Introduction to Chicano Studies - Admission/Application Essay Example

Introduction to Chicano Studies – Final Exam Part Responses of Big Concepts Decolonization Decolonization isa process of ending colonization and an independent society or state establishes itself in an independent territory. It is the process of attaining independence from a colonial rule and running the state or nation through independent economic and political processes. Chicano has established various independent processes to demonstrate decolonization. By 1960s, the Chicanos embraced ethnic studies to think about decolonization, ethnicity, history and absence of groups of people. This was occasioned through the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF). During the process of decolonization, Chicano society had the Chicano Movement which encouraged education as a way of changing the Mexican community to reflect a positive image. The decolonized Mexicans had a great deal of hunger for knowledge. As a process of decolonization, students demanded respect. Learning the Mexican American culture and history was also an important element of decolonization. The quality of education improved in overall. Students also spoke Spanish to show independence and appreciation of their language. In my view, I consider decolonization as an important part of Mexican American history because it gave them a sense of independence. This helped them to live in liberty and enjoy equal rights with other Americans. Identity Identity refers to the concept of social relations whereby people are constituted in relation to others. It expresses the individuality or group affiliations of people such as cultural identity or national identity. It can also be considered as a distinctive characteristic of an individual or a group of individuals. Members of a specific identity share some common aspirations, attitudes, interests, beliefs and characteristics. American Mexican identity developed in 1930s when Mexican American organisations emerged. This identity was boosted by the Mexicanization program whose goal was to ensure that Mexicans remained to be loyal to Mexico; hence achieving national Mexican identity. This ensured that Mexicans would go back to Mexico and help their country grow. The second generation was also developed to enhance an American identity with Mexican and American values. The second generation merged from a league of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) which was established in 1929. It resulted from elite Mexican American men who wanted to be recognized as Americans while maintaining their Mexican identity. This concept indicates the growth of a Mexican identity in United States. I consider this big concept as one of the best developments of Mexican American societies. While people from the Mexican community agreed to be assimilated into the American community, they chose to maintain their identity. This created a Mexican American community in US with distinct identity; hence this helped the Mexican Americans to maintain the American culture, identity and values in the U.S. This encourages cultural diversity in America and promotes heritage of its independent communities including the Mexican American community. Assimilation Assimilation of the Mexican community in America resulted from the need to be the citizen of U.S.A. first before becoming part of the Mexican American community in the U.S. A group of elite men from the Mexican community in America wanted to become American citizens first in order to fight against discrimination. During the administration of Hoover in the late 1920s, deportation of Mexicans across the border took place. This was considered by Mexicans as discrimination, and the fought against it. The only way to achieve that was to be assimilated into the American community. The Mexican Americans moved from Mexico to America in order to acquire jobs which they lacked in Mexico. However, being non-citizens of America subjected them to discrimination; hence assimilation was important to enable them be treated fairly like other American citizens. Assimilation of Mexicans was indeed one of the most important steps to overcome the problem of discrimination against Mexicans in America. Assimilation enabled the Mexican Americans to become American citizens so that they can be accorded equal rights with other citizens. The immigrants of Mexican origin faced some problems of assimilation because the locals in America opposed assimilation wanted immigration of Mexicans to be stopped. However, the struggle of Mexican workers and elites enhanced their assimilation. Race A race is the categorization of humans into large groups in terms of culture, geography, ethnicity, language or religion. In most cases, a race is associated with colour and language and denotes national affiliations. Mexican American is one of the many races found in United States of America. Mexicans of America are categorized as a race that is commonly associated with labor. The Mexicans as a race were considered to be performing specific kinds of work. The Mexican race led to racialization of labor force similar to that of blacks and Asians. Mexican race began in America began in the 20th century when Mexicans migrated to United States from Mexico in search of work. The American natives opposed the immigration of Mexicans. When discrimination was clear against the Mexican race, division of labor was developed based on race. Strikes of Mexican workers took place in the 20th century as a result of the discrimination. This led to creation of Mexican race determined by labor. The Bracero program which brought Mexican workers to the U.S. enhanced the emergence of the Mexican Race in United States. Through the program, the most fit young men of between 16 and 20 years signed