Introduction to Chicana and Chicano Studies

Course overview: Introduction to Chicana and Chicano Studies.
Course duration: Sixteen weeks.
Importance of learning objectives: Pay close attention to learning objectives to draw out answers for essays and exams.
Recommendation: Print out the lecture and take notes to reduce study time and improve writing quality.
Learning Objectives:
- Demonstrate knowledge about Chicana and Chicano studies as a discipline.
- Identify and summarize important concepts in Chicana/o Studies.
- Apply a generational approach in the historical analysis of Chicana/o studies.

Definition: The study of Mexicans and Latinos in the United States.
Includes: Experiences of Mexicans and Latinos in American politics, economics, and society.
Focus: Anyone of Mexican heritage, regardless of citizenship.
Origin of "Mexican": From the word "mestizo," someone mixed with indigenous roots and European culture.
Latinos: Central Americans and people from Caribbean islands like Cuba and Puerto Rico.
Migration Patterns:
- Early 1900s: Earlier wave of Central American and Caribbean migration, but numbers remained low.
- 1970s and 1980s: Increased migration due to U.S. intervention in national politics of other countries through military campaigns and training, which destabilized Central America and normalized migration.
Depth of Study:
- Includes a 500-year-old history.
- Includes current events.

Living culture: Not static, rigid, or universal, but dynamic, didactic, and situational.

Rooted in 1519 and 1848:
- 1519: Spanish colonization of indigenous societies in Mexico, leading to the birth of Mestizo/Mestiza culture (mixing of Spanish troops with indigenous people).
- 1848: U.S. conquest of Mexico, taking 49% of its territory. This intertwines Mexicanness with Americanness.

Social Construct: Something that exists because of social interactions. Review and learn the concepts for this course by visiting the course glossary.

Definition (Marvin Rintala): A group of human beings who have undergone the same basic historical experiences during their formative years.
Elaboration (Mario T. Garcia):
- Distinct from biological generation.
- Determined by politics and ideology in response to particular historical experiences that accelerate social change.
- Emerges in reaction to history and to make history, producing significant social changes.
Key Aspects:
- Shaped by historical changes specific to a certain period.
- Triggers a particular political response by individuals coming of political age during this time.

Historical Context: Mexican American War and Manifest Destiny.
Characteristics:
- Prior to the war, they owned land and had property rights under the Mexican government.
- Treated as second-class citizens after the war, with many land rights denied in U.S. courts.
- Transition from owning the means of production to becoming wage earners as local officials and judges were replaced.
- Example: Selling 40% of land cheaply to pay for legal fees.

Historical Context: Industrial Revolution.
Migration:
- Roughly 40,000,000 immigrant settlers came to the US.
- One out of 20 immigrants were Mexican.
- Driven by US Recruiters/intercontinental railroad.
- Many Fleeing Mexican Revolution/Porfirio Diaz.
Employment: Low wage labor demands in fields, factories, mines, and railroad industry.
Characteristics:
- Political refugees, little education, spoke Spanish, and unfamiliar with the capitalist system.

Characteristics:
- Children of immigrants, born in the U.S. and growing up American.
- Bilingual, bicultural, civically engaged, and desired to assimilate.
- Treated as second-class citizens in schools and at work.
Historical Events:
- Mexican Repatriation: The U.S. deported up to 1,200,000 U.S. citizens of Mexican heritage in the early 1930s.
- Assimilation was made impossible because the dominant culture did not accept the Mexican American as American or culturally white like it did with the Irish.

Historical Context: Cultural renaissance in the 1960s.
Shift in Identity: Embracing indigenous heritage in addition to their white identity.
Key Figures & Groups: Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez, Corki Gonzales, Reyes Lopez T. Harina, Altruista, United Farm Workers, Teatro Campesino, and Royal Chicano Air Force.
Social Construction: Chicano/Chicana labels became a powerful self-identification that organized a generation.

Historical Context: Conservative era with neoliberalism as the primary mode of economic policy.
Census Term: The U.S. government created the term "Hispanic" for the 1980 census to track the number of Mexican Americans.

Influences: Mass media, technology, and on-demand economics.
Socioeconomic Status: Hasn't improved much since the Hispanic generation.
Demographics: The U.S. born Latino population booms, and so does Spanish-language media in the U.S.
Marginal Political Influence: Political influence remains marginal and individualized.

Increased Diversity: Babies born right now are more racially diverse than the rest of the national population.
Fertility Rates: Latinas/Chicanas have higher fertility rates compared to any racial group.
Forced Sterilization: Mexicanas, Chicanas, and Puerto Rican women have been continued targets for forced sterilization since the early 1940s.
Endurance: The existence of Chicanos and Latinas is a political, economic, and social reality that continues to endure time.

Importance of Studying History: If this culture ignores or is denied its own past, it is destined to repeat it at a greater scale.
Demographic Growth: In the 1980s, there were $14,600,000$ Latinos in the U.S. In 2012, there were $50,000,000$ . There will be over $100,000,000$ Latinos in the U.S. by 2040, according to the Census Bureau.
Proper Term Usage: Use terms appropriately and refer to definitions provided in lecture or readings.
Historical Framework: When discussing historical events, frame discussions within a historical framework, recognizing the generation under discussion.
Grading: Any discussion, assignment, or exam that fails to recognize the generation under discussion will be marked down.
Incorporating Class Concepts: Every student will be responsible for incorporating class concepts in class discussions and assignments; opinions must be supported by scholarly research and academic concepts.