Angie Chabram-Dernersesian
Encyclopedia
Professor Angie Chabram-Dernersesian is a Full Professor at the University of California, Davis
. She was reared by her mother and grew up in the San Gabriel Valley
(California
) along with three siblings. She attended St. Joseph’s elementary school and Bishop Amat Memorial High School
. Like her two older brothers, nephew and aunt, she attended UC Berkeley. After traveling to Spain
, Mexico
and Puerto Rico
as an undergraduate, she fulfilled a life-long dream and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish in 1976. Professor Chabram-Dernersesian received the departmental commendation for excellence in Spanish and was the keynote speaker for the Chicana/o
graduation. While at Berkeley, also helped to catalog the newspaper collection at The Chicana/o Studies Library.
Upon graduation, Professor Chabram-Dernersesian was admitted to the doctoral program of the Literature Department at the University of California at San Diego. Under the direction of Professor Rosaura Sánchez she pursued doctoral studies in the fields of Chicana/o
, Mexican, and Latin American literature
. As a graduate student Professor Chabram-Dernersesian also developed a keen interest in Chicana/o theory and criticism. She published seminal articles in this field after accepting a tenure-track position at the University of California at Davis in the Fall of 1984.
At UC Davis Professor Chabram-Dernersesian worked with students in the Spanish for Native Speakers Program and developed the Chicana/o Literature Series which emphasizes poetry
, theater, and the novel
. She also worked to develop the Chicana/o Studies Program, both in terms of its curriculum
and faculty
, and was instrumental in its acquisition of departmental status. As an Assistant Professor Chabram-Dernersesian was awarded a post-doctoral fellow
ship at the Institute of American Cultures/The Chicana/o Research Center. As a result of this fellowship and the collaborations it facilitated, her interest turned to cultural studies
and she edited a special issue of the journal, Cultural Studies, (1990) in conjunction with Professor Rosa Linda Fregoso. She also published an entry for the book, Cultural Studies, edited by Lawrence Grossberg
, Cary Nelson
, and Paula Treichler (2002), as well as a number of other articles.
Her interest in cultural studies became central to a new research agenda which now focused on cultural representations of gender, identity, Chicana/o studies, race, ethnography
, and multiculturalism
. In 1999 Professor Chabram-Dernersesian edited a second special issue of Cultural Studies and was subsequently invited to participate in the special tribute to Stuart Hall
, Without Guarantees (2000). In 2006 Professor Chabram-Dernersesian edited The Chicana/o Cultural Studies Reader (Routledge), which introduces readers to the contentious dialogues and alternative legacies of (Chicana/o) cultural studies with various critical entries. In 2007 she published what can be seen as a companion text: The Chicana/o Cultural Studies Forum (New York University Press). This Forum, which is the result of a number of interviews obtained and edited by Chabram-Dernersesian, includes lengthy introductions on the topic and a spoken intellectual history
of the practices of Chicana/o cultural studies in our worlds. In addition, this edited book incorporates a valuable comparative context
with the inclusion of interventions of practitioners from Black, American, Latina/o, Asian American, and Mexican cultural studies.
In 2008 Professor Chabram-Dernersesian turned her attention to cultural narrative and edited Speaking from the Body: Latinas on Health and Culture (University of Arizona Press
) in collaboration with Adela de la Torre. This book argues that Latinas
“experience illness
within a narrative, or story, that gives meaning to what they are feeling, moment to moment” (Donald, 1998). Speaking from the Body also includes the stories of Latinas living with hypertension
, breast cancer
, obesity
, diabetes, depression, osteoarthritis
, rheumatoid arthritis
, dementia
, Parkinson’s
, lupus
, and hyper
/hypothyroidism
. In recognition of the importance of her work, Professor Chabram-Dernersesian was selected for the Davis Humanities Institute Seminar on Health, Medicine, and Culture in a Globalizing World.
Professor Angie Chabram-Dernersesian’s current research and teaching are firmly located in Chicana/o (feminist
) cultural studies, a critical intervention which she views as including representations of the body, community, health, and illness. Generally speaking, she is interested in promoting transnational/ global cultural studies networks and collaborative work teams that provide critical literacy
for marginalized and subaltern communities that have not had access to higher learning and are underrepresented within the primary of circuits of cultural production.
At the University of California at Davis Professor Chabram-Dernersesian focuses her attention on mentoring undergraduate as well as graduate students. She has consistently participated in the Murals Program, the Graduate Group of Cultural Studies, and the Designated Emphasis in Feminist Theory and Research. She hopes to collaborate with scholars and students alike to create a state of the arts curriculum
that creates bridges instead of borders and challenges students to pursue education
as a form of social inquiry and change. Her work as a Professor is inspired in the example of her mother who encouraged her children to work hard, do the best they could, and to go to high school
and college
—despite the odds. Her support ethic is credited to her sister whose consistent “presence” made it possible for her to seek a path of higher education
.
