Download or read book The American Challenge Reflections on the Integration of Mexicans in the United States of America written by Marvin Hanisch and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2013-03-12 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bachelor Thesis from the year 2012 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,7, University of Passau, course: American Studies; Cultural Studies, language: English, abstract: This paper examines in how far Mexican Americans can be culturally integrated into the US society. Therefore, the analysis of culture and the interaction between cultures are crucial steps towards understanding the process of integration. The main part applies these prior theoretical reflections to the historical and present integration of Mexicans in the United States in comparison to other minorities. Finally, Huntington’s provocative thesis, that the constant influx of Latinos is a menace to the nation’s integrity and cultural foundation will be discussed and refuted.
Download or read book Black Identities written by Mary C. WATERS and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of West Indian immigrants to the United States is generally considered to be a great success. Mary Waters, however, tells a very different story. She finds that the values that gain first-generation immigrants initial success--a willingness to work hard, a lack of attention to racism, a desire for education, an incentive to save--are undermined by the realities of life and race relations in the United States. Contrary to long-held beliefs, Waters finds, those who resist Americanization are most likely to succeed economically, especially in the second generation.
Download or read book The Distant Cousins Reflections about Mexican Americans written by Jerjes Izcoatl Ochoa and published by . This book was released on 2012-03-20 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For Mexicans, Mexican-Americans constitute a largely unknown entelechy, one that generates a mix of suspicion, expectations, fantasies, and even sentiments of betrayal that emerge, to a great extent, precisely from this lack of knowledge of the life and dynamics of Mexican-Americans in the U.S. Even less do Mexicans comprehend the processes of integration into U.S. society that Mexican-Americans undergo, or the struggles they must confront in order to maintain their important presence in America's complex polity.While this puzzle can be approached from several different angles, one especially important factor is that for decades the nationalist character of education in Mexico has impeded generations of Mexicans from perceiving the journey northwards by their paisanos in search of opportunities for a better life as a legitimate act. The long-held view of the U.S. as Mexico's historical enemy and tormentor that is still alive and well in the imaginary of many segments of Mexican society makes it difficult to achieve an objective understanding of the descendants of Mexican migrants living in that nation. Added to poor knowledge and prejudices among Mexicans is the apathetic attitude that many Mexican-Americans show with respect to events in Mexico. So absorbed are they in their own internal dynamics and, perhaps, even ashamed at times by the numerous negative references to Mexico that appear in the U.S. media, Mexican-Americans tend to focus on their lives in the United States, while conceiving of Mexico, if at all, as a simple identitary referent within their processes of assimilation. The deep roots of this mutual disinterest and apathy that contrast so starkly against the many elements that the two communities share should be a topic of great interest to social scientists in both countries. Encounters between Mexicans and the descendants of people of Mexican origin residing in the U.S. often occur in settings marked by conflicts that derive from competition for access to education and job opportunities. But similar confrontations, which can be explained in terms of economic sociology, seem to emerge also in the relation of Mexican-Americans with Mexico. Scholarly literature in Mexico contains little research on Mexican-Americans, and few theses or scientific articles have dealt directly, or even indirectly, with phenomena related to this sector of the population. Of course, academic research on migration and its effects and consequences in Mexico is abundant, but studies of communities of descendants of Mexican migrants in the U.S. are scarce. Moreover, only a handful of scholars in the U.S. have explored Mexico's place in the sentiments and perceptions of Mexican-Americans. This mutual lack of interest impedes the development of relations between the two groups, despite their potential for positive interaction in many spheres.It is in this context that Distant Cousins presents five chapters or, perhaps better, documented essays that examine several topics related to Mexican-Americans from a uniquely Mexican perspective. The book consists of a series of papers, articles and book chapters that the authors have brought together for the purpose of filling this void.It should be noted that Mexican-Americans will exert greater influence on the economic, political and social life of the U.S. and, in diverse ways, will continue to be a reference point for many other nations. An optimistic vision might hold that a positive perception of Mexico among Mexican-Americans would contribute greatly to improving the relationship between the two most heavily-populated countries in North America; entities that share both a common geographical space and many problems and obstacles, from environmental issues to the scourge of drug-trafficking. It is to be hoped that the affinities will outweigh the differences and contribute to building a more prosperous and secure North America. That is the ultimate objective of this book.
