CCS 120A: Origins and Impact

CCS 120A: When, How, and Why?
When?

  • Impetus: Late 1960s.

  • First Offered: 1970.

How?

  • Legacy: Emerged from social struggle by students at SDSU during the 1960s, identifying as the "Chicano generation," participating in the Chicano Movement.

  • Generation Defined: A cohort born roughly in the same period, sharing similar experiences and outlooks.

  • Chicano Movement Origins: 1965.

  • Context (Samuel Huntington): Midpoint of a "decade of democratic renewal" in the U.S., characterized by:

    • Challenging established institutions.

    • Reaction against executive power, favoring Congress and state/local government.

    • Renewed commitment to equality.

    • Increased concern for minority and women's rights.

    • Upswing in citizen participation.

  • Vehicle for Renewal: Social movements.

  • Social Movement Defined: "A persistent and organized effort involving the mobilization of large numbers of people to work together to either bring about what they believe to be beneficial change or resist or reverse what they believe to be harmful social change."

  • Nature of Movement (Greenberg): Predominantly reform movements, not revolutionary movements.

    • Reform Movement: Calls for changes in behavior, culture, or policy, but does not replace social institutions (e.g., Civil Rights, Anti-war, Chicano Movement).

    • Revolutionary Movement: Aims for great structural change by replacing major social institutions (e.g., American Revolution).

  • Identity Movement: Chicano Movement also functioned as an identity movement, aiming to:

    • Spread understanding of domination mechanisms.

    • Destroy debilitating stereotypes.

    • Create a new identity of empowerment and pride for the oppressed group.

    • Developed among groups targeted by discrimination based on ascribed characteristics (e.g., race, nationality, gender).

  • Five Faces of Oppression (Iris M. Young): Groups subjected to violence, exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, and cultural imperialism.

  • **Chicano Generation (Who?):

    • Individuals of Mexican-origin, members of the generation born between 1944-1964.

    • Identified as "Chicanos" or "Chicanas."

    • Often enjoyed birthright citizenship (14th Amendment).

    • Shared experiences of oppression, treated "like foreigners," subjected to "de-Mexicanization," inferiority complex, language suppression, tracking into vocational courses.

  • Resistance: Manifested in the Chicano Student Movement (part of "el Movimiento"), spearheaded by youth with "biographical availability" (absence of constraints).

  • SDSU Participation: Through organizations like MAYA and Movimiento Estudantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA).

Why?

  • Purpose of CCS 120A: To develop and disseminate knowledge about why Chicanos in the U.S. were:

    • Second-class citizens (systematically discriminated against, denied benefits).

    • Powerless.

    • Experienced as outsiders, lacked representation and visibility.

  • Goal: Knowledge would enable social and political change.

Consequences of CCS and CCS 120A:

  • Democratization of Higher Education: Part of the "decade of democratic renewal."

  • Opportunities: Provided students to learn about the political role, history, contributions, and impact of the Mexican-origin population, now the "nation's largest minority."