Saavedra's book, Pasadena Before the Roses: Race, Identity, and Land Use in Southern California, 1771-1890, (University of Arizona, 2018) examines and details the social and cultural history of how Spanish, Mexican, American and Indigenous groups’ competing visions of land use affected the formation of racial and cultural identity in Pasadena, California, during this period. This work reconceptualizes how culturally subjective ideas about race, masculinity, and visions of optimal land use became tangible representations of political projects of conquest, expansion, and empire building.
Other publications include"Of Chicana Lesbian Terrorists and Lesberadas: Recuperating the Lesbian/Queer Roots of Chicana Feminism,1970-2000" (Feminist Formations, Summer 2022) examining the lesbi-queer roots of Chicana feminism, and an article titled "Speaking for Themeselves: Rancheras and Respectabilty in Mexican California, 1800-1850," (California History, Spring 2023) tracing the development of hegemonic ranchera femininty in nineteenth century Californio culture.
Her current research agenda reflects work on several projects including two full length book projects. The first, tentatively titled Living La Mala Vida: Transgressive Femininities and Defiant Women in California, 1790-1870 , a study that (re)defines femininity, gender, and sexuality within Mexican liberalism and concepts of political and social citizenship. The second, tentativley titled, Queer Turns; Locating the Lesbi/Queer Genealogy of Chicana Feminism, 1970-2020, examines lesbi-queer feminists' critical interventions and contributions in developing the foundational theories Chicana feminist thought and Chicana Studies.