Browsing by Subject "Mexican American"
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Item "Acting white" : is there social pressure within Mexican Americans adolescent peer groups to conform to within-group cultural expectations?(2011-05) Olivarri, Roger Joseph; Sander, Janay Boswell; Carlson, Cindy I.Mexican Americans are a population that has significantly increased over the years in the United States. Despite their growth, many still face barriers in their pursuit of success and are at increased risk for poorer outcomes. Many explanations, such as acculturation, have been sought as potential contributors to poorer outcomes seen among Mexican Americans, particularly in academic settings. As an alternative explanation to acculturation, Fordham and Ogbu (1986) proposed that many of the negative outcomes in academic performance seen among African Americans could be attributed to the within-group processes that ostracized those who exhibited behaviors deemed “White.” Since the emergence of the “acting White” thesis, significant research has emerged in the hopes of either proving or disproving the tenants of the thesis. What has emerged is that some minorities have experienced pressures to conform and that many utilize a set of strategies that allow them to negotiate their multicultural contexts. However, most of the literature has focused on the experiences of African Americans; meanwhile research has been limited among other ethnicities who may share similar experiences. This report proposes a study that would attempt to examine whether Mexican Americans experience social pressures to conform to within-group cultural expectations. This study would also explore how Mexican American youth negotiate their ethnic peer cultures and school environments. In addition, potential psychological stressors related to accusations of “acting White” and perceived social pressures would also be explored.Item Alien citizen : do stereotypes of undocumented Mexican immigrants generalize to Mexican Americans?(2012-12) Martinez, Mercedes Shannon 1980-; Awad, Germine H.September 11th 2001 led to an increase in the intensity of the already existing discourses surrounding what it means to be an American, with a particular focus on the Southern border of the United States and Mexican immigration as a perceived threat to national security. This study seeks to address the Latino threat narrative (Chavez, 2008) through measuring how perceptions of stereotypes and realistic and symbolic threat differ as a function of foreigness using a 2 (positive vs. negative scenario) x 4 (Mexican American, undocumented immigrant, Latino and Anglo) design.Item The archaeology of San Diego, Texas : memories media and material culture of the site of an irredentist rebellion(2013-12) Garza, Eunice Carmela; Stross, BrianEl Plan de San Diego is the name of an important document in Texas history, but the document and surrounding history is usually discussed with little or no reference to the town of San Diego, Texas, the people who lived there, or the cultural landscape. The Plan de San Diego is an unsuccessful rebellion that is one of the few documented irredentist revolts in U.S. History, it is also a written document calling for return of lands in a multi-ethnic call to arms advocating the recovery of territory by people of Mexican descent in 1915, named for the town San Diego, TX. After the discovery of this Plan, Mexican-Americans were persecuted, violently suppressed, and murdered: 300-5,000 people of Mexican descent died violently following the discovery and publication of the Plan de San Diego in what historians have called the “Bandit Wars”. San Diego, Texas residents and the entire U.S.-Mexican borderlands changed after the discovery of the Plan. My research investigates the political landscape and changes in material and cultural assemblages during and after the Plan, examining how descendant communities retained ties to place and remembered this event in the community of San Diego. Archival research, Historical archaeology and media representations of San Diego explore expose the everyday lives, settlement patterns, and subsistence strategies of the residents of San Diego before and after 1915, showing the material and social effects of the failed rebellion. The socio-political landscape that helped create Mexican-American culture in San Diego is a silenced, violent, and misunderstood chapter of Texas history that shapes the current borderlands and contributes important insights into the study of sites of rebellion and retaliation worldwide.Item Does culture moderate the relationship between awareness and internalization of Western ideals and the development of body dissatisfaction in women?