Barbara Southard

Barbara Southard grew up in New York City, holds a PhD in history from the University of Hawaii, and has served as a professor of history, Chairperson of the History Department, and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at the Río Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico. She is the author of a book on Indian history, The Women’s Movement and Colonial Politics in Bengal, 1921–1936, and has published numerous articles in history journals. Barbara has also published short stories in literary journals, and she is the author of The Pinch of the Crab, a collection of ten stories set in Puerto Rico, exploring social conflicts of island life, mostly from the perspective of women and girls. Differing concepts of gender roles and conflicting political and social ideals are important themes. In Unruly Human Hearts, Barbara once again explores personal crises embedded in social conflict from the point of view of the woman involved, but in a different place and a different epoch. Barbara has also been active in raising funds for the Shonali Choudhury Fund of the Community Foundation of Puerto Rico, helping local community organizations working to protect women from domestic violence. She does this work in honor of her daughter, a public health professor who died of a brain tumor.