Biography
Marta López-Garza (Professor) holds a joint position in Gender & Women’s Studies and Chicana/o Studies Departments at California State University, Northridge. She co-facilitates the formerly incarcerated student organization, Revolutionary Scholars, and is co-founder of Civil Discourse & Social Change, a campus wide initiative combining education with avenues for community involvement and sustained activism. López-Garza is a community based researcher, whose most current research is on formerly incarcerated women, the subject of her documentary “When Will the Punishment End?” which can be viewed on https://www.whenwillpunishmentend.net/. This film follows the women in their journey from prison back to their communities, and their attempts to rebuild their lives and reunite with their families.
Recent publications include:
“Race Classification:The Question of Categorization and Claiming Indigeneity,” co-author Mary Pardo, U.S. Latino Issues (ed. Rodolfo Acuña);
“Formerly Incarcerated Women Speak Out,” Journal of Progressive Human Services";
“Exploring the Intersections between Scholarship and Activism: Our Journey from Community Concerns to Scholarly Work,” Co-authors, Yarma Velázquez Vargasand Mary Pardo, White Washing American Education: The New Culture Wars in Ethnic Studies (eds. Buenavista, Marin, Ratcliff, Sandoval);
“Formerly Incarcerated Women: Stories of Returning Home, to Family and Community,” Research Justice: Methodologies for Change (ed. Andrew Jolivette). Forthcoming:
“Bendición de Casa: Life and Spirit in Living Spaces,” in Prayers and Rituals from the Ancestors and Beyond: Chicana and Latina Spiritual Expressions(eds. Lara Medina, Martha Gonzales).