Although Mexican Americans comprise the United States' second largest minority group, most studies have provided only a historical perspective on Chicano issues. In contrast, Toward a Chicano Social Science presents an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Mexican Americans, incoporating race relations theory to analyze the sociohistorical conditions of Chicanos in contemporary society. A special feature of the book is its focus on Chicanos and gender roles within Chicano life, a topic often neglected in other texts. Written at the undergraduate level, Blea's text provides a thorough analysis of both theoretical and applied issues, which will aid students and professors of Chicano ethnic, and women's studies, sociology, and social work.

This is a multifaceted approach to understanding one of the nation's largest ethnic communities. Blea incorporates community social history, physical, psychological, and spiritual space. The book strives to teach the student how to do research in an ethnic community. It also describes what is already understood about those communities and defines the nature of the 25 year old discipline of Chicano studies. The use of the Chicana feminist perspective lends not only a gender role analysis, but also demonstrates the structure and function of the balance of personal and social control within the context of the community.

This revised, second edition of The Chicano Experience offers a new interpretation of the social, cultural, and economic forces that shape the situation of Chicanos today. For more than thirty years, and now in its ninth printing, Alfredo Mirandé’s The Chicano Experience has captivated readers with its groundbreaking analysis of Chicanos in the United States. Although its original context differs markedly from the current demographic landscape, it remains no less relevant today—Latinos have emerged as the largest minority population in the United States. With updated chapters revised in light of contemporary scholarship, this second edition speaks to the Chicano of today, in addition to puertoriqueños, Central Americans, and other groups who share common experiences of colonization, racialization, and, especially in the last decade, demonization. In this foundational text, Mirandé develops a comprehensive framework for Chicano sociology that, in attending closely to Chicano experience, aims to correct the biases and misconceptions that have prevailed in the field. He demonstrates how the conventional immigrant group model of society, with its focus on assimilation into mainstream American culture, does not apply to Chicanos. Supporting this constructive proposal are analyses of Chicano social history and culture, with chapters focusing on the economy, the border, law, education, family, gender and machismo, and religion. The book concludes with a case study of community attitudes toward the police in an urban barrio. In many ways, the first edition of The Chicano Experience anticipated the sensitivity to the experiences of the underrepresented in American culture. This second edition reaffirms the prescience of Mirandé’s work and makes it available to a new generation of students and scholars of Chicano and Latino studies, ethnic and race studies, sociology, and cultural studies.

Dubbed the "decade of the Hispanic," the 1980s was instead a period of retrenchment for Chicanas/os as they continued to confront many of the problems and issues of earlier years in the face of a more conservative political environment. Following a substantial increase in activism in the early 1990s, Chicana/o scholars are now prepared to take stock of the Chicano Movement's accomplishments and shortcomings--and the challenges it yet faces--on the eve of a new millennium. Chicanas/Chicanos at the Crossroads is a state-of-the-art assessment of the most significant developments in the conditions, fortunes, and experiences of Chicanas/os since the late seventies, with an emphasis on the years after 1980, which have thus far received little scholarly attention. Ten essays by leading Chicana and Chicano scholars on economic, social, educational, and political trends in Chicana/o life examine such issues as the rapid population growth of Chicanas/os and other Latinos; the ascendancy of Reaganomics and the turn to the right of American politics; the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment; the launching of new initiatives by the Mexican government toward the Chicano community; and the emergence of a new generation of political activists. The authors have been drawn from a broad array of disciplines, ranging from economics to women's studies, in order to offer a multidisciplinary perspective on Chicana/o developments in the contemporary era. The inclusion of authors from different regions of the United States and from divergent backgrounds enhances the broad perspective of the volume. The editors offer this anthology with the intent of providing timely and useful insights and stimulating reflection and scholarship on a diverse and complex population. A testament to three decades of intense social struggle, Chicanas/Chicanos at the Crossroads is ample evidence that the legacy of the Movimiento is alive and well. Contents Part One: Demographic and Economic Trends Among Chicanas/os 1. Demographic Trends in the Chicano Population: Policy Implications for the Twenty First Century, Susan Gonzalez-Baker 2. Mexican Immigration in the 1980s and Beyond: Implications for Chicanos/as, Leo R. Chavez and Rebecca Martinez 3. Chicanas/os in the Economy: Issues and Challenges Since 1970, Refugio Rochin and Adela de la Torre Part Two: Chicano Politics: Trajectories and Consequences 4. The Chicano Movement: Its Legacy for Politics and Policy, John A. Garcia 5. Chicano Organizational Politics and Strategies in the Era of Retrenchment, Isidro D. Ortiz 6. Return to Aztlan: Mexican Policy Design Toward Chicanos, Mar’a Rosa Garcia-Acevedo Part Three: Chicana/o Educational Struggles: Dimensions, Accomplishments and Challenges 7. Actors Not Victims: Chicanos in the Struggle for Educational Equality, Guadalupe San Miguel 8. Juncture in the Road: Chincano Studies Since El Plan de Santa Barbara, Ignacio Garcia Part Four: Gender Feminism and Chicanas/os: Developments and Perspectives 9. Gender and Its Discontinuities in Male/Female Domestic Relations: Mexicans in Cross Cultural Context, Adelaida R. Del Castillo 10. With Quill and Torch: A Chicana Perspective on the American Women's Movement and Feminist Theories, Beatr’z Pesquera and Denise A. Segura

In this study, Irene I. Blea describes the social situation of La Chicana, a minority female whose life is influenced by racism and sexism. Blea analyzes contemporary scholarship on race, class, and gender, scrutinizing the use of language and labels to examine how La Chicana is affected by these factors. The wide-ranging study explores the history of Chicanas and the meaning of the term Chicana, and considers her socialization process, the consequences of deviating from gender roles, and the evolution of Hispanic women onto the national scene in politics, health, economics, education, religion, and criminal justice. To date, little attention has been paid to the political, social, and cultural achievements of La Chicana. The shared lives of Mexican-American women and men at home and inside and outside of the barrio are also investigated. This unique volume highlights the variables that effectively discriminate against women of color. Following a chapter that reviews the literature on Chicanas and focuses on their participation in three major social movements, the text discusses the conquest of Mexico and the blending of Aztec and Spanish cultures. Next, the life of colonial Hispanic women in Mexico and the United States and the role of the Mexican War in shaping the Mexican-American experience are investigated. The following three chapters explore how Americanization disempowered La Chicana; discuss the contemporary cultural roles of la mujer (woman) and their impact on men's roles; and consider the lives of older women. Chapter Seven looks at how some women are defining new roles for La Chicana. Current social issues are compared with and contrasted to those of the 1960s. The final chapters develop a theory of discrimination based on the academic work of racial and ethnic minority scholars and feminist scholars, exploring new directions in the study of Chicanas. This volume is valuable as an undergraduate or graduate text, and as a reference work, as well as a useful resource for social service providers.

Using her observations of the United Nation's Fourth World Women's Conference held in China in 1995 as a foundation, the author examines the history and current situation of Latinas and attempts to place them in a global context. After examining the goals, objectives, and atmosphere of the Conference, she analyzes the Chicana feminist movement and its legacy and how Chicanas have struggled to relate to the Conference and its human rights platform. She then profiles U.S. Latinas and presents data on their reality in today's world. The response to U.S. expansionist policies and the Americanization process is examined and related to the Chicana feminist movement and its legacy. An important synthesis for students and researchers in Ethnic and Race Relations and Women's Studies.