Margarita María Birriel Salcedo facts for kids

Margarita M. Birriel Salcedo, born on January 26, 1953, is a respected professor at the University of Granada in Spain. She is a leading expert in the history of women and women's studies, which is a field that looks at women's lives, experiences, and roles throughout history and in society.

Early Life and Education

Growing Up and School

Margarita María Birriel Salcedo was born in Madrid, Spain, on January 26, 1953. Her mother was Spanish, and her father was from Puerto Rico. As a child and young person, she often traveled across the Atlantic Ocean with her family. These trips helped shape her early education and gave her a broad, worldwide view.

She completed her first years of school in both Puerto Rico and Spain. She started high school in Almuñécar, a town in the Province of Granada, where her family settled. She finished her high school studies in Granada.

University Studies and Early Career

In 1976, Margarita graduated from the University of Granada with a degree in Philosophy and Literature, focusing on History. After finishing her studies and passing a special competition, she began teaching in the Department of Modern and American History in 1977.

In 1987, she earned her doctorate degree. Her research focused on how the land of Almuñécar was repopulated after the Moriscos (Muslims who had converted to Christianity) were expelled. This work was later published as a book.

During the time of the Franco dictatorship, Margarita was a student representative, speaking up for students' rights. Later, when Spain was becoming a democracy, she was a vice president and spokesperson for a neighborhood association. She also became a trade union representative for university workers, even joining a European committee for higher education trade unions.

Academic Career

Teaching and Research

Margarita Birriel received a scholarship to study further at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris. Since 1989, she has been a full professor of Modern History at the University of Granada. She also gained more training at universities in the United States and the United Kingdom.

She has taught special courses and doctoral classes as a visiting professor at many universities, both in Spain and other countries. These include the University of Oviedo, University of Helsinki, and universities in Argentina.

Promoting Women's Studies

Margarita was part of a group of teachers who helped create the University Association of Women's Studies (AUDEM). She was the president of this association from 1993 to 1996. AUDEM helped bring together the first research projects in women's studies from different fields.

She is also a member of the Spanish Association of Women's History (AEIHM). She has served on many scientific committees and advisory boards for important academic journals, including those focused on modern history and women's history.

Leading an Institute

Between 1996 and 2000, Margarita was the director of the Institute of Women's Studies at the University of Granada. This institute is now called the University Research Institute for Women and Gender Studies. During her time as director, she helped coordinate different ways of understanding gender research through history. She also helped move the institute to a new location and promoted its work internationally, especially in Europe and Latin America.

Today, Margarita is part of a research group focused on women's and gender studies. She teaches in the official doctoral program for Women's Studies at the University of Granada. She also teaches a course on feminist historiography (the study of how history is written from a feminist perspective) for a European master's degree program called Máster GEMMA in Women's and Gender Studies.

Selected Works

• "Building History: Studies on Juan Luis Castellano".
• "The Land of Almuñécar in the Time of Philip II: Expulsion of Moriscos and Repopulation".
• "The Repopulation of the Land of Almuñécar After the Expulsion of the Moriscos".
• "Women in History: Journeys Through the Province of Granada".
• "Gender and Domestic Space: The Rural House in the 18th Century".
• "Classifying the World: Costume Books in 16th Century Europe".
• "Women on the Border of Western Granada".
• "Denials, Sieges, and Violence".
• "About Clio: Feminist Perspectives".
• "Women of the Kingdom of Granada: History and Gender".