Staff Writer Dominic Wiharso attended Columbia’s Institute of Latin American Studies’ book presentation and roundtable where global scholars engaged in a dialogue about the book, Feminist Anthropologies in Mexico: Epistemologies, Ethics, Practices, and Diverse Looks.

Feminist Anthropologies in Mexico: Epistemologies, Ethics, Practices, and Diverse Looks is a triumphant collaboration between anthropologists spanning borders, institutions, and socioeconomic backgrounds in order to showcase discourse pertaining to formative anthropological thought through the lens of Mexican feminism. During the 1980s, new approaches to anthropological research and forms of epistemological inquiry created a nexus of momentum that became the precursor for this book’s content. As part of a novel form of scholarship within the discipline, scholars included personal ethnographies, individual narratives, and reflections on their conversations within the book.

The event hosted by Columbia’s Institute of Latin American Studies invited several of the book’s authors and other important scholars to exchange their thoughts on the ideas generated by the book’s publishing. Among the many speakers included Lourdes Arizpe, a professor of anthropology at the UNAM & former chair of the UNRISD Board; Korinta Maldonado Goti, a professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Mary Goldsmith, a professor at the Metropolitan Autonomous University of Mexico; Suzanne Hanchett, a feminist anthropologist & founder of the International Women’s Anthropology Conference; Brigittine French, a professor of anthropology and Chair of Linguistics at Grinnell College; Marisa Ruiz Trejo, an ILAS Edmundo O’Gorman Fellow and professor at the UNACH Monserrat Salas; Nara Milanich, a professor of history at Barnard and the director of CeMeCA at Columbia University.

I found that the bilingual nature of the presentation engendered a robust discussion among the scholars, many of whom were fluent in both Spanish and English. For participants and panelists alike who were not familiar with both of the languages, they were encouraged to employ the translation feature on the Zoom meeting which would allow an interpreter to translate all of their conversations in real-time. While a seemingly ingenious idea to overcome the language barrier, the interpreter only translated the first 20 minutes of the presentation while the rest of the talk was left unmoderated. Unfortunately, my lackluster Spanish speaking skills could not keep up with the pace of the conversation. 

Despite these challenges, Dr. French delivered a rousing reflection of the intersection between language, affect, and the modes of thought presented in the book. As an anthropologist specializing in linguistics, Dr. French attested to the importance of the interpersonal discourse between these women and how it has formulated an important archive that can help lead the way in anthropological studies generally. Dr. French was particularly interested in the inclusion of indigenous Mexican women within the framework of scholarship, especially women who have been systemically exposed to higher rates of violence. In an attempt to distinguish the difference between women who chose to participate in sex work due to colonial and economic hardships with women who were forced into sex work through violent and coercive means, Dr. French was able to engage in intersectional dialogues born of a close reading of the text. Unfortunately, the rapport established by Dr. French was interjected and overpowered by the digressive comments made by Dr. Hanchett. Her commentary did not pertain to the book until the last minute of her speaking time in which she decided to criticize the author’s labeling of anthropology as a largely colonial framework that does little to support indigenous people, especially women. Her argument was that anthropology is defined by anthropologists thus it was their responsibility to undo this system.

Feminist Anthropologies in Mexico highlighted a refreshing form of scholarship in which affect and interpersonal bonds were at the core of the project, helping to frame the larger framework of the writing’s stance. Even though the event was riddled with technical difficulties and discordant dialogues, the overall impression of the event is that there was a lot of camaraderie and thought put into these discussions.

mexico via Max Pixel