Karen Jaime at the International Latino Book Awards
Performance Studies Alum Karen Jaime's (M.A. '03, Ph.D. '13) book The Queer Nuyorican: Racialized Sexualities and Aesthetics in Loisaida (NYU Press, Performance and American Cultures Series, 2021) was awarded a Silver Medal in The Victor Villaseñor Best Latino Focused Book category at the 24th Annual International Latino Book Awards held on Aug 19-20 in Los Angeles, CA.
Jaime is an Assistant Professor of Performing and Media Arts and Latina/o Studies at Cornell University. Jaime’s research hinges on a broad theoretical inquiry into the rendering and consequential function of race, gender, and sexuality in performance, specifically as performance relates to Latinidad. Her examination of queer Latinx cultural productions is what animates the theoretical work of _The Queer Nuyorican_, the first queer genealogy and critical study of the historical, political, and cultural conditions under which the term "Nuyorican" shifted from a raced/ethnic identity marker to "nuyorican," an aesthetic practice. In this book, Jaime highlights the role of queer and transgender artists of color at the famed Nuyorican Poets Cafe. As evidenced by _The Queer Nuyorican_, Jaime’s writing on Latinidad, queer of color critique, visual cultures, and minoritarian aesthetics is an interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary proposition underscoring her ongoing research and how—as both a scholar and an artist—she consistently aims to bring critical theory into conversation with performance practice. In addition to her critical writing and research, she is an accomplished spoken word/performance artist. She served as the host of the Friday Night Poetry Slam at the world-renowned Nuyorican Poets Cafe, participated in the spoken word documentary Spit! and was featured in the Emmy-award winning CUNY-TV program, Nueva York, a show focusing on the different aspects of Latina/o/x culture in New York City
Congratulations Karen!