DOCSLIB.ORG

Bridge Making Potential in Ana Castillo's So Far from God and the Guardians

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Bridge Making Potential in Ana Castillo's So Far from God and the Guardians Central Washington University ScholarWorks@CWU All Master's Theses Master's Theses Fall 2016 Illustrations of Nepantleras: Bridge Making Potential in Ana Castillo's So Far From God and The Guardians Amanda Patrick Central Washington University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd Part of the Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority Commons Recommended Citation Patrick, Amanda, "Illustrations of Nepantleras: Bridge Making Potential in Ana Castillo's So Far From God and The Guardians" (2016). All Master's Theses. 558. https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/558 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses at ScholarWorks@CWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@CWU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ILLUSTRATIONS OF NEPANTLERAS: BRIDGE MAKING POTENTIAL IN ANA CASTILLO’S SO FAR FROM GOD AND THE GUARDIANS A Thesis Presented to The Graduate Faculty Central Washington University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Literature by Amanda Patrick November 2016 CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY Graduate Studies We hereby approve the thesis of Amanda Patrick Candidate for the degree of Master of Arts APPROVED FOR THE GRADUATE FACULTY ______________ _________________________________________ Dr. Christine Sutphin, Committee Chair ______________ _________________________________________ Dr. Christopher Schedler ______________ _________________________________________ Dr. Laila Abdalla ______________ _________________________________________ Dean of Graduate Studies ii ABSTRACT ILLUSTRATIONS OF NEPANTLERAS: BRIDGE MAKING POTENTIAL IN ANA CASTILLO’S SO FAR FROM GOD AND THE GUARDIANS by Amanda Patrick November 2016 Chicana literature to date has extensively illustrated the process of identity construction—the development of mestiza consciousness—as the means through which Mexican American females may thwart the agents of oppressive patriarchal authority in their lives. While this highly theoretical and politicized literature has contributed greatly to discussions of identity, agency, and the subjective self, many Chicana authors and activists express concerns regarding the fate of the Chicana/o collective. Some consider the relationship between feminist Chicanas and their more traditional families and communities to be irreconcilable. Using the theories of Gloria Anzaldúa, I argue that the novels So Far from God and The Guardians by Ana Castillo address these concerns regarding the relationship between feminist Chicanas and other members of their home communities. Through unique representations of male characters, of Catholicism, and of socially/politically active Chicanas, these novels demonstrate the importance for inclusive methodologies that bridge across societally constructed divides, in order to create positive change for all. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to give my most sincere thanks and appreciation to Dr. Christine Sutphin who has contributed greatly to my scholarship of feminist and identity studies. As my committee chair, Dr. Sutphin has continuously supported me through this project with patience, providing attentive, thoughtful feedback and suggestions, and committing countless hours of her time to the overall shaping of this project. The theoretical, literary, critical, editorial, and inspirationally positive assistance she contributed to me and to my work cannot be overstated. I would also like to thank the other members of my committee, Dr. Laila Abdalla and Dr. Christopher Schedler for their thought-provoking counsel and overall assistance with my writing and argument formation. I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Abdalla specifically for helping me formulate an organized approach to this study. I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Schedler for sharing with me his own observations and expertise in the Chicana/o genre. I would also like to extend a note of appreciation to Dr. Liahna Armstrong, Dr. Paulus Pimomo, and Dr. Patsy Callaghan for their contributions to my scholarship and writing skills. Finally, I would like to thank Vicki Winegar for her endless assistance to myself and to the English department. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I SITUATING THE WORKS OF ANA CASTILLO ..................................... 1 II BRIDGING ACROSS GENDER DIVIDES .............................................. 33 III BRIDGING ACROSS POLITICAL AND SPIRITUAL DIVIDES ........... 63 IV BRIDGING ACROSS DISTANCE AND LOSS ..................................... 104 V THE BRIDGING TASKS REMAINING FOR OTHERS ....................... 130 WORKS CITED ....................................................................................... 136 v 1 CHAPTER I SITUATING THE WORKS OF ANA CASTILLO: THE HISTORY AND TRADITIONS OF THE CHICANA LITERARY CANON Ana Castillo’s novels So Far From God (So Far) and The Guardians contribute to a rich canon of literature by Mexican-American women known as Chicana literature. The word “Chicano,” a synonym for “Mexican-American,” is an identifying label that carries significant political nuance. If one utilizes the identity category “Chicano” or “Chicana” to describe him or herself, there is an implicit understanding that this individual takes pride in his or her heritage and is conscious of numerous sociopolitical and historical injustices that have been met by his or her people (Christie and Gonzalez 3). 