Daniel Santana

Dr. Daniel Santana serves as Assistant Professor of Mexican and Latin American History in the Department of History at California State University, Dominguez Hills, within the College of Arts and Humanities. His research centers on colonial constructs of Indigenous masculinities among Purépecha, Otomi, Matlatzinca, and Coca communities in Jalisco and Michoacán regions, critically examining how texts like the Relación de Michoacán established hypermasculine historical narratives.

Specializing in gender and Indigenous studies within colonial Latin America, Dr. Santana's scholarship reveals how Spanish chroniclers and Indigenous elites collaborated to produce androcentric accounts that erased women's roles while portraying pre-Hispanic societies as patriarchal. His current work analyzes the vilification of gender-transgressive Indigenous women in colonial discourse, contrasting these portrayals with evidence of feminine power in sixteenth-century legal documents. As an educator, he integrates intersectional frameworks into courses on queer histories, masculinities, and colonialism.

Dr. Santana's commitment to equitable pedagogy stems from his identity as a queer first-generation Chicano raised in Southeast Los Angeles communities and his ancestral connection to the Coca Indigenous community of Mezcala de la Asunción, Jalisco. He actively incorporates these perspectives to create inclusive learning environments that center marginalized histories for CSUDH's diverse student population.