Maria Elena Fernandez
Lecturer

Brief Biography

Born and raised in Los Angeles, María Elena Fernández is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. She has a B.A. in American Studies from Yale University and a M.A. in U.S. History from UCLA. She loves teaching Chicana/o/x Studies history, literature and art history courses and is passionate about the richness and complexities of Chicanx history and identities, especially indigenous, women and queer, from a feminist perspective. Some of her courses include collaborations with classes in UNAM in Mexico City. She is a featured historian in episodes 1 and 3 of the PBS doc-series American Historia.

She is also a poet, essayist and solo performer. She wrote and performed the solo show Confessions of a Cha Cha Feminist and she was the artistic director for the theatrical production of women's monologues Fire and Corazon performed at CSUN and Mexico City in 2025.

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