The torrent of news has not slowed, and that means more opportunities to offer opinions to MSNBC's viewers, particularly those up at dawn on weekends! Over the past few months, have had the chance to be on the air with some terrific people on All in with Chris Hayes, The Last Word with Ali Velshi, and several times on Up with David Gura.
Events
The Book
- Order The Trouble with Unity from an independent bookseller or directly from Oxford University Press!
Over the past dozen years, much attention has been given to examining the growing political influence of Latinos in the United States in order to define the so-called "Latino vote." The existence of a coherent, pan-ethnic Latino political agenda is, as The Trouble with Unity shows, not only highly debatable but democratically unviable. Situated at the intersection of political theory and Latino studies, the book is a nuanced critique of civic Latinidad and the Latino electoral and protest politics that work to erase diversity and debate in favor of images of commonality. Cristina Beltrán looks at key moments in U.S. Latino political history through the lens of political, feminist, and cultural thought to provide a theoretically driven account of the many ways in which Latinos lay claim to the public realm. In its innovative approach to the realities of Latino protest politics, The Trouble with Unity advances both social-movement and democratic political theory.
03/13/2019
09/28/2018
Latinx: a generational debate
Happy to chat with Raul Reyes for his NBC article about Ed Morales's provocative work! “Latinx definitely carries a political connotation, just as the word ‘feminist’ likewise signals a kind of political awareness. Using Latinx is a signal that you’re a progressive ally. On the other hand, it is not a very Spanish term, which for some people is a bummer. It refuses to obey the gender rules of Spanish.”
07/09/2018
On Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
By unexpectedly unseating a longtime incumbent in a New York Democratic primary, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became an instant national figure, with politics-watchers speculating on the meaning of her victory, as a young working-class Latina identifying as a democratic socialist. Was pleased to be quoted in Ed Morales's June 29 Washington Post article exploring some of the intersectional issues Ocasio-Cortez raises.
01/04/2018
On Roy Moore, Donald Trump, and the dangers of refusing to accept election results
For a long, long time, I've been meaning to write more op-ed-length essays, and finally had time to condense a few thoughts into a piece that ran on NBC's new Think website, under the headline "Marginalizing minority voters is right-wing populism in a nutshell." Check it out!
04/03/2017
With Lawrence O'Donnell, on Steve King and racism
"We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies." Congressman Steve King isn't even concealing his white nationalism anymore, which makes it easy to talk about, and great to have the opportunity to discuss on MSNBC's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell on March 13. Was a quick segment, just four minutes, but managed to squeeze in a few points, and being on the air on a weeknight in prime time brought an unexpected (and welcome) flurry of new Twitter followers and website visits. Plus, I got to chat up Rachel Maddow in the makeup room before the show!
01/25/2017
"Solidarity politics"
At Columbia University, got to be on a provocative roundtable discussing "What Really Happened? Latinos and the 2016 Elections," convened by Frances Negrón-Muntaner. My remarks begin around 43:00 in.
01/22/2017
What really happened?
Looking forward to discussing the Latino vote and more at Columbia University on January 24 . . . and helping to figure out what did really happen.
01/19/2017
Chicago Humanities Festival: Discussing how demographics are not destiny
Honored to be invited to speak at the Chicago Humanities Festival (on the same day as Bonnie Honig and Trevor Noah!) on “Latino Power in Politics.” Just one small hitch: My talk was scheduled for November 12, which turned out to be just FOUR DAYS after #Trumpocalypse . . . demanding a somewhat different talk than I’d planned. Fortunately, I’d been thinking about white racial dominance, Latinos, and the GOP for some time. So despite having our worst fears realized, my colleague Amalia Pallares and I—along with our audience—were able to have a constructive conversation about the dangers ahead as well as our hopes for a more just and democratic future.
Here's the video:
10/04/2016
The Republican melodrama of loss
Like everyone else, I've spent way too much time this year reading and thinking and talking about Donald J. Trump, and trying to put him in societal and political context. So it's great to have the opportunity to speak on Trump, the Latino vote, and more. Thanks to Chip Turner for bringing me to Seattle!
04/27/2016
"It's Not Just About Black and White"
In March, I participated in a terrific panel at the CUNY Graduate Center, as part of the "Conversations on Race and Other Diversities" series, moderated by the legendary Johnnetta B. Cole and including Wade Davis, Vivian May, and Arun Venugopal. Some extremely smart and provocative insights.
Here's the video:
About Cristina
- Cristina Beltrán, Ph.D., works at the intersection of Latino politics and political theory. She is an associate professor in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University. From 2001 until 2011, she taught in the Political Science Department at Haverford College; in 2013-14, she was a resident member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J.
Her current research project (provisionally titled The Right Kind of Difference: Latino Republicans and the Pleasures of Race) is a book-length exploration of how Latino conservative thought is shaped not only by ideology but through a potent combination of emotion, expression, and aesthetics. Other projects include Uncertain Identities: Aesthetics, Affect, and the Shifting Politics of Race, a collection of essays, and editing a volume tentatively entitled Political Theory/Latino Politics: Appropriation and Innovation. Her work has appeared in Political Theory, the Du Bois Review, Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies, Political Research Quarterly, and various edited volumes.
Cristina and her husband, editor and writer Matthew Budman, live in New York City.