Guest Lecturer Pena to Present at A&M International Nov. 17

Guest lecturer and Laredo native Dr. Devon G. Pena will read from his recent book, " The Terror of the Machine: Technology, Work, Gender and Ecology on the US-Mexico Border" on Monday, Nov. 17 at noon in Texas A&M International University's Pellegrino Hall 101.

Dr. Pena, a former visiting instructor at A&M International, is now an Associate Professor of Sociology at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"The Terror of the Machine" explores the complex intersections of technology, class, gender and ecology in the transnational milieu of Mexico's maquiladoras along the US border. The 480-page book is published by CMAS Books, a part of the Hulbert Center for Southwestern Studies.

Utilizing survey research, oral history, discourse analysis and site ethnography, Pena delineates the "dialectics of domination and resistance in the maquilas." He offers a telling critique of labor-process theory well-grounded in his own extensive study of workplace maquiladora politics.

He places the maquila industry within the history of workplace organizations and examines border workplace and community struggles from the perspective of the women who work in the maquiladoras, often using their own narratives.

Pena received his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin. He also holds a BA and MA, also from UT-Austin. In addition to his position as associate professor, he directs the Rio Grande Bioregions Project of the Hulbert Center for Southwestern Studies.

CMAS Books, established by the Center in 1975, is a small press publishing titles in Mexican American Studies and is distributed by the University of Texas Press.

For additional information on the Pena lecture, please contact the Office of Public Affairs and Information Services at 326.2180.

University office hours are from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Affairs and Information Services at pais@tamiu.edu