Speaking Face to Face

The first in-depth analysis of the radical feminist theory and coalitional praxis of scholar-activist María Lugones.
Speaking Face to Face provides an unprecedented, in-depth look at the feminist philosophy and practice of the renowned Argentinian-born scholar-activist María Lugones. Informed by her identification as “nondiasporic Latina” and US Woman of Color, as well as her long-term commitment to grassroots organizing in Chicana/o communities, Lugones’s work dovetails with, while remaining distinct from, that of other prominent transnational, decolonial, and women of color feminists. Her visionary philosophy motivates transformative modes of engaging cultural others, inviting us to create political intimacies rooted in a shared yearning for interdependence.
Bringing together scholars and activists across fields, this volume charts her profound impact in and beyond the academy for the past thirty years. In so doing, it exemplifies a new method of coalitional theorizing—traversing racial, ethnic, sexual, national, gendered, political, and disciplinary borders in order to cultivate learning, embrace heterogeneity, and provide a unique framework for engaging contemporary debates about identity, oppression, and activism. Across thirteen original contributions, authors address issues of intersectionality, colonial and decolonial subjectivities, the multiplicity and the coloniality of gender, indigenous spiritualities and cosmologies, pluralist and women of color feminisms, radical multiculturalism, popular education, and resistance to multiple oppressions. The book also includes a rare interview with María Lugones and an afterword by Paula Moya, ultimately offering both new critical resources for longstanding admirers of Lugones and a welcome introduction for newcomers to her groundbreaking work.
Pedro J. DiPietro is Assistant Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Syracuse University and an affiliate of Latino and Latin American Studies, Indigenous and Native American Studies, and LGBT Studies. Jennifer McWeeny is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She is the coeditor (with Ashby Butnor) of Asian and Feminist Philosophies in Dialogue: Liberating Traditions and editor-in-chief of Simone de Beauvoir Studies. Shireen Roshanravan is Associate Professor of American Ethnic Studies at Kansas State University. She is the coeditor (with Lynn Fujiwara) of Asian American Feminisms and Women of Color Politics.