1. Mexican American History
Overview and Innovations

2. Origins Emerged in the 1960s out of the Chicano Movement
Part of Chicano Studies
Third World Liberation Front
UC Berkeley, 1969
“Chicano/a history emerged as a product of the Chicano movement because of our people’s social and psychic need to gain self-knowledge”
- Jesús Chavarría

3. El Plan de Santa Barbara
UC Santa Barbara, 1969
Mexican Americans as part of the larger American experience

4. Student Activism United Mexican American Students (UMAS)
Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO)
Blowouts, 1968

5. Mexican American Studies in Academia
University of California Berkeley, 1969
San Francisco State University, 1969
Northern Arizona University
Colorado State University
University of Texas in Austin, 1970
University of Texas at San Antonio, 1973
University of Texas at El Paso
University of Houston, 1972

6. Historiography

7. Time Periods 1848, U.S. war against Mexico Pre-Columbian
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Pre-Columbian

8. Exploitation Thesis Mexican Americans were victims of Americans
“good guys” and “bad guys”
Rudy Acuna, Occupied America, 1972.

9. Assimilationist Thesis
Mexican Americans assimilated into their changing way of life
Abandoned Spanish and learned English
Matt Miere and Feliciano Rivera, Chicanos, 1972

10. Resistance Thesis
Chicanos experienced land loss and segregation but are not helpless victims
Evidence of fighting back and resisting
Robert Rosenbaum, Mexicano Resistance Throughout the Southwest, 1981
Guadalupe San Miguel, Let All Them Take Heed, 1982

11. Adaptation Thesis
Mexican Americans did not assimilate completely but adapted and survived
New ways found to navigate the changing times
Matt Garcia, A World of Its Own, 2001

12. New Directions

13. Women Examine chauvinism within Mexican American History
Discuss issues of triple oppression
Vicki Ruiz, Cannery Women, Cannery Lives (1987)
Emma Perez, The DeColonial Imaginary (1999

14. Immigration Discuss themes of inter-ethnic conflict
Highlight differences of class, citizenship, and generational divides

15. Regional Expansion
Recognizing the history of Mexican Americans beyond the Southwest
Juan R. Garcia, Mexicans in the Midwest (2004)

16. Queer Studies
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender

17. Comparative Approach
Comparing historical experiences of Chicanas and Chicanas with other ethno-racial groups
Examine racialization of Mexican Americans
Lilia Fernandez, Brown in the Windy City (2012)

18. Mexican American and Latino/a Studies
UT, first ever academic Department for MALS, 2014
Questions of the cohesiveness of the field
Important to represent the growing population of Latinos and ensure they are not left out of history

19. Current Status of Mexican American History

20. The Attack on Mexican American History
Arizona
2010, anti-ethnic studies statute HB 2281
Schools should not include instruction or course that
Are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group
Advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals

21. Texas Librotraficante
Texas State Board of Education approves ethnic studies courses in high schools
Texas Legislature declares May 1, 2015 Mexican American Studies Day
Dan Patrick introduced a bill that would exempt ethnic studies from counting toward the fulfillment of state history requirements

22. California San Francisco school board
2014, requires all city public high schools to offer Ethnic Studies
Los Angeles Unified School District
2014, requires Ethnic Studies for high school graduation

23. Supporting Mexican American History & Studies
2015, Protests at University of Northern Colorado over the suspension of Mexican American studies due to low enrollment
Issues of funding, availability of classes, full-time faculty, other resources