Vargas receives grant to study role of musical sound and sociality in relation to racialized gender, sexuality
Vargas receives grant to study role of musical sound and sociality in relation to racialized gender, sexuality
- September 20, 2011
- Funding provided by the UC Center for New Racial Studies
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Deborah Vargas, Chicano/Latino studies associate professor, has received a $12,500
grant from the UC Center for New Racial Studies to study how music and images from
the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries have contributed to constructions of
racialized gender and sexuality of Chicanas/Mexicanas. In particular, she is interested
in tracing the iconic figure of the cantinera, or sexually promiscuous women who could
be found in Chicano working-class bar settings. Her research ranges from the socio-musical
spaces of nineteenth century fandango, early twentieth century bailes de negocio -
or dance partners for pay - to contemporary Mexican American cantinas. As part of
her study, Vargas will be making research trips to Mexico City, Washington, D.C. and
several cities along the US-Mexico border to analyze archival documents, including
lithographs, personal journals and sound recordings. Her findings will serve as a
resource for scholars studying how art, music and literature create racialized and
class constructions of gender and sexuality.
The one-year study begins this fall.
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