A key figure in the creation of academic Border Studies and queer theory, Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa (1942-2004) was an internationally-acclaimed independent scholar, cultural theorist, creative writer, and social-justice activist who has made lasting contributions to numerous fields, including Chicanx studies, composition studies, feminism and feminist theory, literary studies, queer theory, and women’s & gender studies.

As the author of Borderlands/La Frontera: The NewMestiza, Anzaldúa played a major role in shaping contemporary Chicano/a and lesbian/queer identities. And as editor or co-editor of three multicultural anthologies, including This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, she has played an equally vital role in developing an inclusionary, multicultural feminist movement. Anzaldúa’s writings have been included in over 100 anthologies to date.

Anzaldúa was born in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas in 1942, the eldest child of Urbano and Amalia Anzaldúa. She received her B.A. from Pan American University, her M.A. from University of Texas, Austin, and her Ph.D. (awarded posthumously) from the University of California, Santa Cruz.