CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Women and Gender Studies

Waleska Del Valle Solorzano is a PhD candidate in Latin American studies with minors in LGBT studies and media studies. Her interdisciplinary research examines how the desire for belonging and community-building manifests in Venezuela and its diaspora through art, cultural production, literature, and nightlife cultures. Her work spans art history, diaspora studies, queer of color critique, and Venezuelan studies, focusing on aesthetics, archival responsibilities, kinship, migration, and ontology. As part of her dissertation project, Solorzano is expanding the Venesporan Artists Project. This digital platform on CollectionBuilder serves as a directory of contemporary artists of Venezuelan descent living in Europe, North America, and South America. She developed the project with funding from the summer graduate fellowship in digital humanities and the Society for the Humanities. Prior to pursuing her PhD, she worked at the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs. Solorzano earned her BA and MA in philosophy from George Mason University, with a focus on ethics and public affairs, and a CERG in women and gender studies. Her work has been published in ASAP/Review, Chasqui, and Intervenxions.