Emiko Saldívar
I am a sociologist with a Ph.D. from the New School for Social Research. Topics of specialization: State and Racial Formation, Mestizaje, Race and Ethnic Relations, Indigenous, Afro-descendants and Mestizo population, Anti-Racism, Mexico and Latin America.
Overall my research concerns racial and inter-ethnic relations, and in particular, the role the state has played in the racial formation of contemporary Mexico and Latin America. The focus of my work is the historical and cultural analysis of state policies towards indigenous people, policies and programs promoting intercultural relations, multiculturalism and antiracism. Since 2010 I have done applied work in the field of antiracism. I helped found the Collective to Eliminate Racism in Mexico (COPERA), an organization that seeks to establish an observatory on racism and research collaborations between academia and activist, to promote and further the understanding and recognition of racist practices and the elaboration of an antiracist agenda in Mexico. I am also founding member of the Antiracist Action Research Network, RAIAR with members in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico and USA. This network is composed of scholars, NGOs and other social organizations that share an anti-racist agenda and are interested in fostering collaborative research between academia and activists.
Currently my research project: Racial Formations at the end of the multicultural turn: The case of Mexico explores the closure of Afro-indigenous rights mobilization in a context of pervading multiculturalism and changing forms of racism in Mexico. The project focuses on the contemporary conditions of indigenous and afro-descendant peoples, as they confront substantively new challenges rooted in ongoing social inequality, racial discrimination and limits to effective participation.
Email: saldivar@anth.ucsb.edu