Margarita R. Ochoa

Associate Professor and Associate Chair of History

  • Los Angeles CA UNITED STATES

Department of History, Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts

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Biography

Dr. Ochoa is author and historian of Latin America. At Loyola Marymount University, she is a tenured Associate Professor of History and teaches courses on colonial and modern Latin American topics. Her research examines the intersections of identity (race, class, gender, and Indigeneity) with systems of power and the law in colonial and early national Mexico. She is co-editor of Cacicas: The Female Indigenous Leaders of Spanish America, 1492-1825 (OU Press, 2021) and City Indians in Spain's American Empire (Sussex, 2012). She has published several book chapters on gender and the history of emotions and is currently completing an article, “Indigenous Women in Colonial Latin America,” for Oxford Bibliographies in Latin American Studies. In addition, Dr. Ochoa is working on an oral history project, “The Inclusive History and Images Project,” a university-wide collaborative effort seeking to recover the silenced histories of LMU’s BIPOC communities. Dr. Ochoa also serves on the Board of Editors for Ethnohistory and the Advisory Board for the Atlantic Crossings series published by the University of Alabama Press.

Dr. Ochoa is a first generation Mexican American, proud daughter of Mexican immigrants, and the first in her family to go to university.

Education

University of New Mexico

Ph.D.

History

2011

University of New Mexico

M.A.

History; Minor in Political Science

University of California at Los Angeles

B.A.

History

Areas of Expertise

Colonial Latin American History
Women, Family, and the Law in Colonial Latin America
Race, racial mixture, racial classifications in colonial Latin America
Aztec Empire (aka Mexicas; aka Triple Alliance)
Law and Legal Culture
Nahuas and Nahuatl
Indigenous Histories
History of Mexico (colonial and modern)
Mexican Revolution of 1910
Cuban Revolution of 1959

Accomplishments

Best Collaborative Book Award

Winner: Cacicas: The Indigenous Women Leaders of Spanish America, 1492-1825.
Grupo de Estudios Sobre la Mujer en España y las Américas, 2022.

Affiliations

  • Editorial Board, Ethnohistory
  • Advisory Board, Atlantic Crossings Series, University of Alabama Press
  • American Historical Association
  • American Society for Ethnohistory
  • Rocky Mountain Council on Latin American Studies
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Languages

  • English
  • Spanish
  • Portuguese (advanced oral and written fluency)
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Media Appearances

Interview on New Books Network Podcast

New Books Network  online

2022-07-26

Podcast interview for Cacicas. Part of New Books Network series on new books in women's history.

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Book Presentation for Jornadas Virtuales de Historia de América

Jornadas Virtuales de Historia de América  online

2021-03-25

Invited presentation of Cacicas for the Jornadas Virtuales de Historia de América, a network of historians organized by the Universidad de Extremadura, Spain and the Universitat Jaume I, Spain.

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Interview with ESNE TV

ESNE TV  tv

2018-01-15

Live interview with ESNE TV to discuss the significance of Pope Francis' visit to Chile and Peru in January 2018.

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Research Grants

BCLA College Fellowship

Loyola Marymount University

Spring 2020

Courses

First Year Seminar: History of Race and Gender

First Year Seminar for incoming students to LMU focused on the history of race and gender in colonial Latin America.

Colonial Latin America

History of the Americas, from the zenith of Aztec influence to the dawn of Latin American independence. Topics include: Aztec and Inka empires; Indigenous language histories; race relations; women and gender; Trans-Atlantic slave trade; African diaspora; Asian trade; silver mining; Catholic Church; missions; Indigenous communities and uprisings; and Independence.

Modern Latin America

History of the Americas, from Independence to the present. Topics include: Independence; slavery and abolition; nation-building; US-Latin American relations; liberalism and modernization; neoliberalism and free trade; "the problem of the Indian"; race relations; women and gender; Cold War, state tyranny, and civil wars; the pink tide; organized crime and drug cartels; impunity; and displacement and emigration of populations.

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Articles

Illicit Relations in a Multi-Ethnic City: Emotions, Fidelity, and Economic Obligations in Colonial Mexico

Courtship, Marriage and Marriage Breakdown: Approaches from the History of Emotion

Margarita R. Ochoa

This article explores marriage, adultery, and emotions in colonial Mexico.

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'Por faltar a sus obligaciones': Matrimonio, género y autoridad entre la población indígena de la ciudad de México colonial, siglos XVIII y XIX.

Los indios y las ciudades de la Nueva España

This article explores marriage, gender, and power from the perspective of Mexico City's Indigenous populations in the late colonial era.

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