ABSTRACT
Espín asserts that all memory is memory of place, even when “place” may not be a physical space. She relates her relationship to geographies that are intertwined with her memories. A multiplicity of physical locations and historical contexts are present in the shifting maps of her memories and the development of her identity. Espín revisits her memories of Cuba, Spain, Panama, and Costa Rica, where she received a B.A. in Psychology while working full-time as a teacher in a girls’ high school and administering a residence for university women students. She describes her journeys as she finished her doctorate at the University of Florida, taught at McGill University in Montreal, and took a faculty position in Boston. There she taught for fifteen years while deepening her theoretical perspectives, which incorporate established theories and insights about cultural, political, and historical forces and a commitment to social justice and feminism. She believes that societal oppression causes psychological distress and has sought to transmit this understanding to her students as Latin American psychologists, feminist therapists, and critical psychologists. She has written about immigration and gender, particularly after coming to the Department of Women’s Studies at San Diego State University. She has also written about sexuality and identity of lesbian and heterosexual Latina women. She has paid attention to issues of language in therapy. Espín also discusses spirituality as an influence in her life.
