The murders of more than 500 women and young girls in Ciudad Juárez, México over the past 14 years will be the focus of a Texas A&M University symposium on April 10th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Sterling C. Evans Memorial Library, Second Floor, Room 204E.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

PROGRAM

Sponsored by the Center for Housing and Urban Development (CHUD), College of Architecture

MC/Moderator: Miguel Juárez, MLS, Assistant Professor and Librarian/Curator of Hispanic Studies Collections, University Libraries

9:00 AM -- WELCOME

Dr. Jorge Vanegas, Director, Center for Housing and Urban Development (CHUD), College of Architecture

Dr. Tito Guerrero, Executive Vice President and Associate Provost for Institutional Assessment and Diversity

Dr. Karan Watson, Executive Vice President, Dean of Faculties, and Associate Provost

Dr. Joseph Jewel, Director, Race and Ethnic Studies Institute (RESI)

Dr. James Rosenheim, Director, Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research

9:45 AM -- OPENING REMARKS

Pema García, Director of CHUD’s Western Rio Grande Region, Center for Housing and Urban Development, El Paso, Texas

10:00 AM -- MORNING SESSION

"Accountability for Murder in the Maquiladoras: Linking Corporate Indifference to Gender Violence at the U.S.-Mexico Border"
Elvia Arriola, JD, Professor of Law, Northern Illinois University, College of Law

Harvest of Women
Diana Washington Valdez, Investigative Reporter, El Paso Times, and author of the book Harvest of Women, Safari in Mexico, 1993-2005, The Truth About the Murders of Girls and Women in Juarez, Mexico

"Women's Shifting Border Identities on Both Sides of the U.S.-Mexico Border in Light of Persistent and Heightened Violence"
María Socorro Tabuenca Cordoba, PhD, Cultural Theorist and past Dean for the North West Region, Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. With Debra Castillo, she has authored the book: Border Shots: From Theory to Practice

12:00 PM -- DISCUSSION

12:45 PM -- BREAK

1:00 PM -- LUNCH ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION:
"Doing Dangerous Research"

2:15 PM -- AFTERNOON SESSION

"Contra el Feminicio en Ciudad Juárez, una fuerza social llamada Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa"
Marisela Ortíz, Co-founder and Director and María Luisa Andrade, Spokesperson, Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico

“Talking Back to History: Women Workers Organize Against Management Violence in the Maquiladoras"
Judith Rosenberg, PhD, Director, Austin Tan Cerca de la Frontera, a Project of the American Friends Service Committee

"Border Sexual Conquest: A Framework for Gendered and Racial Sexual Violence"
María Cristina Morales, PhD, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Texas, El Paso and Cynthia Bejarano, PhD, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, New Mexico State University

4:15 PM -- GENERAL DISCUSSION

CLOSING REMARKS

Dr. Gabriel Carranza, Director, International Programs
Dr. Víctor Arizpe, Chair, Department of Hispanic Studies

5:00 PM -- RECOGNITION OF COMMITTEE AND VOLUNTEERS

5:30 PM -- RECEPTION

J. WAYNE STARK GALLERY, MULTICULTURAL STUDENT CENTER (MSC), UNIVERSITY CENTER

Introduction by Dr. Allessandra Luiselli, Associate Professor, Department of Hispanic Studies
"Moon Over Juárez" -- Dance Performance by The Latina Dance Project, Los Angeles. The Latina Dance Project, made up of nationally known dancer/choreographers Licia Perea, Eluza Santos, Juanita Suarez and Eva Tessler, was formed in 2002 to present a new Latina voice in contemporary dance-theatre. Text by Victor Hugo Rascón Banda. Choreography by Eva Tessler. Music by William Campbell. Costumes by Ann Closs-Farley.

Performed by Licia Perea and Eva Tessler.