Download or read book ETHNIC REALITIES OF MEXICAN AMERICANS written by Martin Guevara Urbina and published by Charles C Thomas Publisher. This book was released on 2014-03-01 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The goal of this book is to examine the ethnic experience of the Mexican American community in the United States, from colonialism to twenty-first century globalization. The authors unearth evidence that reveals how historically white ideology, combined with science, law, and the American imagination, has been strategically used as a mechanism to intimidate, manipulate, oppress, control, dominate, and silence Mexican Americans, ethnic racial minorities, and poor whites. A theoretical and philosophical overview is presented, focusing on the repressive practice against Mexicans that resulted in violence, brutality, vigilantism, executions, and mass expulsions. The Mexican experience under “hooded” America is explored, including religion, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement. Local, state, and federal laws are documented, often in conflict with one another, including the Homeland Security program that continues to result in detentions and deportations. The authors examine the continuing argument of citizenship that has been used to legally exclude Mexican children from the educational system and thereby being characterized as not fit for the classroom nor entitled to an equitable education. Segregation and integration in the classroom is discussed, featuring examples of court cases. As documented throughout the book, American law is a constant reminder of the pervasive ideology of the historical racial supremacy, socially defined and enforced ethnic inferiority, and the rejection of positive social change, equality, and justice that continues to persist in the United States. The book is extensively referenced and is intended for professionals in the fields of sociology, history, ethnic studies, Mexican American (Chicano) studies, law and political science and also those concerned with sociolegal issues. Description Here
Download or read book Walls and Mirrors written by David G. Gutiérrez and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1995-03-27 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covering more than one hundred years of American history, Walls and Mirrors examines the ways that continuous immigration from Mexico transformed—and continues to shape—the political, social, and cultural life of the American Southwest. Taking a fresh approach to one of the most divisive political issues of our time, David Gutiérrez explores the ways that nearly a century of steady immigration from Mexico has shaped ethnic politics in California and Texas, the two largest U.S. border states. Drawing on an extensive body of primary and secondary sources, Gutiérrez focuses on the complex ways that their pattern of immigration influenced Mexican Americans' sense of social and cultural identity—and, as a consequence, their politics. He challenges the most cherished American myths about U.S. immigration policy, pointing out that, contrary to rhetoric about "alien invasions," U.S. government and regional business interests have actively recruited Mexican and other foreign workers for over a century, thus helping to establish and perpetuate the flow of immigrants into the United States. In addition, Gutiérrez offers a new interpretation of the debate over assimilation and multiculturalism in American society. Rejecting the notion of the melting pot, he explores the ways that ethnic Mexicans have resisted assimilation and fought to create a cultural space for themselves in distinctive ethnic communities throughout the southwestern United States.
Download or read book Generations of Exclusion written by Edward E. Telles and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2008-03-21 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Foreword by Joan W. Moore When boxes of original files from a 1965 survey of Mexican Americans were discovered behind a dusty bookshelf at UCLA, sociologists Edward Telles and Vilma Ortiz recognized a unique opportunity to examine how the Mexican American experience has evolved over the past four decades. Telles and Ortiz located and re-interviewed most of the original respondents and many of their children. Then, they combined the findings of both studies to construct a thirty-five year analysis of Mexican American integration into American society. Generations of Exclusion is the result of this extraordinary project. Generations of Exclusion measures Mexican American integration across a wide number of dimensions: education, English and Spanish language use, socioeconomic status, intermarriage, residential segregation, ethnic identity, and political participation. The study contains some encouraging findings, but many more that are troubling. Linguistically, Mexican Americans assimilate into mainstream America quite well—by the second generation, nearly all Mexican Americans achieve English proficiency. In many domains, however, the Mexican American story doesn't fit with traditional models of assimilation. The majority of fourth generation Mexican Americans continue to live in Hispanic neighborhoods, marry other Hispanics, and think of themselves as Mexican. And while Mexican Americans make financial strides from the first to the second generation, economic progress halts at the second generation, and poverty rates remain high for later generations. Similarly, educational attainment peaks among second generation children of immigrants, but declines for the third and fourth generations. Telles and Ortiz identify institutional barriers as a major source of Mexican American disadvantage. Chronic under-funding in school systems predominately serving Mexican Americans severely restrains progress. Persistent discrimination, punitive immigration policies, and reliance on cheap Mexican labor in the southwestern states all make integration more difficult. The authors call for providing Mexican American children with the educational opportunities that European immigrants in previous generations enjoyed. The Mexican American trajectory is distinct—but so is the extent to which this group has been excluded from the American mainstream. Most immigration literature today focuses either on the immediate impact of immigration or what is happening to the children of newcomers to this country. Generations of Exclusion shows what has happened to Mexican Americans over four decades. In opening this window onto the past and linking it to recent outcomes, Telles and Ortiz provide a troubling glimpse of what other new immigrant groups may experience in the future.