(Texas A&M University, 2004-09-30) Warren, Cortney SoderlindThe sociocultural model of eating disorders suggests that awareness of a thin physical ideal directly affects internalization of that ideal, which in turn, directly affects body dissatisfaction. The current study evaluated the general accuracy of the sociocultural model and examined the potential for ethnicity to protect against eating disorder symptomatology by moderating the relationships between awareness and internalization and between internalization and body dissatisfaction. Spanish (n = 100), Mexican American (n = 100), and Euro-American (n = 100) female participants completed various questionnaires measuring sociocultural attitudes towards appearance and body dissatisfaction. Analysis of covariance with tests of homogeneity of slope and path analysis using maximum likelihood with robust standard errors tested the two relationships by ethnic group. Results supported the sociocultural model: there was strong evidence for the mediational effect of internalization on the relationship between awareness and body dissatisfaction. Furthermore, ethnicity moderated the relationships such that both relationships were significantly stronger for Euro-American women than for Mexican American or Spanish women. Within the Mexican American group level of acculturation also moderated these relationships. Taken together, the results of this study highlight how ethnicity can protect against the development of eating disorder symptoms. Denouncing the thin ideal, minimizing appearance as an indicator of female value, and emphasizing personal traits other than appearance as determinants of worth are important in protecting against the development of body dissatisfaction and more severe eating pathology.Item Examining the first-year experiences and perceptions of sense of belonging among Mexican American students enrolled in a Texas HBCU(2012-08) Ozuna, Taryn Gallego; Saenz, Victor B.; Reddick, Richard J.; Reagins-Lilly, Soncia; Salinas, Cynthia S.; Gasman, MarybethThe growing Latino population is directly affecting institutions of higher education. Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), whose stated missions do not specifically address Latinos, are becoming Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). As HSIs continue to emerge across the country, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are also responding to demographic shifts, especially in Texas. Although their historic mission focuses on educating African Americans, some Texas HBCU presidents and administrators maintain that their supportive campus environment could serve as a possible opportunity for Latino student success. HBCU outreach efforts offer a variety of areas for further investigation, but the intent of this study was to examine the first, critical year and perceptions of sense of belonging. Furthermore, since Mexican Americans represent the majority of Latinos in Texas, indeed the country, this qualitative study specifically focused on the first-year experiences of Mexican Americans in a Texas HBCU. The primary methods for data collection included two semi-structured one-on-one interviews, a student questionnaire, campus observations, and analytic memos. Thus, the current study sought to fully document the first-year experience and perceptions of sense of belonging as recounted by second- to fifth-year Mexican American students enrolled in a Texas HBCU.Item "Hips don't lie" : Mexican American female students' identity construction at The University of Texas at Austin(2012-08) Portillo, Juan Ramon; Straubhaar, Joseph D.; Hogan, KristenWhile a university education is sold to students as something anyone can achieve, their particular social location influences who enters this space. Mexican American women, by virtue of their intersecting identities as racialized women in the US, have to adopt a particular identity if they are to succeed through the educational pipeline and into college. In this thesis, I explore the mechanics behind the construction of this identity at The University of Texas at Austin. To understand how this happens, I read the experiences of six Mexican American, female students through a Chicana feminist lens, particularly Anzaldúa’s mestiza consciousness. I discovered that if Mexicana/Chicana students are to “make it,” they have to adopt a “good student, nice Mexican woman” identity. In other words, to be considered good students, Mexican American women must also adopt a code of conduct that is acceptable to the white-centric and middle-class norms that dominate education, both at a K-12 level and at the university level. This behavior is uniquely tied to the social construction of Mexican American women as a threat to the United States because of their alleged hypersexuality and hyperfertility. Their ability to reproduce, biologically and culturally, means that young Mexican women must be able to show to white epistemic authorities that they have their sexuality and gender performance “under control.” However, even if they adopt this identity, their presence at the university is policed and regulated. As brown women, they are trespassers of a space that has historically been constructed as white and male. This results in students and faculty engaging in microaggressions that serve to Other the Mexican American women and erect new symbolic boundaries that maintain a racial and gender hierarchy in the university. While the students do not just accept these rules, adopting the identity of “good student, nice Mexican woman” limits how the students can defend themselves from microaggressions or challenge the racial and gender structure. Nevertheless, throughout this thesis I demonstrate that even within the constraints of the limited identity available to the students, they still resist dominant discourses and exercise agency to change their social situation.Item Latinos and the Natural Environment Along the United States-Mexico Border(2012-02-14) Lopez, AngelicaThe vitality of international transborder natural resources is important for the preservation of wildlife corridors, clean water, clean air, and working lands. In particular, not only does the Texas Rio Grande Valley Region in the United States (U.S.), on the U.S.