Anzaldúan Theory: Frameworks of Self-Love, Healing, and Transformation

Abstract

Approaches to the critical theory advanced by Chicana scholar Gloria Anzaldúa tend to focus primarily on the concept of borderlands or other concepts—such as El Mundo Zurdo, the Coatlicue State, mestiza consciousness, nepantla, and the path of conocimiento—in ways that disconnect them from one another. Understanding the connections between each concept threads together Anzaldúa’s scholarship on identity, reflexivity, and community. This project tracks the indigenous Mesoamerican influences in Anzaldúa’s theoretical paradigm, and through this indigenous Mesoamerican lens, the cyclical nature of Anzaldúa’s critical development emphasizes the relationship between her theoretical concepts. This project aims to contextualize Anzaldúa’s theoretical framework through Mesoamerican and Chicana/o/x histories; further, the project proposes that Anzaldúa’s framework functions as both praxis and analytic. The interpretation of Chicana/o/x literary texts highlight the analytical properties of Anzaldua’s framework. Additionally, film production strategies and Chicano mural making practices model the praxis of Anzaldúan theory. Ultimately, this project demonstrates how Anzaldúan theory offers ways to enact practices of self-reflection, cultivate community building efforts, and develop transformational epistemologies and ontologies.