsylvania State University - Altoona

• Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley

• Karla O'Donald, Texas Christian University