-Mexico border, offer critical habitat important to North American migratory species, the area also provides substantial agricultural goods (i.e., sugarcane, sorghum, melons, onions, citrus, carrots, cabbage, and cattle). Hence, the dilemma between consumptive and non-consumptive uses of natural resources along a large geographic expanse separated by sociopolitical and sociocultural differences, is further complicated. Latinos of Mexican descent along the southwestern U.S. are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the U.S., yet their influence on U.S. natural resource allocation and management has been largely ignored. For this reason, the purpose of my study was threefold: (1) to determine public perceptions toward natural resources, the environment, and conservation; (2) to assess general environmental behaviors; and (3) to determine general recreational behaviors among three student population groups along the U.S.Mexico border region. The student groups were comprised of Texas students (Texas Latino and Texas non-Latino white), and Mexican students from three northern Mexico states, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas. A survey was derived from three of the most frequently used environmental concern, behavior, and recreation indices used for research in the discipline. Predictors of environmental concern, behavior, and outdoor recreation participation for my sample varied across sociodemographic and sociopolitical variables for each student group. A review of environmental attitudes found Mexican students were more environmentally friendly (~ 2.35 odds; P < 0.05) than their U.S. counterparts. Among the three student groups, basic environmental behaviors (environmental conservation contribution; avoiding environmentally harmful products; changing car oil; and lawn responsibility) were influenced (P < 0.05) by environmental orientation, political candidate's environmental position, father and mother's educational attainment, place of origin, sex, and combined parent income. Outdoor recreation participation and constraints to outdoor recreation participation among the student groups were influenced (P < 0.05) by parent income, age, place of origin, and environmental orientation. Examples of constraints were: not enough money, personal health reasons, inadequate transportation, and personal safety reasons. Findings from my study benefit natural resource and environmental organizations pursuing collaborative program development and implementation along the U.S.-Mexico border and other transborder regions.Item The lived experience of tuberculosis treatment for Mexican Americans living on the US-Mexico border(2013-05) Zuniga, Julie Ann; García, Alexandra Anne, 1964-This study produced a rich description of the lived experiences of tuberculosis (TB) treatment among Mexican Americans with TB living in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) of Texas. This phenomenological study was guided by Merleau-Ponty's philosophical framework, particularly his theories on mind-body influence, fabric of relationships, importance of culture, and equilibrium. A purposeful sample was recruited through TB clinics in four south Texas border counties: Hidalgo, Cameron, Starr, and Willacy, which make up the LRGV. Interviews from 18 participants were conducted in the participants' preferred language and analyzed. There were five women and 13 men. The majority of interviews (n=16) were conducted in Spanish. Five themes were discovered: a) being observed taking pills everyday b) signs and symptoms, c) importance of family, d) stigma; and e) border living. Stigma has four subconcepts: masks, interactions with others, internalization of stigma, and actions to limit exposure to stigma. The overarching theme was a struggle to find a balance during treatment between being exposed to stigma and isolation from social support. Recommendations have been made in regard to education, practice, and research, and health policy.Item Mexican American Mothers' Perceptions of Childhood Obesity and Their Role in Prevention(2011-02-22) Sosa, Erica T.The childhood obesity epidemic continues to escalate, disproportionately impacting Mexican American children. It is unclear how Mexican American mothers, who are at high-risk of rearing obese children, perceive childhood obesity, prevention or their role in prevention. Three studies - a systematic literature review, a