a contract with their fingerprints to migrate to America for work. As a result of the Bracero program, Mexicans who travelled to U.S. experienced hard life. Their pay was low, working conditions were poor, and contracts were not fully fulfilled. These problems led to protests from the Mexican workers. Those who protested were then returned to Mexico. This caused the Mexican Americans to fight for assimilation and form Mexican American race bonded by the same plights. Part II The Chicano identity emerged from the Mexican American identity through the Chicano movement of early 1970s. The main cause of this emergence was the hunger for knowledge that sparked the Chicano movement which advocated for the education of Mexican Americans in 1970s. The Genesis of the Chicano identity is therefore considered to be at the beginning of the Chicano Movement that was mainly supported by Mexican American students. The Chicano Movement emerged as a result of the need for education among Mexican Americans. Towards the end of 1960s, more than 85% of Mexican Americans lived in urban areas and just 25% of them had white collar jobs. Civil rights ensued in United States and as a result, Mexican Americans fought for the improvement of education so that they can acquire knowledge and understand the Mexican American History. The Chicano Movement had several goals including learning of Mexican American history and culture, allow Mexican Americans to speak Spanish, improve the quality of education, and end discriminatory practices against Mexican Americans in America. Achieving these goals would give Mexican Americans their own identity which became the Chicano identity. Everyone subscribed to the demands and goals of the Chicano movement belong to the new Chicano identity. For a good part of Mexican American history, the Mexican Americans campaigned for various issues including voting rights, fight against discrimination in terms of education and ethnicity, and economic prosperity. Furthermore, the Mexican Americans struggled to maintain their community’s identity. There were a lot of divisions among Mexican Americans living in United States due to differences in ethnicities of various immigrants. In 1960s and 1970s, various Hispanic students had differing opinions about the Chicano, Hispanics, Latino, or Mexican-Americans. There were disagreements on whether they would integrate into or become separate from the Anglo society. The Chicano Movement was started by Rodolfo Gonzales and Reies Tijerina. These two activists argued that United States failed to honor the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. They focused on the history of the Mexican Americans for one hundred and twenty five years prior to the Chicano Movement. The movement encouraged the concept of nationalism in United States. Several protests and mass activities occurred during the Chicano Movement as the student movement continued its activities across America. For instance, mass walkouts were experienced in high schools in Denver and Los Angeles in 1968. Sal Castro was a high school teacher who participated by organizing student walkout. She also encouraged African American students to participate and attend college where the demonstrations were actually active. Another form of action during the movement was the Chicano Moratorium which was staged in Los Angeles in 1970. Language was also another factor that the Chicano movement was concerned about because the Chicanos spoke Spanish as their primary language which was not recognized in United States. As a result, Mexican American students who graduated or dropped out of school find that they have lost their first language with just a little of English learned. This leads the students to leave school without a good mastery of language. Furthermore, the loss of their primary language leads to a loss of their nationality. Therefore, the Chicano movement was an important way of seeking and protecting the Chicano identity. Suppression of Spanish language in schools caused the student movement which advocated for the learning of Spanish language in schools. Mexican Americans felt that obliterating the Spanish language would lead to the loss of cultural identity of the Chicanos. Functional illiteracy of Mexican Americans was recorded as 50% among the Chicanos of Texas. This is as a result of the use of linguistically and culturally biased intelligence tests. Biased tests have led to the treatment of Chicago students in California as mentally retarded. In schools, the teachers and textbooks used to teach were biased and contained irrelevant information. This hampered the understanding and learning of the Mexican American culture and identity. As the Mexican Americans fought for their liberty and rights using the principles of the Chicano Movement, they came to embrace the Chicano identity. Spanish was not allowed in schools. The Chicanos also campaigned against low pay and good working conditions of Mexican American workers. By 1958, the average per capita income of Chicano workers was 58% of the per capita income of white workers. The income gap between the Whites and the Mexican Americans increased in 1960s and 1970s. The number of Chicanos classified as professionals at work are very few (4%) compared to the Anglo workforce. As a result, Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) led by students held demonstrations to protest against these practices of bias and discrimination at school and work. In conclusion, it is clear that various issues led to the Chicano identity. Specifically, the Hispanic language was banned and Mexican Americans were discriminated in many ways. This led students of the Hispanic origin to hold demonstrations to protest against those issues. The protests were held by the Chicano Movement which led