1 Chicana literature, then, is a politicized genre known for vocalizing feminist, environmental, economic, and cultural concerns. In So Far and Guardians, Castillo contributes to the politics of the canon by adding her own critiques of hegemonic, misogynist society. Castillo’s tactics, however, are far from conventional as her novels contain unique narrative styles and frame new methods for addressing the concerns of Chicana feminism. So Far and Guardians develop narratively through the assemblage of diverse perspectives, and are distinctively composed of a blend of personas and their viewpoints that are both familiar to and divergent from the genre norm. In this paper, I argue that Castillo’s representation of males, of the spiritual beliefs of politicized females, and of the relationship between the individual female and her community, offer new methodologies for personal and societal change that are comprehensive, inclusive, and optimistic. In order to fully grasp the innovative qualities of these 1 I use Chicana/o to discuss the Mexican-American community, or a member of this community, without specifying gender. 2 novels and their contributions to the canon, this introduction provides a detailed examination of the historical and ideological development of Chicana feminist politics, describes the major theoretical contributions made by Chicana authors, and observes theoretical and methodological challenges that have emerged in recent years concerning Chicana activism. In addition, this introduction illustrates how the Chicana literary genre from the 1970s onwards has addressed the sociopolitical and theoretical concerns brought forth by Chicana feminism. By situating Castillo’s work within the context of this politicized literary canon, I elucidate her contributions to the activisms, theories, and methodologies of this genre. Though Chicana theory and literature did not fully emerge as its own distinct genre until the 1970s, it responds to and converses with a wide range of theories and literary works that came before its prime. In 1925, Mexican author José Vasconcelos wrote an important book entitled La Raza Cósmica in which he introduced his vision for the creation of a new world order. In opposition to the attitude of U.S. Anglo and European exceptionalism, and to the argument for the importance of racial purity, Vasconcelos draws attention to the vitality and potential of the mestizo race, the mixed race, of the inhabitants of Central and South America. He claims that in these former Iberian colonies, “we have all the races and all the aptitudes” (39). Due to their ancestral and cultural ties to pre-contact Native American civilizations, to European civilizations, and to many African civilizations, Vasconcelos argues that mestizo peoples are particularly capable of initiating a new era in which the identity categories traditionally used to differentiate humankind will become obsolete. As modernity and globalization assist in the migration and dispersion of mestizo people, he foresees continued intercultural and interracial mixing, the product of which will be the establishment of an entirely new race, the raza cosmica. The astoundingly diverse makings of this race will necessitate that it will “no longer be a race of 3 a single color or particular features” (20). Rather, with the biological contribution of all peoples of the world, he predicts: “What is going to emerge out there is the definitive race, the synthetical race, the integral race, made up of the genius and blood of all peoples and, for that reason, more capable of true brotherhood and a truly universal vision” (20). Speaking of Vasconcelos and his theory of the Cosmic Race, author, critic, and theorist Gloria Anzaldúa notes, “opposite to the theory of the pure Aryan, and to the policy of racial purity that white America practices, his theory is one of inclusivity” (Borderlands 99). As a society composed of such diversity, a diversity impossible to segregate or to stratify
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 'Re-Borderisation' in the South-Western Novels of Ana Castillo and Cormac Mccarthy
    Revista de Estudios Norteamericanos, nº 12 (2007), pp. 21-37 ‘RE-BORDERISATION’ IN THE SOUTH-WESTERN NOVELS OF ANA CASTILLO AND CORMAC MCCARTHY. PETER CARR Swansea University, UK Two novels of the US/Mexican borderlands published in the early 1990s achieved notable mainstream success and critical acclaim –So Far From God by Ana Castillo (first published in 1993) and All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (first published 1992). Here were two ostensibly very different South-Western novels which nevertheless managed to achieve a singular effect: in each case it was this novel that thrust an established, but limited-appeal, writer out of the gloom of academic readership and into the glare of mainstream literary celebrity. These texts, then, are crossover novels in two senses. They are of the margins in the sense that as novels of the borderlands they each deal with the interface of Mexican and Anglo cultures but they are also of the centre in that their multicultural narratives have been embraced by the mainstream. This paper argues two main points. The first is that the mainstream consumer-appeal of these novels –their successful commodification of multicultural images– actually relies upon the subtle repetition of myths of the borderlands in ways that that reinforce ethnic and cultural stereotypes. The second argument is that this process in the novels is part of a general mainstream ‘reborderization’ in the US in the early-to mid-1990s: a reactionary response to the perceived erosion of traditional concepts of national identity in an era dominated by post-modern trans- boundary forces exemplified by initiatives such as the North American Free Trade Agreement.