qualitative study focusing on Mexican American mothers' perceptions of childhood obesity, and a qualitative study examining Mexican American mothers' perceptions regarding childhood obesity prevention and their role in prevention - were used to address this research question. The first study is a systematic review of the literature regarding Mexican American mothers' perceptions of childhood obesity and their role in prevention. Four databases were searched for relevant articles and 22 studies met inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Social Cognitive Theory was used to sort similar findings across studies and identify scarce areas researched. Major findings included: (a) mothers felt inadequate to be role models for their children's healthy behaviors, (b) mothers did not identify short-term consequences of childhood obesity, (c) only 23% of studies explicitly used a theoretical framework to guide their study, and (d) most studies used heterogeneous groups (including all caretakers, including all Hispanics/Latinos) to discuss perceptions. The second study used naturalistic inquiry to examine mothers' perceptions regarding childhood obesity, its causes and its consequences. Using a Social Ecological Model adapted to childhood obesity, the study examined causes of childhood obesity at different levels of influence - intrapersonal, interpersonal, and community. Obesity was identified as an adult issue by the mothers. Mothers were more aware of the health risks associated with having underweight children rather than overweight children. Lastly, mothers identified overweight children as those who are suffering from consequences. The third study used a narrative inquiry approach to qualitatively investigate mothers' perceptions. Mothers suggested several ways parents could prevent childhood obesity and overweight among their children. However, fathers, grandparents and schools could unintentionally counter mothers' efforts to encourage healthful behaviors. Mothers identified a lack of ability to speak English, feelings of guilt associated with limiting food intake, and a lack of knowledge and skills as impediments in carrying out obesity preventive behaviors within the home.Item My Chicano education : the importance of edgewalkers to the field of art education.(2013-08) Smith, Cassie Lynn; Bolin, Paul Erik, 1954-This thesis uses autoethnographic research of the Mexican American art community in Austin, Texas to demonstrate how edgewalkers, people to move between multiple cultural worlds yet retain their own identity, become informal art educators through the process of transculturation. The work describes this cyclical and on-going process that includes curiosity, knowledge gathering, and awareness of self and others and the summation of these elements, which leads to transculturation. For this research, four informal art educators practicing in Austin were interviewed. Each of the collaborators practices art in different media including visual art, curating of exhibitions, performance, and graphic design. The descriptions and analysis of the researcher’s experiences along with those of the informal art educators reveal a third landscape, or an alternative space and identity, where multiple cultural worlds overlap into bicultural, bilingual and/or biconceptual environments. This thesis demonstrates how informal art education, made possible through transcultural experiences, is an effective tool in art education and culturally responsive instruction.Item Pr?spero: A Study of Success from the Mexican Middle Class in San Antonio, Texas(2012-10-19) Bertinato, SaritaImmigration is a topic that has experienced an evolution of social importance across centuries. While the United States has welcomed individuals seeking lives of promise and opportunity, its neighboring border with Mexico has also encouraged significant migration into the United States Therefore, immigration into Texas was not a new and unusual development. However, the flood of Mexican citizens trying to escape the regime of Porfirio Diaz was noteworthy and left San Antonio residents struggling to accept their new neighbors. The purpose of this dissertation is to study a historically Mexican middle class neighborhood in San Antonio, in order to identify factors that made it possible for some residents to experience socioeconomic prosperity while others were less successful. I believe that positive socioeconomic success resulted from two important factors: high levels of human and social capital and the synergistic interactions of sociopolitical elements. I begin by presenting an overview of the shared turbulent history between Mexico and the United States, the rise and fall of President Porfirio Diaz, and the role that the Mexican Revolution played in San Antonio's 1910 immigration flux. Since this research focuses on the Mexican middle class, I explore the literature pertaining to racial/ethnic definitions, the middle class, and human/social capital, as well as the relevance of each concept within the context of my research question. This research utilizes comparative/historical, qualitative, and