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
. She was reared by her mother and grew up in the San Gabriel Valley
San Gabriel Valley
The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, United States. It lies to the east of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and west of the Inland Empire. It derives its name from the San Gabriel River that flows...
(California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
) along with three siblings. She attended St. Joseph’s elementary school and Bishop Amat Memorial High School
Bishop Amat Memorial High School
Bishop Amat Memorial High School is a co-ed Catholic high school serving the San Gabriel Valley in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and was founded in 1957. The campus is located in La Puente, California, approximately 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in Los Angeles County...
. Like her two older brothers, nephew and aunt, she attended UC Berkeley. After traveling to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
as an undergraduate, she fulfilled a life-long dream and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish in 1976. Professor Chabram-Dernersesian received the departmental commendation for excellence in Spanish and was the keynote speaker for the Chicana/o
Chicano
The terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...
graduation. While at Berkeley, also helped to catalog the newspaper collection at The Chicana/o Studies Library.
Upon graduation, Professor Chabram-Dernersesian was admitted to the doctoral program of the Literature Department at the University of California at San Diego. Under the direction of Professor Rosaura Sánchez she pursued doctoral studies in the fields of Chicana/o
Chicano literature
Chicano literature is the literature written by Mexican Americans in the United States. Although its origins can be traced back to the sixteenth century, the bulk of Chicano literature dates from after 1848, when the USA annexed large parts of what had been Mexico in the wake of the...
, Mexican, and Latin American literature
Latin American literature
Latin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and indigenous languages of the Americas. It rose to particular prominence globally during the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the...
. As a graduate student Professor Chabram-Dernersesian also developed a keen interest in Chicana/o theory and criticism. She published seminal articles in this field after accepting a tenure-track position at the University of California at Davis in the Fall of 1984.
At UC Davis Professor Chabram-Dernersesian worked with students in the Spanish for Native Speakers Program and developed the Chicana/o Literature Series which emphasizes poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, theater, and the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
. She also worked to develop the Chicana/o Studies Program, both in terms of its curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
and faculty
Faculty (university)
A faculty is a division within a university comprising one subject area, or a number of related subject areas...
, and was instrumental in its acquisition of departmental status. As an Assistant Professor Chabram-Dernersesian was awarded a post-doctoral fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
ship at the Institute of American Cultures/The Chicana/o Research Center. As a result of this fellowship and the collaborations it facilitated, her interest turned to cultural studies
Cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
and she edited a special issue of the journal, Cultural Studies, (1990) in conjunction with Professor Rosa Linda Fregoso. She also published an entry for the book, Cultural Studies, edited by Lawrence Grossberg
Lawrence Grossberg
Lawrence Grossberg is an internationally renowned scholar of cultural studies and popular culture whose work focuses primarily on popular music and the politics of youth in the United States. He is also widely known for his research in the philosophy of communication and culture...
, Cary Nelson
Cary Nelson
Cary Nelson , professor of English and Jubilee Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is the current president of the American Association of University Professors and a prominent scholar-activist....
, and Paula Treichler (2002), as well as a number of other articles.
Her interest in cultural studies became central to a new research agenda which now focused on cultural representations of gender, identity, Chicana/o studies, race, ethnography
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
, and multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
. In 1999 Professor Chabram-Dernersesian edited a second special issue of Cultural Studies and was subsequently invited to participate in the special tribute to Stuart Hall
Stuart Hall (cultural theorist)
Stuart Hall is a cultural theorist and sociologist who has lived and worked in the United Kingdom since 1951. Hall, along with Richard Hoggart and Raymond Williams, was one of the founding figures of the school of thought that is now known as British Cultural Studies or The Birmingham School of...
, Without Guarantees (2000). In 2006 Professor Chabram-Dernersesian edited The Chicana/o Cultural Studies Reader (Routledge), which introduces readers to the contentious dialogues and alternative legacies of (Chicana/o) cultural studies with various critical entries. In 2007 she published what can be seen as a companion text: The Chicana/o Cultural Studies Forum (New York University Press). This Forum, which is the result of a number of interviews obtained and edited by Chabram-Dernersesian, includes lengthy introductions on the topic and a spoken intellectual history
Intellectual history
Note: this article concerns the discipline of intellectual history, and not its object, the whole span of human thought since the invention of writing. For clarifications about the latter topic, please consult the writings of the intellectual historians listed here and entries on individual...
of the practices of Chicana/o cultural studies in our worlds. In addition, this edited book incorporates a valuable comparative context
Comparative contextual analysis
Comparative Contextual Analysis is a methodology for comparative research where contextual interrogation precedes any analysis of similarity and difference. It is a thematic process directed and designed to explore relationships of agency rather than institutional or structural frameworks. See...
with the inclusion of interventions of practitioners from Black, American, Latina/o, Asian American, and Mexican cultural studies.
