González, Victoria 1969-

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GONZÁLEZ, Victoria 1969-

PERSONAL:

Born 1969. Education: Doctoral study at Indiana University (Latin American studies).

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of History, Ballantine 742, Indiana University, 1020 East Kirkwood, Bloomington, IN 47405-7103. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Pennsylvania State University Press, 820 North University Drive, University Support Building 1, Suite C, University Park, PA 16802.

CAREER:

Editor and scholar.

WRITINGS:

(Editor with Karen Kampwirth) Radical Women in Latin America: Left and Right, Pennsylvania State University (University Park, PA), 2001.

SIDELIGHTS:

By age twenty-four, Victoria González had spent nearly half her life growing up in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. Then, in 1993, she read an article by Indiana University professor Jeff Gould based on a study of her homeland. On the Indiana University Web site she recalled that the article "radically changed my life … and Professor Gould's controversial argument about Nicaraguan identity and politics made me see Nicaraguan history and my own family's history in a brand in new light." González eventually enrolled at Indiana University to study with Gould and went on to coedit, with Karen Kampwirth, a collection of essays titled Radical Women in Latin America: Left and Right.

Composed of original scholarly essays from experts in such disciplines as history, political science, and anthropology, Radical Women in Latin America looks at actions of radical women from the both the left and right sides of the political spectrum in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala. González also contributed a chapter to the book, writing about women who supported the National Liberal Party of the right-wing Somoza regime in Nicaragua. Other chapters focus on such issues as attempts by women in El Salvador to form coalitions for women's rights, women's efforts in guerrilla movements, and how women in Chile from the left and right formed nonpartisanship relationships battling either for or against the Pinochet regime. Writing in Political Science Quarterly, Mala Htun noted that "the book helps us understand the relationship between women's mobilization and feminism." The reviewer went on to note that "this rich collection inspires hope that other scholars will further explore the complexities of women's mobilization on all sides of the political spectrum." Patricia Richards, writing in Latin American Politics and Society, praised the editors for putting together a compendium that did not focus exclusively on women's efforts in left-wing movements, as is often the case. Richards also noted that the book "represents an important advance for those of us who study women in the region." Perspectives on Political Science contributor Steve Breyman commented, "It is commendable comparative scholarship, ranging extensively over both time and space while remaining firmly planted in the conflicts and controversies of the past forty years."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Latin American Politics and Society, summer, 2003, review of Radical Women in Latin America: Left and Right, p. 159.

Perspectives on Political Science, winter, 2002, Steve Breyman, review of Radical Women in Latin America, p. 53.

Political Science Quarterly, winter, 2002, Mala Htun, review of Radical Women in Latin America, p. 716.

Times Literary Supplement, September 21, 2001, review of Radical Women in Latin America, p. 31.

ONLINE

Indiana University Web site,http://www.indiana.edu/ (July 23, 2004), "Victoria González."*

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González, Victoria 1969-

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