quantitative methodologies. I present a quantitative analysis of Prospect Hill's residents, particularly those of an anomalous nature. Of the cases identified, I discuss the case of Romulo Munguia, a native-born Mexican who presented as the third anomalous Mexican resident. Munguia moved to the U.S. in 1926 and established himself as a successful, middle class printer who became heavily involved with San Antonio's Mexican community. Ultimately, Munguia's success indicates a dependency on two specific factors. First, he possessed considerable human and social capital that afforded him social, economic, and political advantages. Secondly, he settled into a community that desperately needed his skills and expertise. Munguia's case supports the hypothesis that immigrant prosperity requires both human/social capital and specific synergistic interactions to achieve success.Item The relationship of college-generational status to psychological and academic adjustment in Mexican American university students at a predominantly white university(2010-12) Argueta, Nanci Lisset; Ramírez, Manuel, 1937-; Bigler, RebeccaThe literature on Latino college students, particularly at Predominantly White Universities, suggests that they are enrolling at higher rates at the beginning of the first year in college than prior years, but dropping out at higher rates than any other racial/ethnic group. For students whom are the first in their family to attend college, attrition rates are even more pronounced. In the present study, based on Bourdieu’s Social Capital Theory, group differences based on race/ethnicity and college-generational status were examined for reported anxiety, depression, and academic problems at the beginning and end of the first semester of students’ first year at a university. The results indicated that differences in reported outcome measures were greater when examined between college-generation Mexican American groups, rather than between racial/ethnic groups more generally. Additionally, it was hypothesized that for Mexican American first-generation college students, perceived family support at the beginning of the semester would mediate the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic problems at the end of the semester. The results of the study provided support for this hypothesis, suggesting that perceived support from family, even when it is not entirely instrumental, offers benefits for first-generation Mexican American college students. Implications for future interventions, both pre and post-college entry are discussed.Item ¡Sí se come! : creating a unique Mexican American food identity(2012-08) Juárez, Marisa Celia; Stross, Brian; Moran Gonzalez, JohnYou are what you eat. The essence of being is our identity, so what we choose to eat has a large impact on who we are. By defining identity and applying these definitions in relation to food we can discover how we identify through the foods we eat, creating a food identity. For Mexican Americans, it is la comida que sí se come! I have classified the following as our most basic forms of identity: mental versus the physical or biological, and individual versus group. Within the group identity stem the facets of race, ethnicity, nationality, language and culture that all make up a Mexican American identity. By thoroughly exploring the four basic classifications of identity we are able to apply the methods of identity creation towards our interactions with food, from our first learned experiences as children, to later cooking for our own children, which all lead to the creation of our food identities. Once food identity is understood it can be applied specifically to the Mexican American experience, therefore exploring how the food choices that Mexican Americans make contribute towards a unique food identity. Just like the Mexican American self identity, Mexican American food identity is neither “Mexican” nor “American,” and yet it can be both. Like self identity, this food identity consists of a long historical background, embracing dual nationalities and combining life experiences with culture. It is also heavily influenced by family- familia- more so than a generic food identity.Item Social violence, social healing : the merging of the political and the spiritual in Chicano/a literary production(2012-05) Lopez, Christina Garcia; Cordova, Cary, 1970-; Limón, José Eduardo; Lieu, Nhi; Perez, Domino; Cox, JamesThis dissertation argues that spiritual and religious worldviews (i.e. Mexican Catholicism, indigenous spiritualities, and popular religion) have historically intersected with social and political realities in the development of Mexican origin communities of the United States. More specifically, as creative writers from these communities have endeavored to express and represent Mexican American experience, they have consistently engaged these intersections of the spiritual and the material. While Chicano/a criticism has often overlooked, and in some ways dismissed, the significant role which spiritual and religious discourses have played in the political development of Mexican American communities, I