Nancy Guadalupe Rubio Humanities
Latinas in Watsonville, Mass Incarceration, and the Effectiveness of Prison Writing Projects
Nancys project will address the silences of rural Latina narratives about intrapersonal and structural violence. She will explore what happens when writing coalitions are built between incarcerated women and rural Latinas who are system impacted and at risk of incarceration. Over the summer, Nancy will interview prison writing project activists and formerly incarcerated people to learn about the effects of these projects. She will analyze writings by incarcerated women, emphasizing themes related to autonomy, resilience, and self-narration. In the fall, she will facilitate writing workshops with system impacted Latinas at Renaissance High School in Watsonville, California. By doing so, she seeks to understand the specific narratives that incarcerated and system impacted Latinas have in rural communities and how community based efforts can further meet their needs.