In 2008 Professor Chabram-Dernersesian turned her attention to cultural narrative and edited Speaking from the Body: Latinas on Health and Culture (University of Arizona Press
University of Arizona Press
The University of Arizona Press, a publishing house founded in 1959 as a department of the University of Arizona, is a nonprofit publisher of scholarly and regional books...
) in collaboration with Adela de la Torre. This book argues that Latinas
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
“experience illness
Illness
Illness is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered another word for disease. Others maintain that fine distinctions exist...
within a narrative, or story, that gives meaning to what they are feeling, moment to moment” (Donald, 1998). Speaking from the Body also includes the stories of Latinas living with hypertension
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
, breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
, obesity
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
, diabetes, depression, osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis also known as degenerative arthritis or degenerative joint disease, is a group of mechanical abnormalities involving degradation of joints, including articular cartilage and subchondral bone. Symptoms may include joint pain, tenderness, stiffness, locking, and sometimes an effusion...
, rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks synovial joints. The process produces an inflammatory response of the synovium secondary to hyperplasia of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development...
, dementia
Dementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
, Parkinson’s
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
, lupus
Lupus
Lupus most commonly refers to the disease systemic lupus erythematosus.Lupus may also refer to:-Medicine:* Lupus erythematosus, a chronic autoimmune disease with several different forms...
, and hyper
Hyperthyroidism
Hyperthyroidism is the term for overactive tissue within the thyroid gland causing an overproduction of thyroid hormones . Hyperthyroidism is thus a cause of thyrotoxicosis, the clinical condition of increased thyroid hormones in the blood. Hyperthyroidism and thyrotoxicosis are not synonymous...
/hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland does not make enough thyroid hormone.Iodine deficiency is the most common cause of hypothyroidism worldwide but it can be caused by other causes such as several conditions of the thyroid gland or, less commonly, the pituitary gland or...
. In recognition of the importance of her work, Professor Chabram-Dernersesian was selected for the Davis Humanities Institute Seminar on Health, Medicine, and Culture in a Globalizing World.
Professor Angie Chabram-Dernersesian’s current research and teaching are firmly located in Chicana/o (feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
) cultural studies, a critical intervention which she views as including representations of the body, community, health, and illness. Generally speaking, she is interested in promoting transnational/ global cultural studies networks and collaborative work teams that provide critical literacy
Critical literacy
Critical Literacy is an instructional approach, stemming from Marxist Critical pedagogy, that advocates the adoption of "critical" perspectives toward text. Critical literacy encourages readers to actively analyze texts and offers strategies for what proponents describe as uncovering underlying...
for marginalized and subaltern communities that have not had access to higher learning and are underrepresented within the primary of circuits of cultural production.
At the University of California at Davis Professor Chabram-Dernersesian focuses her attention on mentoring undergraduate as well as graduate students. She has consistently participated in the Murals Program, the Graduate Group of Cultural Studies, and the Designated Emphasis in Feminist Theory and Research. She hopes to collaborate with scholars and students alike to create a state of the arts curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
that creates bridges instead of borders and challenges students to pursue education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
as a form of social inquiry and change. Her work as a Professor is inspired in the example of her mother who encouraged her children to work hard, do the best they could, and to go to high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
—despite the odds. Her support ethic is credited to her sister whose consistent “presence” made it possible for her to seek a path of higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
.
Publications
- 2008 Speaking from the Body: Latinas on Health and Culture]http://www.amazon.com/dp/0816526648
- 2007 The Chicana/o Cultural Studies Forum: Critical and Ethnographic Practiceshttp://www.amazon.com/dp/0814716326
- 2006 The Chicana/o Cultural Studies Readerhttp://www.amazon.com/dp/0415235162
- 1999 Cultural Studies: Chicana/o Latina/o : Transnational and Transdisciplinary Movements (Cultural Studies Journal: Theorizing Politics, Politicizing Theory) special issuehttp://www.amazon.com/dp/0415197961
- 1990 Chicano Cultural Representations: Reframing Alternative Critical Discourse (Cultural Studies Journal) special issuehttp://www.amazon.com/dp/0415052777