examine how the works of creative writers pose important questions about the role of religious faith and spirituality in healing the wounds of social violence. By placing literary texts in conversation with scholarship from multiple disciplines, this project links literary narratives to their historical, social, and political frameworks, and ultimately endeavors to situate literary production as an expressive cultural product. Historical and regional in approach, the dissertation examines diverse literary narratives penned by writers of Mexican descent between the 1930s and the current decade. Selected textual pairings recall pivotal moments and relations in the history of Mexico, America, and their shared geographical borderlands. Through the lens of religion and spirituality, a broad array of social discourses emerges, including: gender and sexuality, landscape and memory, nation-formation, race and ethnicity, popular traditions, and material culture.Item Stories of the Unheard: A Case Study of Five Mexican American Dropouts Labeled as Demonstrating Learning Disabilities(2012-11-27) Villafranca, Darlene 1975-This qualitative study examined the dropout crises from the perspectives of Mexican American dropouts labeled as learner disabled who were receiving special education services. Such study is imperative as this group increases both in school and in special education classes. There were two research questions that guided the study: 1. What are the perceptions of Mexican American dropouts who participated in a special education program regarding their educational experiences? 2. What were the factors that influenced these students? decisions to drop out of school? From the participant interviews, historical academic documents, and rich-descriptive information gathered from the students? voices, three themes were revealed as the primary reason for dropping out of school: non-responsive school culture, lack of supportive environment, and social factors. It was evident in the data collected that the school culture was unfavorable toward their learning and in meeting successful graduation requirements. Under non-responsive school culture, the following subthemes emerged as underlining factors to their dropping out: (a) low expectations, (b) non-caring for the student, (c) ineffective curriculum content, and (d) social issues at school. School-related factors such as the lack of a supportive environment revealed the following subthemes: (a) symptoms of school failure, (b) negative learning environment, and (c) culturally non-responsive instruction. Other attributing factors for dropping out of school included family structures and peer pressure. While each of the participants had unique experiences, each attributed non-responsive school culture, lack of supportive environment, and social context as major factors for dropping out of school. Therefore, the significance of this study lies in the potential to impact Mexican American student achievement in the reduction of dropouts.Item Stranger in a strange land : a study of the effect of foreignness on perceptions of Latinos(2014-08) Martinez, Mercedes Shannon; Awad, Germine H.; Cokley, Kevin; Ainslie, Ricardo; Sherry, Allissa; Strong, PaulineSeptember 11th 2001 led to an increase in the intensity of the already existing discourses surrounding what it means to be an American, with a particular focus on the Southern border of the United States and Mexican immigration as a perceived threat to national security. This study seeks to address the how prejudice towards undocumented Mexican immigrants generalizes to Mexican Americans. This relationship was theorized by Chavez (2008), and is what he calls the Latino threat narrative. Experimental methods will be used to measure how perceptions of Latinos differ as a function of foreignness using a 2 (positive vs. negative scenario) x 4 (Mexican American, undocumented immigrant, Latino and Anglo) X 2 (Group Process: SDO or RWA) between-subjects design. Participants were asked to read scenarios that describes a man (either Mexican American, an undocumented Mexican immigrant, a Latino or White) accidently hitting another car while parking and either leaving a note or not. The results demonstrate that when the immigration status of the man described is unknown, and he does not leave a note, participants high in Social Dominance Orientation attitudes are more likely to identify them as an undocumented Mexican immigrant. The findings of this study contribute to the literature of prejudice through further exploring the mechanisms of prejudice towards immigrant populations.Item Teen pregnancy in Mexican American girls(2005-08) Aguero-Reyes, Zenaida Victoria; Caldera, Yvonne M.; Bell, Nancy J.; Reifman, AlanThe study explored Mexican-American adolescent girls’ feelings and thoughts about factors that contributed to teen pregnancy. Eight girls were recruited in West Texas city. The ages of the teens were 16-20. Brofenbrenner was used as a framework to classify the themes that emerged from the transcripts. The themes were organized under the microsystem and macrosystem. The results indicated