Revolutions of Remembrance: Chicana/Latina Dissidents of Desire and Memorialization in Histories of Education

• In Event: zzzzzz Withdrawn per 4/23 Emergent Historical Methodologies and Pedagogies: Chicana/o/Latina/o Movement-Building Researchers Disrupting Supremacist Educational Infrastructures

Abstract

Objectives
This study examines how early 20th-century asylums and state schools portrayed Chicana/Latina girls as sex delinquents, revealing state violence under California's eugenic policies. The research is driven by a Chicana/Latina scholar whose methodological approach bridges interdisciplinary historical methodologies with dynamics of race, gender, and power. Recognizing that the omission of Mexican/Mexican-American histories from archival collections has been fundamental to maintaining a racial hierarchy (Yosso & García, 2021), this methodological stance advocates for a more nuanced understanding of the past, one that confronts the violent legacies of eugenics and provides a platform for the rebel voices within Chicana/Latina histories.
Theoretical Framework
Feminist Standpoint Theory (Hartsock, 1983; Hekman, 1997) provides a critical lens through which this study interrogates and challenges the colonial underpinnings of institutional archives. By asserting that knowledge is socially situated, this theory emphasizes the epistemological significance of the perspectives held by those at the margins—specifically, those whose experiences and histories have been obscured or distorted by dominant power structures. This research strategically engages with archives as sites of struggle where colonial histories have been preserved and perpetuated. This approach critically examines how archives have served as tools for maintaining eugenic power and silencing dissenting voices.
Methods
This paper delves into state institutional records, newspapers, and genealogy records, focusing on the experiences of Chicana/Latina girls affected by eugenic policies. Incorporating notions of critical fabulation, it strives to convey the aspirations and longings of the wayward and the tumult and upheaval incited by their collective voices (Hartman, 2018). The methodological palette includes a critique of the language and narrative constructions in these documents through critical discourse analysis, revealing how they have perpetuated exclusion and marginalization. By dissecting how archival practices have upheld racial and gender hierarchies, this study not only uplifts suppressed voices but also exposes the power dynamics inherent in historical documentation, advocating for a more reflexive and inclusive archival practice.
Findings
The records reveal how Chicana/Latina girls were systematically pathologized by early twentieth-century asylums and state schools, being labeled as "sex delinquents" under social hygiene and eugenic frameworks. This pathologization served to justify their control and marginalization, highlighting the racial and gender biases embedded in these institutional practices. Despite the oppressive frameworks, the records uncover instances of resistance and resilience among Chicana/Latina girls, tracing their actions and responses to these policies. This research highlights how these girls navigated and contested the violent impositions placed upon them, providing a more nuanced understanding of their lived experiences. The methodology unearths marginalized narratives and offers a comprehensive and humanizing lens through which to view the historical experiences of Chicana/Latina girls.
Scholarly Significance
This paper employs a critical and innovative methodological approach to re-examine the portrayal of Chicana/Latina girls under early twentieth-century California eugenic policies. By utilizing a combination of institutional records, historical newspapers, and genealogy methodologies, this research uncovers and humanizes the lived experiences of these girls who were holistically violated by state eugenic regimes. This interdisciplinary approach reveals the entrenched racial and gender biases within historical narratives and archival practices.

Author

• Gabriela G. Corona Valencia, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign