The Anzaldúan Theory Handbook

by AnaLouise Keating

Overview

In The Anzaldúan Theory Handbook AnaLouise Keating provides a comprehensive investigation of the foundational theories, methods, and philosophies of Gloria E. Anzaldúa. Through archival research and close readings of Anzaldúa’s unpublished and published writings, Keating offers a biographical-intellectual sketch of Anzaldúa, investigates her writing process and theory-making methods, and excavates her archival manuscripts. Keating focuses on the breadth of Anzaldúa’s theoretical oeuvre, including Anzaldúa’s lesser-known concepts of autohistoria y autohistoria-teoría, nos/otras, geographies of selves, and El Mundo Zurdo. By investigating those dimensions of Anzaldúa’s theories, writings, and methods that have received less critical attention and by exploring the interconnections between these overlooked concepts and her better-known theories, Keating opens additional areas of investigation into Anzaldúa’s work and models new ways to “do” Anzaldúan theory. This book also includes extensive definitions, genealogies, and explorations of eighteen key Anzaldúan theories as well as an annotated bibliography of hundreds of Anzaldúa’s unpublished manuscripts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781478023555
Publisher:	Duke University Press
Publication date:	09/06/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	905 KB

About the Author

AnaLouise Keating is Professor of Multicultural Women’s and Gender Studies at Texas Woman’s University and the author of Transformation Now! Toward a Post-Oppositional Politics of Change and other books. She worked closely with Anzaldúa for more than a decade, editing Interviews/Entrevistas and coediting (with Anzaldúa) this bridge we call home. She has also edited Anzaldúa’s books posthumously, including Light in the Dark/Luz en lo Oscuro: Rewriting Identity, Spirituality, Reality, also published by Duke University Press.

Table of Contents

Giving Thanks  xi
Introduction: Writing (About) Anzaldúa, Introducing This Book  1
I. Prelude to Theorizing: Contexts and Methods  13
1. Risking the Personal, Redux: A Biographical-Intellectual Sketch  15
2. Writing as Ritual, Habit, Mission, Partner, and Joy: Anzaldúa’s Writing Process  46
3. How the Theories Emerged: Haciendo Teorías Con Gloria  64
II. The Theories Themselves  77
How to Read Part II  80
4. Eighteen Anzaldúan Theories  81
III. Excavating the Future: The Archives and Beyond  211
5. The Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa Papers: Creation Story, Treasure Map, and More  213
6. Anzaldúa’s Archival Manuscripts: Overview, Insights, Annotations  225
Postscript: Working with Anzaldúa and Her Theories  303
Notes  309
References  319
Index  323

What People are Saying About This

Shared Selves: Latinx Memoir and Ethical Alternatives to Humanism - Suzanne Bost

“Presenting an invaluable and unique resource for established Anzaldúa scholars and anyone else wanting to learn more about Anzaldúa’s ideas, this book details how Anzaldúa’s most important ideas developed and changed over time while pointing readers to the best sources for understanding these ideas in greater depth. This is the most comprehensive study of Anzaldúa in existence.”

Fleshing the Spirit: Spirituality and Activism in Chicana, Latina, and Indigenous Women’s Lives - Irene Lara

“AnaLouise Keating’s scope of knowledge about the Anzaldúa archive and its broader context is unparalleled. This book is a treasure trove of insights into Anzaldúa’s little-known unpublished archival materials that deepen understanding of key Anzaldúan theories in relationship to one another as well as to her life and writing process. It is a tremendous offering of material for students, scholars, teachers, and practitioners of Anzaldúan thought that serves as an invitation to keep generating and co-creating conocimientos, as well as providing the methods to do so.”

Editorial Reviews

"The Anzaldúan Theory Handbook is eminently readable and is full of Keating’s expert commentary, and for that reason, it is an ideal text for teaching students at every level, including those of us who need reminders of how Anzaldúa’s legacy reverberates beyond the formative work she did in the 1980s."

A Contracorriente - Francisco E. Robles

"AnaLouise Keating’s The Anzaldúan Theory Handbook is a remarkable, intimate examination of Anzaldúa’s theoretical methodologies that is derived from close readings of her unpublished manuscripts and archival ephemera. Unlike other anthologies that offer only a broad overview of an author’s most prolific work, Keating’s Handbook submerges readers into the depths of Anzaldúa’s thought process, mindset, and personal life as she compiled and produced her writings. Keating proffers an invaluable, touching, and holistic perspective on Anzaldúa’s work not only as a scholar but also as a beloved friend and mentor."

Aztlán - Nadiyah Aamer