A nationally recognized Mexican-American scholar will present two lectures on the contributions of Mexican female journalists and writers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries Feb. 11-12 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Dr. Cristina Ramirez, assistant professor of rhetoric, composition, and English instruction at the University of Arizona, will present research from her recent book, “Occupying Our Space: The Mestiza Rhetorics of Mexican Women Journalists and Activists, 1875-1942,” as part of the Latino Americans: 500 Years of History initiative.

The first lecture, “New Discursive Historical Spaces: Mexican and Chicana Women as Revolutionary Rhetors,” will be held 12:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11,  in Stella Boyle Smith Auditorium.

Ramirez also will give a lecture at 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12, in the Arkansas Studies Institute building, Room 124, titled, “Looking in Different Spaces: Women as Historical Figures and Social Trailblazers,” which will explore women from Arkansas who worked as journalists during the 19th and 20th centuries.  

Ramirez’s work fills a gap in feminine rhetorical history by providing an in-depth look at several important journalists who claimed public-speaking spaces and negotiated shifting feminine identities during emerging national politics at the turn of the 20th century.

“I carry a unique understanding of living in two worlds, crossing physical, psychological, and philosophical borders,” Ramirez said. “Living in two worlds has its upside, like enjoying and understanding people from different cultures. But it also has its dark and painful side with marked moments of not being accepted by either culture, as well as moments of defending one side, while being enmeshed with the other. These moments, these sentiments, have led me to my research and writing.”

Latino Americans: 500 Years of History is made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the American Library Association. The initiative is part of an NEH initiative, The Common Good: The Humanities in the Public Square.

For more information about Ramirez, visit www.cristinadramirez.com.