Gabriela Cruz L&S Arts & Humanities
The Missing Narrative: Femicide Within the El Paso-Juárez Borderland
My project asks how victims of femicide on the El Paso-Juárez border are represented in literature: what is the line between representing and recreating violence? The problem of femicide on the El Paso-Juárez border is an ongoing and multilingual issue; this project examines these issues through the perspective of literature. I specifically focus on the representation of violence against women in “Desert Blood” by Alicia Gaspar de Alba and “2666” by Roberto Bolaño. While my project primarily focuses on these two works of literature, my research is informed by archival materials to understand the narratives of this borderland region better. Although the murders of women have not decreased in the past ten years, there has been a significant decline in the media coverage and scholarship around femicide on the El Paso-Juárez border. By analyzing these novels’ representations of violence against women on the El Paso-Juárez border, I will study how literature can fill in the gaps of journalistic and scholarly representation. My planned thesis will build off my findings and expand into a further analysis of the politics of the U.S.-Mexico border and its interplay with femicide.
Message To Sponsor
To my donor, I am so thankful for the opportunity to pursue research over the summer and to use this research to bring awareness to an issue I am passionate about. I think research that focuses on the humanities, specifically on literature, is so important, especially today. Without SURF and your support, I never would have had this opportunity; I am so appreciative and excited to begin working on my research project this summer.