that they did not plan on having a baby that it was an unplanned event. Although some parents did provide information regarding contraception, they still made the choice not to continue to take them. There is discussion on how her development of adolescence attributes to her unplanned pregnancy.Item Teen pregnancy in Mexican American girls(Texas Tech University, 2005-08) Aguero-Reyes, Zenaida Victoria; Caldera, Yvonne M.; Bell, Nancy J.; Reifman, AlanThe study explored Mexican-American adolescent girls’ feelings and thoughts about factors that contributed to teen pregnancy. Eight girls were recruited in West Texas city. The ages of the teens were 16-20. Brofenbrenner was used as a framework to classify the themes that emerged from the transcripts. The themes were organized under the microsystem and macrosystem. The results indicated that they did not plan on having a baby that it was an unplanned event. Although some parents did provide information regarding contraception, they still made the choice not to continue to take them. There is discussion on how her development of adolescence attributes to her unplanned pregnancy.Item Testing the seams of the American dream : minority literature and film in the early Cold War(2011-08) Burns, Patricia Mary; Bremen, Brian A.; Wilks, Jennifer; Lee, Julia; Miller, Karl; Kackman, MichaelTesting the Seams of the American Dream: Minority Literature and Film in the Early Cold War delineates the concept of the liberal tolerance agenda in early Cold War. The liberal tolerance message of the U.S. government, the Democratic Party, and others endorsed racial tolerance and envisioned the possibility of a future free from racism and inequality. Filmmakers in often disseminated a liberal message similar to that of the politicians in the form of “race problem” films. My shows how these films and the liberal tolerance agenda as a whole promises racial equality to the racial minority in exchange for hard work, patriotism, education, and a belief in the majority culture. My first chapter, “Washing White the Racial Subject: Hollywood’s First Black Problem Film,” performs a close reading of Arthur Laurents 1946 play Home of the Brave, which features a Jewish American protagonist, in conjunction with a reading of the 1949 film version, which has an African American protagonist. The differences between the two texts reveal the slippages in the liberal tolerance agenda and signal the inability of filmmakers to envision racial equality on the big screen. “The American Institution and the Racial Subject,” my second chapter, discusses the 1949 film Pinky as well as Américo Paredes’s George Washington Gómez and Monica Sone’s Nisei Daughter. All of these works suggests that the attainment of education promises entry into the mainstream by racial minorities, yet Paredes and Sone question this process by interpreting it as resulting in the dual segregation of their protagonists. My third chapter, “Earning and Cultural Capital: The Work that Determines Place,” looks at the promise that with hard work anyone can attain the American Dream. I show how the 1951 film Go for Broke!, Ann Petry’s The Street, and José Antonio Villarreal’s Pocho work to dispel this American myth. My final chapter, “The Regrets of Dissent: Blacklists and the Race Question,” examines the 1954 film Salt of the Earth alongside Chester Himes’s If He Hollers Let Him Go and John Okada’s No-No Boy to reveal the dangerous mixture of race and dissent in this era.Item The Continued Oppression of Middleclass Mexican Americans: An Examination of Imposed and Negotiated Racial Identities(2013-07-22) Delgado, Daniel JustinoThis dissertation examines the racial identities of middleclass Mexican Americans, and provides a focus on how racial oppression plays a significant role in the formation, negotiation, and organization of these identities. Providing theoretical, analytic, and conceptual balance between structure and agency, this dissertation addresses how these Mexican Americans continue to experience racism despite being middleclass and achieving socioeconomic parity with many middleclass whites. Drawing on 67 semistructured open ended interviews (1-3 hours each), 10 months of ethnography in Phoenix and San Antonio, as well as a descriptive analysis of the Alamo monument website and Maricopa County Sheriff?s Office 2011 press releases this dissertation examines how middleclass Latinos/as negotiate racialized identities and racial oppression. This research concludes that these respondents experience significant amounts of racism in the cities of Phoenix and San Antonio. The racial climates of these cities impose racist discourse about Latinos/as and ultimately reinforce and reinscribe existing racial hierarchies of the United States. Middleclass Mexican Americans utilize different identity practices to navigate the racism of these discourse by providing various negotiation, deflection, and resistance practices. Ultimately this dissertation recognizes that middleclass Mexican American identities are a constant negotiation of imposed racial identities and their own understandings of their racial self.