The Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College will host a free presentation from the Center’s 2019-2020 Doctoral Fellow, Cony Marquez, on Wednesday, October 16th at 5:30 pm in the Center’s Lyceum Room #120. Marquez will present on her doctoral dissertation, Voices of Women in the Mexican Army: 1936-2018.

Marquez’s research is based on several interviews of first generation female officers that document the transformation within the traditionally male Mexican military. Since 2007 women have been able to enter the Military Academy, Military Police, Air Force and the School of Superior Studies, broadening their access to higher ranks including the unprecedented option to become Secretary of Defense. Her dissertation also includes the role of army wives in their husband’s careers, particularly high ranking officers, through life stories and official sources.

Cony Marquez is the Center’s 2019-2020 doctoral fellow in Southwestern history. The fellowship is a collaborative effort between the Center, Fort Lewis College, and the graduate program in the history department at the University of Arizona. Marquez will spend the academic year in residence at the Center working on archival projects, in addition to teaching for the College’s department of history.

Maiia Concepcion Marquez Sandoval (Cony), is a Mexican born historian with a Master’s Degree in Art History from the National Autonomous University of Mexico – UNAM, and is currently a Ph. D candidate in history at the University of Arizona. Her academic interests are cultural history, ethnomusicology, art history, gender studies and Mexican military history.

The Center of Southwest Studies, now in its fifty-fifth year, provides an active program of free public lectures and events year-round at its museum, research library, and archives facility on the campus of Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. For more information, please contact the Center’s business office at 970-247-7456 or visit http://swcenter.fortlewis.edu