Google honors Mexican-American scholar Gloria E. Anzaldua with doodle

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Have you peeped Google today? It's all about Gloria E. Anzaldua, a renowned cultural scholar.

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The search engine site, which sometimes uses its homepage to honor prominent figures, is highlighting the academic to celebrate what would have been her 75th birthday.

Born in Texas in 1942, Anzaldua was raised by a prominent family. As the descendant of many Spanish explorers and settlers who came to America in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, she spent much of her childhood on ranches where her parents were employed.

Early on, she developed a loved for the earth and used writing as a creative outlet to express her appreciation for the landscapes around her. The artist later made her way to Pan American University to snag her bachelor’s degree in English and art. But she didn’t stop there. She continued her education at the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a master’s degree in English and education.

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When she began traveling the country teaching migrants, she started to extensively explore her Mexican-American identities, penning her most famous piece entitled “Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza.” It was a semi-autobiographical collection of poems and prose that examined a variety of social groups including the LGBT and Latino communities.

The book was so influential that it was placed on the Literary Journal’s best books of 1987 list. As Anzaldua grew in popularity, so did her academic theories. She wrote on topics that crossed several disciplines such as Chicano, women and postcolonial studies.

She continued her work until she died from complications of diabetes in 2004 at the age of 64. At the time of her death, she was completing her dissertation for her doctorate degree in literature from the University of California at Santa Cruz. She was awarded her Ph.D one year later.

Anzaldua was also posthumously honored by other institutions. From awards, scholarships and anthologies, several organizations have paid tribute to the scholar for her contributions to academia. Now, Google is celebrating her. Check out the doodle archive to see Hernandez's animated doodle.

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