to the development of Chicano identity that encompasses Mexican Americans that support the goals of the movement. Part 3 Epistemological tradition was enhanced by the Chicano Studies which encouraged the study of the origin, nature and methods of the Chicanos. The Chicano studies provide an “other” epistemological tradition by forming knowledge and meaning about race, sexuality, colonization, assimilation and gender among the Chicanos. Race is considered to be the major influence of epistemological tradition from the Chicano studies. The Chicano studies encouraged various authors and scholars to write about the origin and nature of knowledge regarding various aspects of the Chicanos, including race and gender. For instance, Gloria Anzaldua who wrote the Borderlands developed an epistemological perspective by explaining racial differences using an analogy of American-Mexican border (Anzaldúa 1987). Racial epistemology emerged from the Chicano studies because racism was the main cause of the Chicano Movement that gave rise to the Chicano Studies. Anzaldua suggests that borders exist to separate the good from the bad and the safe from the dangerous. She claims that when the people of colour cross borders, they are oppressed but the whites have a through pass across the border (Anzaldúa 1987). The writings of Anzaldua emerged from the Chicano studies. This demonstrates the fact that the Chicano studies gave rise to the racial epistemology. Anzaldua used her own experiences as a Chicana and Lesbian activist to tell the ordeals of racial discriminations. This became part of the epistemological tradition which led many scholars to describe their experiences concerning the origin of knowledge and nature of racism. Through her work, Anzaldua constructs a racial meaning and knowledge about Mexican Americans and other members of the Chicano community. Racial epistemology was an important way of understanding about race and racism in United States. This epistemology provides an understanding of how contemporary racism emerged between the whites and the Chicanos. Various racial epistemologies explain that the Mexican Americans were discriminated in terms of occupation, income and education. Racial epistemology emerged as the Chicano students protested against these discriminatory practices. The students wanted to learn their culture and origin as well as use the Hispanic language at school. This would enable them to learn their origin and understand the knowledge about racism in United States, especially against the Chicano people. Another example of epistemologies that emerged from the Chicano studies was The Crusade for Justice which was written by Miriam Pawel. This epistemology describes the Crusade for Justice Movement that began in Colorado in 1965 (Vigil 1999). It demonstrates how the Chicano fought for justice during the 1960s. It contributes to the epistemological tradition in which knowledge is constructed about the origin and nature of Chicano’s social movements in the 1960s. The epistemology also explains how the police used brutal means and how students protested by walking out. The epistemology that emerged from the Chicano studies also led to the understanding of the movement of Chicano people into Vietnam, and how the Vietnam War affected the Mexican-American community. For instance, The Crusade for Justice suggests that many Mexican Americans were affected by the Vietnam War because Chicanos were recruited into the army and large amounts of food were bought from rich land owners (Vigil 1999). Rodolfo founded the Crusade for Justice and worked with other Chicano activists to fight for the improvement of the situation of Mexican Americans. By writing about this movement, Pawel illustrates an epistemology that explains how the Chicanos communities where established. The people who have the authority and need to know about racial epistemology are the Chicano people because they want to know about their origin. Therefore, the emergence of epistemological tradition from the Chicano studies was an inevitable thing. The ability of the Mexican Americans to adjust to life in a new country is a more reason to hold an epistemological tradition that will remind them of their identity even as they are assimilated into the American citizenship. Native Americans are also entitled to learn the epistemology of the Chicano race in order to understand them and allow their integration into the community. Focusing on how Chicano studies led to epistemological tradition, it is also necessary to state that experience produced knowledge among the Chicanos. For instance, when Gloria Anzaldua wrote about Borderlands, she was motivated by her experiences as a Chicana and as a Lesbian (Anzaldúa 1987). People with experience on the Chicano Movement and the Chicano studies understand that when a Chicano works hard enough, he/she can succeed in United States. Through Chicano studies, Mexican Americans understand that they are not succeeding because they refuse to assimilate. Therefore, they choose to assimilate and learn English in order to succeed. In conclusion, it is clear that the epistemology tradition was an important consequence of the Chicano studies which enabled the Chicanos to understand their origin. The Chicano studies enabled the people to learn about the aspects of racism and assimilation, and how they can integrate into the society in order to succeed. The experiences of the Chicanos and the Chicano studies led them to develop an epistemological tradition. References list Vigil, Ernesto B. The Crusade for Justice: Chicano Militancy and the Governments War on Dissent. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1999. Print. Anzaldúa, Gloria. Borderlands: The New Mestiza/La Frontera. San Francisco: Spinsters/Aunt Lute, 1987. Print. Read More