Norma Elia Cantu, Ph.D.
- Murchison Professor of the Humanities , Modern Languages and Literatures
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Born in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas and raised in Laredo, Texas, I am intimately bound to the US-Mexico border region. As a scholar, I focus on issues of borders and boundaries whether in academic disciplines or the geopolitical borderlands of Mexico and the United States, all through a Chicana feminist theoretical lens. I write poetry and prose, what I call creative autobioethnography, also with a focus on the borderlands and heavily rooted in the cultural traditions of the region. My life formation as a working-class Chicana shapes my intellectual and aesthetic endeavors and impels me to act to deconstruct the oppressive structures that exist in society. I passionately believe that words have power and that literature has the potential to create the change we need. I work with my students to use the power of their stories and their words to create a better world for all sentient beings.
- Ph.D. in English from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln
- M.A. in English and Political Science from Texas A&I, Kingsville
- B.S. in Education (English and Political Science) from Texas A&I, Laredo
Books:
- Fiestas in Laredo: Matachines, Quinceañeras, and George Washington's Birthday (Texas Folklore Society/University of North Texas Press)
- Cabañuelas: A Novel (University of New Mexico Press)
- Canícula: Snapshots of a Girlhood en la frontera (University of New Mexico Press)
Poetry:
- Meditación Fronteriza: Poems of Love, Life and Labor (University of Arizona Press)
- Transcendental Train Yards: A Collaborative Suite of Serigraphs (Wings Press)
Anthologies, Edited and Co-Edited:
- Forced by Circumstance: Feminist Essays by Norma Alarcón, 1981-2024. Co-edited with Marisa Belausteguigoitia and Dionne Espinoza (Aunt Lute Books)
- The Fariseos Folk Tradition of San Pedro de la Cueva, Sonora: Morality and Masculinity. Co-edited with Guillermo Núñez Noriega (Lexington Books/Bloomsbury)
- Somos Tejanas: Chicana Identity and Culture in Texas(University of Texas Press)
- Revista Hostosiana/Hostos Review Special Issue, Volver al futuro/Back to the Future (Coeditor with Sandra Guzmán and Enrique Winter)
- Chicana Portraits: Critical Biographies of Twelve Chicana Writers (University of Arizona Press)
- El Mundo Zurdo 8, co-edited with Adrianna Santos and Rita Urquijo-Ruz. (Aunt Lute Books)
- El Mundo Zurdo, co-edited with Christina Gutiérrez, Norma Alarcón and Rita Urquijo Ruiz (Aunt Lute Books)
- Critical Edition of Borderlands La Frontera: The New Mestiza, co-edited with Ricardo Vivancos Pérez (Aunt Lute Books)
- Teaching Gloria E. Anzaldúa: Pedagogies and Practices for our Classrooms and Communities, co-edited with Candace de León Zepeda and Margaret Cantú-Sánchez (University of Arizona Press)
- meXicana Fashions: Politics, Self-Adornment, and Identity Construction (University of Texas Press)
- Entre Guadalupe y Malinche: Tejanas in Literature and Art , co-edited with Inés Hernández Avila (University or Texas Press)
- Barrio Dreams: Selected Plays, Silvana Wood, co-edited with Rita Urquijo Ruiz (University of Arizona Press)
- Paths to Discovery: Chicanas with Careers in Mathematics, Science, and Engineering (UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center/University of Washington)
- The US-Mexico Borderlands
- Chicana Literature
- Folklore
- Literary Theory
- The US Latinx Experience
- US Latinx Cultural and Artistic Expressions
- Folklore
- Creative Writing
Most Recent:
- Third Fulbright Fellowship: Senior Specialist Fellowship to Universidad Complutense de Madrid/Universidad de Alcalá de Henares
- Inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame
- Lifetime Achievement in Literary Arts Recognition by The Gemini Ink Literary organization at Inkstravaganza
- Tejano Heritage Award, Texas A&M, Kingsville
- Galardón Don Luis Leal from the HISPAUSA organization based at the Instituto Franklin at the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares. June 21, Barcelona June
- Outstanding Alumni Award, Texas A&I Alumni Association, Kingsville, Texas
- Luis Leal Literary Achievement Award, University of California, Santa Barbara
- American Folklore Society, Lifetime Achievement Award
- Texas Institute of Letters, member
- Latin American Studies Association Latina/o Studies Section, Frank Bonilla Public Intellectual Award
- Escuela Tlatelolco’s Champion of Change Award for Art, Literature, & Culture, Denver, Colorado
- Letras de Aztlán, NACCS Tejas Foco
- Beca Nebrija de Creación Literaria, Instituto Franklin, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares
- Fellow of the American Folklore Society
- Américo Paredes Distinguished Lecture, UT-Austin
- Exceptional Texas Woman, Veteran Feminists of America, Texas
- Elvira Cordero de Cisneros Macondo Foundation Award
- National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies Scholar of the Year
- Cátedra Laboris from the Universidad de Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo León
- Journal of Folklore in Education, Advisory Board
- Museo del Westside, Advisory Board
- Los Centzontles, Advisory Board
- Founder and Director, Society for the Study of Gloria Anzaldúa
- Past President, American Folklore Society
- Board Member, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center
- Founder and Director, Society for the Study of Gloria Anzaldúa
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