A History of Bodies

Abstract

This chapter explores the development of pedagogical choices and historical practice via familial and professional mentorship. Rodríguez argues for the critical role of mentorship for the development of women in the historical profession. Naming her work “a history of the gaps,” she discusses widening the definition of historical actors as well as subjects of historical analysis. As an example, the chapter points to the continuum of women acting against racist violence, documenting, analyzing, and historicizing racist violence—against previously masculinist narratives. Demonstrating a “history of the gaps,” Rodríguez’s chapter concludes with the testimonies of Mexican and Mexican American women whose X marks confirmed anti-Mexican murders at the turn of the twentieth century.