Browsing by Subject "Mexican American authors"
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Item City of myth, muscle, and Mexicans : work, race, and space in twentieth-century Chicago literature(2011-05) Herrera, Olga Lydia; Limón, José Eduardo; Perez, Domino R.; Gonzalez, John M.; Carter, Mia; Martinez, AnneChicago occupies a place in the American imagination as a city of industry and opportunity for those who are willing to hustle. Writers have in no small part contributed to the creation of this mythology; this canon includes Frank Norris, Theodore Dreiser, Upton Sinclair, Carl Sandburg, and Richard Wright. What is it about these authors that make them the classics of Chicago literature? The “essential” books of Chicago enshrine a period during which the city still held a prominent position in the national economy and culture, and embodied for Americans something of their own identity—the value of individualism, and the Protestant work ethic. Notably absent are the narratives from immigrants, particularly those of color: for a city that was a primary destination for the Great Migration of African Americans from the South and the concurrent immigration of Mexicans in the early part of the 20th century, it is remarkable that these stories have not gained significant attention, with the exception of Richard Wright’s. This dissertation interrogates the discourse of ambition and labor in the Chicago literary tradition from the perspective of three Mexican American authors from Chicago—Carlos Cortez, Ana Castillo, and Sandra Cisneros. These authors, faced with late 20th century deindustrialization and the enduring legacy of segregation, engage with the canonical narratives of Chicago by addressing the intersections of race and citizenship as they affect urban space and labor opportunities. Rather than simply offering a critique, however, the Mexican American authors engage in a re-visioning of the city that incorporates the complexities of a fluid, transnational experience, and in doing so suggest the future of urban life in a post-industrial America.Item Man's inhumanity to man: justice and injustice in three Mexican-American playwrights(Texas Tech University, 1994-12) Mora, Joshua AlIn 1965, in Delano, California, Chicano Theatre was born in the back of a pick-up truck. Cesar Chdvez instigated a movement that sought basic rights for migrant farmworkers in California. Being one of many movements that would inspire Chicano writers to expose the injustices perpetrated against Mexican-Americans, the strike against the growers became the catalyst for initiating the contemporary era of Chicano Theatre. Luis Valdez was a writer that offered his moral support in literary form. Using the farmworkers as the first actors, Valdez helped these migrants in their struggle, thus forming El Teatro Campesino (The Farmworker's Theatre), a variant of agit-prop theatre, which attempts to incite the viewers to protest against what they are witnessing. Valdez is also influenced by Bertolt Brecht who attempted to break down the barrier between the actors and the audience.Item Whose house is it anyway? : architects of the 'house' leitmotif in the literature from Mexican America(1999-05) Rodríguez, Rodrigo Joseph; Limón, José EduardoThe literature written and being spoken by writers of Mexican origin in the United States continues to reformulate the notion of borders as well as subjects and forms within and beyond the house leitmotif. Writings by Sandra Cisneros, Pat Mora, and Tomás Rivera construct public and private spaces that merit validation in historical, literary, and cultural contexts. As architects, Chicana and Chicano writers challenge the nationalist canon and house.