Lourdes Gutiérrez Nájera facts for kids
Lourdes Gutiérrez Nájera is an American cultural anthropologist. She studies different cultures and how people live. She is a professor at Fairhaven College, where she teaches about American cultures. Before this, she was a professor at Dartmouth College and Drake University.
Lourdes Gutiérrez Nájera is part of important groups like the Latin American Studies Association. Her research is published in books and journals. She studies how people from Latinx backgrounds move between countries. She also researches indigenous communities in the United States and Mexico. Her work often focuses on the area near the U.S.-Mexican border.
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Early Life and Education
Lourdes Gutiérrez Nájera started her college journey at Pasadena City College. She then moved to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). There, she earned her bachelor's degree in Latin American Studies.
Later, she went to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In 2007, she earned two degrees at once: a Ph.D. in Social Work and Anthropology. She also has a professional degree in Social Work. This degree focused on health policy and how to evaluate it.
Awards and Recognition
In 2009, Lourdes Gutiérrez Nájera received a special award. Her Ph.D. paper, called "Yalálag is No Longer Just Yalálag: Circulating Conflict and Contesting Community in a Zapotec Transnational Circuit," won first place. This award was given at the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education conference.
Understanding Her Research
Much of Lourdes Gutiérrez Nájera's research looks at how people move across countries. This is called transnational migration. She also studies what it means to be part of an indigenous group. Her main focus is on ideas like identity, conflict, and belonging.
What is "Hayandose"?
In her work, "Hayandose: Zapotec Migrant Expressions of Membership and Belonging," she studied Zapotec people. These are indigenous people from Oaxaca, Mexico. She looked at Zapotec migrants living in Los Angeles.
The word "Hayandose" comes from a phrase that means "not feeling at home." Zapotec people use this phrase to describe feeling out of place. It means they feel like they belong "neither here nor there."
Lourdes Gutiérrez Nájera uses "Hayandose" to explain how people create a sense of belonging. They do this through cultural events and practices. Even when they live far from their original home, they build a strong community. She explains that Zapotec people in Los Angeles create their own sense of belonging. They do this by taking part in cultural events. This helps them feel connected to their community.
Conflict and Migration
Lourdes Gutiérrez Nájera sees conflict as a process, not just a single event. She explains that migration and government actions play a role in conflicts. She wrote about this in her essay, "Transnational Migration, Conflict, and Divergent Ideologies of Progress."
She argues that conflict and migration are connected. They are part of bigger historical, economic, and political changes. These changes happen as people, ideas, and goods move around. Understanding migration this way helps social workers. It gives them a new way to help indigenous migrants.
Helping Children and Families
Lourdes Gutiérrez Nájera's work also helped social workers. Her research on "Latinos and Child Welfare" was very important. It helped people understand the special needs of children in the Latino community. Other experts have used her work to address these issues.
