Forced by Circumstance gathers in one volume landmark essays by one of the most admired and revered intellectuals in Chicana/o, Latina/o, and Feminist Studies. Published between 1981 and 2019, the essays range in content from straightforward literary criticism to cultural studies and beyond to two “pláticas” chats with other scholars on a range of topics. Reading the various essays—from the early work on Mexican feminist writer Rosario Castellanos to the recent reflections on the carceral state and the political debacle that our contemporary situation presents—will offer readers not only a sense of the intellectual trajectory of one of our most important Chicana feminist thinkers but will also bring to a new generation of scholars and readers classic essays published in books and journals in the fields of Chicana/o Studies, Cultural Studies, Feminist Studies, and Literary Studies.