    [Show full text]
  • Women's Earth-Binding Consciousness in So Far From
    Label Me Latina/o Fall 2012 Volume II 1 Women’s Earth-Binding Consciousness in So Far from God By Rebeca Rosell Olmedo Intrinsically bound to the land of New Mexico, Chicana Ana Castillo‟s novel, So Far from God, emerges from the soil of our continent. Terms such as “anti-Cartesian” and “earth- binding” aptly describe the cosmology that governs the novel.1 The anti-Cartesian vision is expressed through an aesthetic device associated with Latin American magical realism, for as Gabriel García Márquez makes clear in his 1982 Nobel speech, the reality of this continent cannot be expressed through conventional, Eurocentric aesthetics. Instead of Western rationalism, Castillo‟s text expresses her characters‟ reality, one in which extraordinary events take place. The earth-binding consciousness of the women is depicted through their intimate relationship with nature, their spiritual practices, the use of Native-American myths and legends, and the explicit theme of environmental justice. The Intimate Relationship of the Women with Nature The novel‟s principal female characters (e.g., Loca, Sofi, Caridad, and Doña Felicia) relate to nature in a manner that is characteristic of Native American worldviews. Noël Sturgeon summarizes different ideological positions concerning the relationship between women and nature. Some critics believe that when patriarchy identifies women with nature, they‟re both “degraded” and perceived as “exploitable” (Sturgeon 263). Sturgeon clarifies: In a culture which is in many ways antinature, which constructs meanings using a 1 M. Jimmie Killingsworth and Jacqueline S. Palmer quote Gloria Anzaldúa‟s Borderlands/La frontera: “Let‟s all stop importing Greek myths and the Western Cartesian split … and root ourselves in the mythological soil and soul of this continent” (Killingsworth/Palmer Zamora 206).
    [Show full text]
  • Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, and the Images of Their Movements
    MIXED UP IN THE MAKING: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., CESAR CHAVEZ, AND THE IMAGES OF THEIR MOVEMENTS A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School University of Missouri-Columbia In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by ANDREA SHAN JOHNSON Dr. Robert Weems, Jr., Dissertation Supervisor MAY 2006 © Copyright by Andrea Shan Johnson 2006 All Rights Reserved The undersigned, appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled MIXED UP IN THE MAKING: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., CESAR CHAVEZ AND THE IMAGES OF THEIR MOVEMENTS Presented by Andrea Shan Johnson A candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of History And hereby certify that in their opinion it is worthy of acceptance. __________________________________________________________ Professor Robert Weems, Jr. __________________________________________________________ Professor Catherine Rymph __________________________________________________________ Professor Jeffery Pasley __________________________________________________________ Professor Abdullahi Ibrahim ___________________________________________________________ Professor Peggy Placier ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe thanks to many people for helping me in the completion of this dissertation. Thanks go first to my advisor, Dr. Robert Weems, Jr. of the History Department of the University of Missouri- Columbia, for his advice and guidance. I also owe thanks to the rest of my committee, Dr. Catherine Rymph, Dr. Jeff Pasley, Dr. Abdullahi Ibrahim, and Dr. Peggy Placier. Similarly, I am grateful for my Master’s thesis committee at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, Dr. Annie Gilbert Coleman, Dr. Nancy Robertson, and Dr. Michael Snodgrass, who suggested that I might undertake this project. I would also like to thank the staff at several institutions where I completed research.
