About Us
Mission & Goals
Investing in Borderlands Communities
The Colectiva is deeply committed to amplifying and highlighting Chicanx, Latinx, and Indigenous artists, educators, activists, and scholars. Here are a few examples:
We commissioned a linocut print by South Texas borderland artist and educator Celeste De Luna of Metztli Press for the cover of the anthology.
We collaborated with Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say and the Guadalupe Latino Bookstore on events that promote the teaching of Latinx and Indigenous literature.
We’re proud to be Raíces Sponsors for Teatro Audaz San Antonio and are looking forward to an upcoming collaboration with them on a performance of Gregg Barrios’s I-DJ.
Making Works of Borderlands Shakespeare Accessible
The heart of our work is a three-volume collection of fourteen multilingual plays titled The Bard in the Borderlands: An Anthology of Shakespeare Appropriations en La Frontera. Published by ACMRS Press, this scholarly edition makes these works by Chicanx and Indigenous artists available to broad audiences, offering critical frameworks for understanding the rich tradition of Borderlands Shakespeare.
Bringing The Bard in the Borderlands to Classrooms
Since the first volume of The Bard in the Borderlands was published, we have led workshops for Humanities Texas and several colleges and universities in the region and beyond.
We have also collaborated with a San Antonio teacher to develop English and Spanish lesson plans, and we are excited to continue generating more pedagogical materials in the years ahead.
Nourishing Scholarship on Borderlands Shakespeare
We believe that one of the best ways to encourage the study of Borderlands Shakespeare is to nourish interdisciplinary communities of scholars.
We recently funded a cohort of early career fellows to develop projects on Shakespeare and Borderlands cultura. Our goal is to foster a thriving intellectual community and professional development opportunities that will support growth in the field.
People
Co-Founders
The three scholars at the helm of the project, Drs. Katherine Gillen, Adrianna M. Santos, and Kathryn Vomero Santos, each bring unique expertise and have been central to the development of the burgeoning subfield of Borderlands Shakespeare studies. They laid the groundwork for the Borderlands Shakespeare Colectiva in 2018 with the “Latinx Shakespeare: A Borderlands Drama Symposium.” In 2023, the Colectiva was awarded a $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation for their ongoing research on Shakespeare in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands.
Dr. Katherine Gillen is Professor of English at Texas A&M University–San Antonio. She studies issues of race, gender, colonialism, and economics in early modern drama. The author of Chaste Value: Economic Crisis, Female Chastity, and the Production of Social Difference on Shakespeare’s Stage (Edinburgh UP, 2017). She is currently working on a monograph tentatively titled Shakespeare’s Racial Classicism: Whiteness, Slavery, and Humanism.
Dr. Adrianna M. Santos, Associate Professor of English at Texas A&M University–San Antonio, has built her career on work that is deeply rooted in and accountable to Chicanx communities. Her book Cicatrix Poetics, Trauma and Healing in the Literary Borderlands: Beyond Survival (Palgrave 2024) examines Chicana survival narratives as a critical facet of social justice work. She has research expertise in cultural production, performance, and pedagogy.
Dr. Adrianna M. Santos, Associate Professor of English at Texas A&M University–San Antonio, has built her career on work that is deeply rooted in and accountable to Chicanx communities. Her book Cicatrix Poetics, Trauma and Healing in the Literary Borderlands: Beyond Survival (Palgrave 2024) examines Chicana survival narratives as a critical facet of social justice work. She has research expertise in cultural production, performance, and pedagogy.
Dr. Kathryn Vomero Santos is Assistant Professor of English and co-director of the Humanities Collective at Trinity University. She specializes in the study of translation, race, and colonialism in Shakespeare and his afterlives. She is currently completing a book titled Shakespeare in Tongues (Routledge), which situates Shakespeare’s legacy within conversations about multilingualism, assimilation, and resistance in U.S. imperial contexts.
Media and Events Manager
As a dedicated South Texas community organizer and proud recipient of the Emerging Leader Award, Ariana is driven by a profound commitment to positively impacting her community. As the founder of the Islander Feminists, Ariana left a lasting mark on campus, advocating for change and aiding in the fight for free period products. She boasts a stellar track record in social media management and communications. She has been a driving force in electing candidates nationwide and excels in crafting and implementing advocacy opportunities for young people. Ariana contributed to a historic budget win centering young people’s experiences and investing in reproductive healthcare.
Media and Events Manager
As a dedicated South Texas community organizer and proud recipient of the Emerging Leader Award, Ariana is driven by a profound commitment to positively impacting her community. As the founder of the Islander Feminists, Ariana left a lasting mark on campus, advocating for change and aiding in the fight for free period products. She boasts a stellar track record in social media management and communications. She has been a driving force in electing candidates nationwide and excels in crafting and implementing advocacy opportunities for young people. Ariana contributed to a historic budget win centering young people’s experiences and investing in reproductive healthcare.
Advisory Board
Norine R. and T. Frank Murchison Distinguished Professor of the Humanities, Trinity University
Associate Professor of English and Interim Director of the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Arizona State University
Assistant Professor of English, Baylor University