Download or read book Mexican origin People in the United States written by Oscar J‡quez Mart’nez and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of the United States in the twentieth century is inextricably entwined with that of people of Mexican origin. The twenty million Mexicans and Mexican Americans living in the U.S. today are predominantly a product of post-1900 growth, and their numbers give them an increasingly meaningful voice in the political process. Oscar Mart’nez here recounts the struggle of a people who have scraped and grappled to make a place for themselves in the American mainstream. Focusing on social, economic, and political change during the twentieth centuryÑparticularly in the American WestÑMart’nez provides a survey of long-term trends among Mexican Americans and shows that many of the difficult conditions they have experienced have changed decidedly for the better. Organized thematically, the book addresses population dynamics, immigration, interaction with the mainstream, assimilation into the labor force, and growth of the Mexican American middle class. Mart’nez then examines the various forms by which people of Mexican descent have expressed themselves politically: becoming involved in community organizations, participating as voters, and standing for elective office. Finally he summarizes salient historical points and offers reflections on issues of future significance. Where appropriate, he considers the unique circumstances that distinguish the experiences of Mexican Americans from those of other ethnic groups. By the year 2000, significant numbers of people of Mexican origin had penetrated the middle class and had achieved unprecedented levels of power and influence in American society; at the same time, many problems remain unsolved, and the masses face new challenges created by the increasingly globalized U.S. economy. This concise overview of Mexican-origin people puts these successes and challenges in perspective and defines their contribution to the shaping of modern America.
Download or read book Challenge to Reality written by United States. Advisory Committee on the Education of Spanish and Mexican Americans and published by . This book was released on 1973 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Walls and Mirrors written by David Gregory Gutiérrez and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covering more than one hundred years of American history, Walls and Mirrors examines the ways that continuous immigration from Mexico transformed--and continues to shape--the political, social, and cultural life of the American Southwest. Taking a fresh approach to one of the most divisive political issues of our time, David Gutirrez explores the ways that nearly a century of steady immigration from Mexico has shaped ethnic politics in California and Texas, the two largest U.S. border states. Drawing on an extensive body of primary and secondary sources, Gutirrez focuses on the complex ways that their pattern of immigration influenced Mexican Americans' sense of social and cultural identity--and, as a consequence, their politics. He challenges the most cherished American myths about U.S. immigration policy, pointing out that, contrary to rhetoric about "alien invasions," U.S. government and regional business interests have actively recruited Mexican and other foreign workers for over a century, thus helping to establish and perpetuate the flow of immigrants into the United States. In addition, Gutirrez offers a new interpretation of the debate over assimilation and multiculturalism in American society. Rejecting the notion of the melting pot, he explores the ways that ethnic Mexicans have resisted assimilation and fought to create a cultural space for themselves in distinctive ethnic communities throughout the southwestern United States. Covering more than one hundred years of American history, Walls and Mirrors examines the ways that continuous immigration from Mexico transformed--and continues to shape--the political, social, and cultural life of the American Southwest. Taking a fresh approach to one of the most divisive political issues of our time, David Gutirrez explores the ways that nearly a century of steady immigration from Mexico has shaped ethnic politics in California and Texas, the two largest U.S. border states. Drawing on an extensive body of primary and secondary sources, Gutirrez focuses on the complex ways that their pattern of immigration influenced Mexican Americans' sense of social and cultural identity--and, as a consequence, their politics. He challenges the most cherished American myths about U.S. immigration policy, pointing out that, contrary to rhetoric about "alien invasions," U.S. government and regional business interests have actively recruited Mexican and other foreign workers for over a century, thus helping to establish and perpetuate the flow of immigrants into the United States. In addition, Gutirrez offers a new interpretation of the debate over assimilation and multiculturalism in American society. Rejecting the notion of the melting pot, he explores the ways that ethnic Mexicans have resisted assimilation and fought to create a cultural space for themselves in distinctive ethnic communities throughout the southwestern United States.
Download or read book The Mexican Americans written by Alma M. García and published by Greenwood. This book was released on 2002 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An overview of the history and experiences of Mexican-Americans, covering the history of Mexico-U.S. relations and Mexican immigration, Mexican and Mexican-American culture, and such topics as changing gender relations, political identity, and naturalization policies.