    [Show full text]
  • [Thesis Title Page]
    MAKING SPACE, MAKING SOUL: RENOVATING SITES OF CHICANA ABJECTION IN PEEL MY LOVE LIKE AN ONION AND CARAMELO Shelley Noel Engstrom B.A., Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, 2006 THESIS Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in ENGLISH (Literature) at CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO SPRING 2012 MAKING SPACE, MAKING SOUL: RENOVATING SITES OF CHICANA ABJECTION IN PEEL MY LOVE LIKE AN ONION AND CARAMELO A Thesis by Shelley Noel Engstrom Approved by: __________________________________, Committee Chair Hellen Lee-Keller, Ph.D. __________________________________, Second Reader Chauncey Ridley, Ph.D. Date:_____________________________ ii Student: Shelley Noel Engstrom I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the thesis. __________________________, Graduate Coordinator ___________________ David Toise, Ph.D. Date Department of English iii Abstract of MAKING SPACE, MAKING SOUL: RENOVATING SITES OF CHICANA ABJECTION IN PEEL MY LOVE LIKE AN ONION AND CARAMELO by Shelley Noel Engstrom In response to white, patriarchal, elite, hetero-normative U.S. culture’s multiple marginalizations of Chicanas, some voices in contemporary Chicana literary criticism work toward creating an essentially Chicana body of criticism that excludes voices of dominant U.S. culture. While at the heart of this trend lies the desire for Chicana creativity to escape marginalization, this movement dismisses rather than confronts problems within dominant U.S. culture. But it appears that, as contemporary Chicana literature becomes increasingly accepted by and published within mainstream U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cambridge Companion to Postmodern American Fiction Edited by Paula Geyh Frontmatter More Information
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-10344-3 — The Cambridge Companion to Postmodern American Fiction Edited by Paula Geyh Frontmatter More Information the cambridge companion to postmodern american fiction Few previous periods in the history of American literature could rival the rich- ness of the postmodern era – the diversity of its authors, the complexity of its ideas and visions, and the multiplicity of its subjects and forms. This vol- ume offers an authoritative, comprehensive, and accessible guide to the Ameri- can iction of this remarkable period. It traces the development of postmodern American iction over the past half century and explores its key aesthetic, cul- tural, and political contexts. It examines its principal styles and genres, from the early experiments with metaiction to the most recent developments, such as the graphic novel and digital iction, and offers concise, compelling readings of many of its major works. An indispensable resource for students, scholars, and the gen- eral reader, the Companion both highlights the extraordinary achievements of postmodern American iction and provides illuminating critical frameworks for understanding it. paula geyh is Associate Professor of English at Yeshiva University. She is the author of Cities, Citizens, and Technologies: Urban Life and Postmodernity,and a coeditor, with Fred G. Leebron and Andrew Levy, of Postmodern American Fiction: A Norton Anthology. Her articles on postmodern literature and culture have appeared in such journals as Contemporary Literature, Twentieth-Century
    [Show full text]
  • A Never Ending Never Done Bibliography of Multicultural Literature for Younger and Older Children
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 407 388 SP 037 304 AUTHOR Walters, Toni S., Comp.; Cramer, Amy, Comp. TITLE A Never Ending Never Done Bibliography of Multicultural Literature for Younger and Older Children. First Edition. PUB DATE 96 NOTE 51p. PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) Reference Materials Bibliographies (131) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Adolescent Literature; Adolescents; *American Indian Literature; American Indians; Asian Americans; *Black Literature; Blacks; Children; Childrens Literature; Elementary Secondary Education; *Ethnic Groups; *Hispanic American Literature; Hispanic Americans; United States Literature IDENTIFIERS African Americans; *Asian American Literature; Latinos; *Multicultural Literature; Native Americans ABSTRACT People of all ages are addressed in this bibliography of multicultural literature. It focuses on four major ethnic groups: African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, and Native Americans. Within each category a distinction is made between those works with an authentic voice and those with a realistic voice. An authentic voice is an author or illustrator who is from the particular ethnic group and brings expertise and life experience to his/her writings or illustrations. A realistic voice is that of an author or illustrator whose work is from outside that experience, but with valuable observations. An asterisk notes the distinction. No distinction is drawn between juvenile literature and adult literature. The decision is left to the reader to make the choices, because some adult literature may contain selections appropriate to children. Two appendices provide: a selected annotated bibliography (14 entries) on multiethnic/multicultural literature references and analyses and sources of multiethnic/multicultural books.(SPM) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
