The Center for Mexican American Studies Speaker Series, in collaboration with the Modern Languages Department at UTA, presents Zones of Encuentro: Latinx Language and Identities in Northern New Mexico with Lillian Gorman.

This talk explores the dynamic spaces and everyday interactions within mixed Latinx families in northern New Mexico. Specifically, Dr. Gorman discusses mixed Mexicano-Nuevomexicano families and how they navigate language practices, identity shaping, and beliefs about Spanish, English, and Spanglish. Gorman proposes new ways to think about Hispanic/Latinx heritage and “home” in the context of northern New Mexico. Gorman's book Zones of Encuentro takes an in-depth look at the cultural and linguistic interactions between two distinct Latina/o/x communities in the region: Nuevomexicanos (Hispanic people who trace their presence in the region to colonial times and whose families have historically spoken Traditional New Mexican Spanish, or TNMS) and first-generation Mexicano immigrants (who tend to speak Mexican Spanish).

Gorman is an associate professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Arizona. She is the Director of the Spanish as a Heritage Language Program and has over 20 years of experience teaching and leading Spanish heritage language programs. Gorman is a proud Chicana with deep roots in New Mexico. She graduated with her B.A. and M.A. from the University of New Mexico and was part of the first class of Ronald E. McNair Scholars at the University of New Mexico. She graduated with her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research interests focus on issues of language and identity within U.S. Latina/x/o communities and U.S. Latina/o/x popular culture. Dr. Gorman served as a University of Arizona HSI Fellow and the Scholar-in-Residence at the Center for Regional Studies at the University of New Mexico in 2020. She is also the recipient of the 2023 University of Arizona “Mentoring Future Scholars Award” from the Office of the Provost. The published author is contributing to the Latin/o Américas series with the Ohio State University Press and has published essays in various edited volumes, including Transnational Encounters and Bilingual Youth, with a forthcoming chapter in Chicana Roots and Routes in Arizona and Beyond that examines southern Arizona's critical language pedagogies and the legacy of Adalberto Guerrero.

This event is free and open to the public. UTA affiliates, RSVP at MAV Engage to aid in preparing and processing attendance. 

If you have any questions, requests for parking permits, or need special accommodations, please contact cmas@uta.edu or 817-272-2933.