Dr. Deena J. González

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Biography: Dr. Deena J. González, Ph.D.

Professor of History – Gonzaga University

Dr. Deena González was born and raised in New Mexico (14th generation), González earned a bachelor’s degree in history / anthropology / liberal arts from New Mexico State University and both a master’s degree and doctorate in history from the University of California, Berkeley; she was the first Chicana to complete the doctoral program. She used her cultural background as the stepping-stone for her dissertation research, which became her first book (“Refusing the Favor,” Oxford University Press, 1999). She is a co-founder of the Native/Chicana academic organization, MALCS (Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social), a mentor to several scholars of the American West, and a passionate teacher-scholar, honed during her first academic position at Pomona College (1983-2001). González has published more than 50 journal articles, book chapters, and working papers, as well as the first and only book series exploring the lives, histories, and experiences of Mexican-origin women, “Chicana Matters,” (University of Texas Press). Many of these publications have been instrumental in co-establishing the fields of Chicana/o history, Latina/o studies and Chicana studies.