    [Show full text]
  • VG Interview: Cherrie Moraga
    VG Interview: Cherrie Moraga Maria-Antónia Oliver-Rotger (M-A O-R): What have been your major dramatic influences? Cherrie Moraga (CM): My major influence has been the bilingual- ism and working-class theater of the Chicano Teatro movements, especially El Teatro Campesino. Also the poetic sensuality of Fed- erico García Lorca. The teachings of María Irene Fornes allowed me to enter playwriting as a poet, to find the story through image and character, i.e. an organic place of the heart, rather than through the progressive plot-line (action-driven) structure. I have been inspired by the technique of other playwrights: the language and structural inventiveness of African-American Suzan Lori Parks, the courage of the female characterization of the Puerto Rican playwright Migdalia Cruz. The storytelling en voz alta de mis tías y mi mamá around the kitchen table introduced me (especially my mother) to the dramatic art of story-telling. M-A O-R: What caused you to start writing drama after having written poetry and prose? CM: After publishing Loving in the War Years (1983) which was very autobiographical, my own story had finally been told on the page. This allowed space within me for character (some one other than myself to enter) my unconscious. The character started speaking out loud. This was Corky from Giving Up the Ghost. It was oral. Thus, the beginnings of dramatic writing. Interview by: Maria-Antónia Oliver-Rotger Date: January 2000 1 © 2009 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
    [Show full text]
  • CFP: Centralizing Non-White Voices in Midwest Studies
    H-Midwest CFP: Centralizing Non-White Voices in Midwest Studies Discussion published by Andy Oler on Tuesday, November 28, 2017 From regionalist writers Gene Stratton Porter and Edward Eggleston through modernists Sherwood Anderson and Willa Cather up to contemporary authors Marilynne Robinson and Jeffrey Eugenides, Midwestern literature is often thought to be by and about white people. This is clearly a falsehood. Two of America’s most celebrated contemporary authors—Louise Erdrich and Toni Morrison—are Midwestern women of color. There is a long tradition of African American literature from the Midwest, from nineteenth-century voices such as Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Ida B. Wells, and Lucy Parsons, to mid-twentieth century writers Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, and Gwendolyn Brooks, up to contemporary figures such as Eve Ewing, Ytasha Malone, and Krista Franklin, whom Chicago magazine identifies as part of a Midwestern Afrofuturist movement. Native American voices abound from the Midwest and Great Plains, including Zitkála-Šá and Heȟáka Sápa (Black Elk) as well as Erdrich, N. Scott Momaday, and Gerald Vizenor. Midwestern Latino/a writers include Sandra Cisneros, Ana Castillo, and members of such Latinx arts collectives as the Twin Cities-based Electric Machete Studios. Asian American authors who have written about Midwestern experiences include Bharati Mukherjee, Celeste Ng, Bienvenido Santos, Susan Choi, and members of the Hmong communities of the upper Midwest, such as Kao Kalia Yang and Mai Neng Moua. This panel seeks to recognize and explore the literary contributions of Midwestern people of color. We welcome papers on these and other non-white authors, or of communities of writers, to expand the boundaries of what we consider the Midwest and Midwestern literature.
    [Show full text]
  • ED371765.Pdf
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 371 765 IR 055 099 AUTHOR Buckingham, Betty Jo; Johnson, Lory TITLE Native American, African American, Asian American and Hispanic American Literature for Preschool through Adult. Hispanic American Literature. Annotated Bibliography. INSTITUTION Iowa State Dept. of Education, Des Moines. PUB DATE Jan 94 NOTE 32p.; For related documents, see IR 055 096-098. PUB TYPE Reference Materials Bibliographies (131) EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Annotated Bibliographies; Authors; Childrens Literature; Elementary Secondary Education; Fiction; *Hispanic Arerican Literature; *Hispanic Americans; Minority Groups; Nonfiction; Picture Books; Reading Materials IDENTIFIERS Iowa ABSTRACT This bibliography acknowledges the efforts of authors in the Hispanic American population. It covers literature by authors of Cuban, Mexican, and Puerto Rican descent who are or were U.S. citizens or long-term residents. It is made up of fiction and non-fiction books drawn from standard reviewing documents and other sources including online sources. Its purpose is to give users an idea of the kinds of materials available from Hispanic American authors. It is not meant to represent all titles or all formats which relate to the literature by authors of Hispanic American heritage writing in the United States. Presence of a title in the bibliography does not imply a recommendation by the Iowa Department of Education. The non-fiction materials are in the order they might appear in a library based on the Dewey Decimal Classification systems; the fiction follows. Each entry gives author if pertinent, title, publisher if known, and annotation. Other information includes designations for fiction or easy books; interest level; whether the book is in print; and designation of heritage of author.
