Hello everyone!  My name is Christian Durán and I will be your TA for this amazing course on Chicana/x Art and Artists taught by Professor Alma Lopez.  My preferred pronouns are he/him/his.  I am a fifth year PhD student in the Department of Chicana/o and Central American Studies here at UCLA.  My work focuses on transnational communities, deported childhood arrivals to the United States, in particular.  This work takes me to Mexico often as I attempt to understand the movement of people across borders through the creative ways they navigate return migration.  I am working on incorporating photography and film into my work and am carefully navigating the ethical concerns involved in photo-ethnographic work and documentary work.  

I am also an avid art collector, particularly Mexican folk art, and I am looking forward to learning alongside you about the many contributions of Chicana/x artists to the world of artistic expression and artistic resistance.  I am committed to your success in this course and am looking forward to speaking with all of you in class and during office hours.  See you soon.