President's Showcase
Arantza Caudillo Alvarez she/her
Supervising Professor: Joseph Hellweg and Christina Owens
As a third-year senior double-majoring in International Affairs and Human Rights, I have focused my academic journey on indigeneity, migration, and women’s rights in the Global South. My experience as a Mexican immigrant drives my commitment to advocating for the immigrant and refugee community through both professional roles and service work.
I am an Honors in the Major student, a Social Science Scholar, an HSF Scholar, and an Honors Legal Scholar. My internships with the International Rescue Committee and the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights have involved refugee resettlement and assisting with immigration applications. As president of 'After They Arrive,' I’ve led projects and events to support refugee and immigrant resettlement.
During research in Mexico, I also worked as a field instructor at PSYDEH, guiding initiatives that empower indigenous women. These experiences have deepened my dedication to amplifying marginalized voices and advocating for human rights.
Abstract
Indigenous Otomi, Tepehua, and Nahua women in the eastern mountain range of Hidalgo, Mexico, experience a reconfiguration of their roles in the private and public sphere that creates new forms of gender-based violence, including physical, financial, and verbal abuse, as a result of global socioeconomic shifts. As a response, women use their ancestral knowledge about embroidery, religious practices, and community organization to find agency and moments of freedom amidst poverty and neglect. Traditional forms of sustenance in the municipalities of Tenango de Doria, Huehuetla, San Bartolo Tutotepec, and Acaxochitlan face displacement by global economic development. Men in these communities feel compelled to migrate to urban areas within Mexico or the U.S. to keep up with the increasing living costs. Thus, women must take on a plethora of roles during their absence. The change in socioeconomic dynamics and the recontextualization of Indigenous ways of life exacerbated the challenges faced by these women. Yet, they resorted to developing intricate embroidered handicrafts that reached the national and international markets to sustain themselves and their families. This research relies on three months of participant observation, twenty-five semi-structured interviews, one focus group, and three informal interviews to explain the reconfiguring roles of Otomi, Tepehua, and Nahua women and their efforts at gaining agency through their work as artisans and religious practices.
Presentation Materials