    [Show full text]
  • EXPRESSIONS of MEXICANNESS and the PROMISE of AMERICAN LIBERALISM by EINAR A. ELSNER, B.A., M.A. a DISSERTATION in POLITICAL
    EXPRESSIONS OF MEXICANNESS AND THE PROMISE OF AMERICAN LIBERALISM by EINAR A. ELSNER, B.A., M.A. A DISSERTATION IN POLITICAL SCIENCE Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved Chairperson of the Committee Accepted Dean of the Graduate School August, 2002 Copyright 2002, Einar A. Eisner ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I completed my graduate coursework at Texas Tech University and wrote this dissertation while teaching at Sul Ross State University. Many good men and women in both institutions helped and inspired me along the way. At Sul Ross, I had the pleasure and good fortune of working in an environment of conviviality and intellectual curiosity. Jimmy Case, the department chair, was there for me every time I needed him and inspired me to teach with passion. CUff Hirsch appeared on the shores of my consciousness and provided me with guidance at crucial turns. Ed Marcin welcomed me into his Ufe with a warm abrazo and Mark Saka never ceased to remind me of the need to keep writing. I owe much intellectual development to Daniel Busey, the most inquisitive of my students, and my enthusiasm for teaching to the hundreds of students who took my courses. I will never forget the hours we spent together in the classroom! For reasons too numerous to list here, I am also gratefiil to other people at Sul Ross and the community of Alpine. They are Jay Downing, Nelda Gallego, Paul Wright, Dave Cockrum, Sharon Hileman, Pete Gallego, Abe Baeza, Luanne Hirsch, Carol Greer, Hugh Garrett, Rhonda Austin, John Klingeman, Jon Ward, Jeff Haynes, Eleazar Cano, many of my fellow Kiwanians, and, last but not least, R.C.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Chicano Studies Research Center Annual Report 2011-12 Submitted
    Chicano Studies Research Center Annual Report 2011-12 Submitted by Director Chon A. Noriega 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ______________________________________________________________ Director’s Message .......................................................................................... 3 Administration, Staff, Faculty and Associates ……….................................... 6 Academic and Community Relations………………………………………. 11 Library and Archive........................................................................................ 19 Press.................................................................................................................28 Research ..........................................................................................................38 Facilities………...……………………………………………………………51 Appendices ......................................................................................................53 2 I. DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE_________________________________________ The UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) was founded in 1969 with a commitment to foster multi-disciplinary research as part of the overall mission of the university. Given the CSRC’s broad campus- and community-wide mandate to foster multi-disciplinary research, it reports to the UCLA Office of the Chancellor. The CSRC is also a co-founder of the Inter- University Program for Latino Research (IUPLR), a consortium of Latino research centers located at twenty-five institutions in the United States. The CSRC houses a library and special collections
    [Show full text]
  • East of Downtown and Beyond Interview with Helena Maria Viramontes
    Mester, Vol xxii, No. 2 (Fali, 1993) &Vol. xxiii, No.l (Spring, 1994) 165 East of Downtown and Beyond Interview with Helena Maria Viramontes A native of East Los Angeles, Helena Maria Viramontes has participated in manyjoumals, literary contests, andcommunity activities. She is bestknown forher intemationally acclaimed The Moths and Other Stories published in 1985 by Arte Público Press. This coUection of short stories brings to light the importance of the urban woman's voice, concems, and perspectives within Chicano/Latino culture. Viramontes calis attention to the themes of sexuality in "Growing" and "Birthday," changing cultural/sexual roles in "The Broken Web," the relationships among women in "The Moths," and the immigrant experience in "Cariboo Café." In Chicana Creativity and Criticism: Charting New Frontiers in American Literature (1987), Viramontes and Maria Herrera-Sobek coedited a coUection of criticai articles, fiction, poetry, and essays on Chicana literature, a project that was inspired by a conference held at U.C. Irvine. The book proved to be very popular and recently sold out. The University of New México Press will reissue the book in an expanded edition. In this coUection, the short story "Miss Qairol" by Viramontes shows a new direction in the representation of the urban female factory worker in Chicano/Latino Uterature according to Herrera-Sobek. In "Nopahtos" (Breaking Boundaries: Writings by Latinas 1989), Viramontes cul ti vates the testimonial genre by giving us an autobiographical account of the importance of the oral tradition in her work. Viramontes has been literary editor for Xhismearte and a coordinator for the Latino Writers Association.
    [Show full text]