"New Moon Over Juárez," is a haunting and beautiful dance drama about a young maquiladora (factory) worker who meets her fate in Cuidad Juárez, where more than 500 women have been murdered over the last 14 years. It is also about two sisters and their bond that brings them together one last time.

and

Book Signing by Diana Washington Valdez (at the Stark entrance from the Flag Room)

Co-Sponsors:
Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities; Office of the Vice President for Diversity; Race and Ethnic Studies Institute (RESI); Women's and Gender Equity Resource Center; Department of Sociology; Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy; Department of Hispanic Studies; Women's Studies Program; Department of English; International Programs; Office of the Commandant; Office of the Vice President for Administration; Office for Latin American Programs and Mexico Center; Mexican American and Latino Research Center (MALRC); Interdisciplinary TAMU Scholars' Consortium on Border Research.

LINKS

Austin Tan Cerca de la Frontera, a Project of the American Friends Service Committee
http://www.afsc.org

Center for Housing and Urban Development (CHUD), College of Architecture
http://archone.tamu.edu/chud/

Dean of Faculties & Associate Provost Office
http://dof.tamu.edu/

Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research
http://glasscock.tamu.edu/index.html

Office of the Vice President and Associate Provost for Institutional Assessment and Diversity
http://diversity.tamu.edu/

Race and Ethnic Studies Institute (RESI)
http://resi.tamu.edu/

Women on the Border
http://www.womenontheborder.org/

Interdisciplinary TAMU Scholars' Consortium on Border Research Committee:

Dr. Jorge Vanegas, CHUD
Barbara Henry, CHUD
Gloria Harvey, CHUD
Dr. Kathryn Henderson, Sociology
Dr. Nancy Plankey Videla, Sociology
Kim Starz, Philosophy, PhD graduate student
Nancy Lugo, formerly with RESI
Dr. Alessandra Luiselli, Hispanic Studies
Dr. Jose P. Villalobos, Hispanic Studies
Tura M. King, University Relations, Assistance Director
Miguel Juárez, MLS, University Libraries
Katie Elrod, Community volunteer
Miriam Olivares, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, PhD graduate student
Dr. Elsa M. Gonzalez y Gonzalez, Educational Administration
Corina Valdez, Hispanic Studies
Manuela Gomez, Philosophy & Humanities, PhD graduate student
Theresa Survillion, Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource, PhD graduate student

Bibliographies:

Bibliography/Bibliografía by Mike Amezcua
http://www.chavez.ucla.edu/maqui_murders/bibliography.htm

Wednesday, April 04, 2007



Diana Washington Valdez will sign copies of her book Harvest of Women, Safari in Mexico (1993-2005): The Truth About the Murders of Girls and Women in Juarez, Mexico at the conclusion of the Justicia en Cd. Juarez conference (at the entrance to the Stark Gallery) at the Multicultural Student Center (MSC) at Texas A&M.

About the author

Diana Washington Valdez is an award-winning journalist who has worked at newspapers in the Southwestern United States. Her 2003 series about the Juarez women's murders "Death Stalks the Border" was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. It received a First Place Award from the Texas Associated Managing Editors. She is considered a foremost expert on the Juarez femicides, Mexican politics and the drug trade. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute honored her in 2006 with a Latina Leader in the Media Award for her work on the topic. In 2006, she received the National Association of Social Workers-Texas Media Person of the Year Award for journalism that advances social justice. Her book in Spanish, Cosecha de Mujeres: Safari en el desierto Mexicano, published by Oceano de Mexico and Oceano de España, was a 2006 nominee for the Ulysses Lettre Award for international reportage.

The Killing Fields: Harvest of Women, released last year in English, contains extensive updated material. In 1998, Ms. Washington Valdez was chosen to participate in the North American Journalism Exchange Program, selecting Mexico as her host country. She has collaborated on various projects related to U.S.-Mexico border topics for publications and documentaries in the United States, England, Poland, Austria, Mexico, Canada and Germany. Over the years, she has received numerous other journalism awards and recognitions. She has a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in political science from the University of Texas at El Paso. She teaches political science at El Paso Community College. She is a member of Investigative Reporters & Editors, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She is a U.S. military veteran who held a top secret clearance while in the service.

http://www.harvestofwomen.com/

http://www.dianawashingtonvaldez.blogspot.com/