Download or read book North to Aztl n written by Richard Griswold del Castillo and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this comprehensive survey, Richard Griswold del Castillo and Arnoldo De León explore the complex process of cultural and economic exchange between Mexican Americans, Mexican immigrants, and a racially and ethnically diverse North American society."--Jacket.
Download or read book Claiming Citizenship written by Anthony Quiroz and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Focusing on grassroots, author Anthony Quiroz shows how the experience of the Mexican American citizens of Victoria, who worked within the system, challenges common assumptions about the power of class to inform ideology and demonstrates that embracing ethnic identity does not always mean rejecting Americanism. Quiroz identifies Victoria as a community in which Mexican Americans did not engage in overt resistance, labor organization, demonstrations, or the rejection of capitalism, democracy, or Anglo culture and society. Victoria's Mexican Americans struggled for equal citizenship as the "loyal opposition," opposing exclusionary practices while embracing many of the values and practices of the dominant society."--Jacket.
Download or read book The White Tortilla written by David P. Diaz and published by . This book was released on 2004-08-01 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a book originally written for his children as a glimpse into their Latino heritage, David Diaza second-generation Mexican-Americanrecounts his life and the lessons of growing up in an ethnically rich neighborhood. Concurrently, he focuses on the dilemma of those he labels White Tortillas: Americans caught in a purgatory of ambivalence, unable to fit-in with either their native or the dominant cultures of their society.The brief vignettes chronicle Davids quest for success and acceptance and dispense his consejo (advice) to all who seek success in a diverse America. The lessons of the White Tortilla form a patchwork of life and love and illustrate a paradigm for successa strategy for adapting to the challenges of the modern world.The White Tortilla delivers sage wisdom to help us all "dream big dreams and achieve them."
Download or read book The Difficult Triangle written by H. Rodrigo Jauberth and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-07-11 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although relations with Central America dominated U.S. foreign policy with its southern neighbors during the 1980s, relations with Mexico will likely shape U.S. foreign policy in the next decade. This book examines the troubled nature of the triangular link between Mexico, Central America, and the United States in order to understand the implications of U.S. policy for peace and development in the Western Hemisphere. The book begins with an analysis of Mexico's foreign policy and its historical role in seeking diplomatic solutions to volatile situations in Central America. The authors then assess the probable impact on the region of increased economic integration, particularly the U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement, especially important in light of Mexico's enormous debt and immigration issues. Special attention is also given to diplomatic aspects of the relationship, with a focus on the process of negotiations to resolve conflicts in Central America. A lengthy epilogue offers critical commentary on key issues discussed in the text by such prominent figures as Jesse Jackson, Carlos Vilas, David Ibarra, and Guadalupe Gonzales.
Download or read book Communities in Action written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2017-04-27 with total page 583 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.
Download or read book Strangers No More written by Richard Alba and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2015-04-27 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An up-to-date and comparative look at immigration in Europe, the United States, and Canada Strangers No More is the first book to compare immigrant integration across key Western countries. Focusing on low-status newcomers and their children, it examines how they are making their way in four critical European countries—France, Germany, Great Britain, and the Netherlands—and, across the Atlantic, in the United States and Canada. This systematic, data-rich comparison reveals their progress and the barriers they face in an array of institutions—from labor markets and neighborhoods to educational and political systems—and considers the controversial questions of religion, race, identity, and intermarriage. Richard Alba and Nancy Foner shed new light on questions at the heart of concerns about immigration. They analyze why immigrant religion is a more significant divide in Western Europe than in the United States, where race is a more severe obstacle. They look at why, despite fears in Europe about the rise of immigrant ghettoes, residential segregation is much less of a problem for immigrant minorities there than in the United States. They explore why everywhere, growing economic inequality and the proliferation of precarious, low-wage jobs pose dilemmas for the second generation. They also evaluate perspectives often proposed to explain the success of immigrant integration in certain countries, including nationally specific models, the political economy, and the histories of Canada and the United States as settler societies. Strangers No More delves into issues of pivotal importance for the present and future of Western societies, where immigrants and their children form ever-larger shares of the population.
Download or read book Welcoming the Stranger Among Us written by Catholic Church. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and published by USCCB Publishing. This book was released on 2000 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designed for both ordained and lay ministers at the diocesan and parish levels, this document challenges us to prepare to receive newcomers with a genuine spirit of welcome.
