Exploring Identity in Spanish California

During the Spanish colonial period in California (then called Alta California), identities were challenged and overturned, and new ones were created. The rise and solidification of the Californio identity transformed the settler population and the region as a whole, while the lives and identities of indigenous peoples, those living both at the missions and beyond, underwent dramatic change. Gender, a seemingly rigid concept, found fluidity and flexibility on what was known as the frontier of "New Spain," despite the abuse of women (domestic and sexual) from soldiers and settlers alike. Indigenous women and Californianas played important roles in shaping colonial society.

Join us for presentations by authors Miroslava Chavez-Garcia (Negotiating Conquest: Gender and Power in California, 1770s to 1880s) and Lisbeth Haas (Saints and Citizens: Indigenous Histories of Colonial Missions and Mexican California) that will touch on the creation, reconstitution, and dismantling of identities during the Spanish colonial period. A Q&A and book signing will follow the presentation.