Border Embodiment: Obedience, Resistance, and Coping Strategies among Transborder Commuters

Estefanía Castañeda Pérez

Thursday, November 13, 2025

12:30 PM-1:30 PM

KIPJ 249 or Zoom

Light lunch provided for in-person attendees!

The Mexico-U.S. border is frequently depicted as a site of conflict, bound by asymmetric power structures and escalating state violence. Enduring direct and vicarious cycles of repression and tragedy has been a reality for racialized and migrant communities in the U.S. and transnationally. This Women PeaceMakers Lunch Lecture will center the unique experiences of transborder commuters as they navigate multiple forms of policing and surveillance at land ports of entry. Estefanía Castañeda Pérez will discuss patterns of intergenerational trauma among transborder families, the culture of obedience to authority at land ports of entry, and the subtle ways transborder commuters resist and cope against systemic violence at the border. She will outline strategies for community care and policy recommendations to promote peace, equity, and justice in the borderlands.

University of San Diego students, faculty, and staff are invited to join us for this Women PeaceMakers lunch lecture!

Attending the event on Zoom? Use this link to join.

Contact the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice ipj@sandiego.edu if you have any questions or accessibility needs.

Estefanía Castañeda Pérez is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Southern California (USC). Her research investigates how Latinx communities experience the law through policing and surveillance systems, and the consequences of these experiences on their racialization, well-being, and legal consciousness. She has been active in advocating for migrant and transborder communities by providing expert training on the transborder experience at local and national academic and government agencies. She also developed a Community Action Project aimed at empowering Transfronteriza women through RISE San Diego’s Urban Leadership Fellowship.

Estefanía Castañeda Pérez is one of three Women PeaceMakers in residency at the University of San Diego this November. Please join us for additional lunch lectures with Women PeaceMakers Lilian Olivia Orero on Tuesday, November 18 (register here) and Noemy Molina on Wednesday, November 19 (register here).