Toward an Operational Definition of the Mexican American - Fernando Penalosa
“ What extent do Mexican Americans constitute a stratum, poses a distinct subculture, etc.?” (Penalosa, p. 17). The term “brown” represents pride in the groups presumed racial distinctiveness to “ La Raza Cosmica”. …show more content…
History establishes a structural analysis and in the case of Chicano’s, it results in a positive action. Conceptualizing Chicano history entails tentative norms on delimiting the subject, approaches, literature, periodization, patterns, and methods used to learn about one’s history. “Tentative norms” encompasses the purpose of this article underlying question of “What is Chicano History?” Embedded in the article, Gomez-Quinones reiterates History to be the “analytical investigation of identified problems from the perspective of configurations present in contemporary society” (Gomez-Quinones, p. 25). With Chicano history, the identified problems addressed are delimitation which consists of a separate community from a larger society, the term “Chicano”, proper designation, overarching Chicano History, the literature, periodization, and methods previously …show more content…
However, in Gilberto Cardenas’ “ Los Desarraigados: Chicanos in the Midwestern Region of the United States”, according to the 1970 census of the United States approximately 1.1 million individuals of Spanish speaking origin resided in the Midwestern region of the country within states such as Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin (Cardenas, p. 66). Within the article, Cardenas provides an overview of Chicanos in the Midwest in an attempt to shine a light on a definitive and/or comprehensive Chicano culture that has been overlooked. Throughout the article, he provides a critical analysis of literature that has poorly depicted Chicanos and the origins and significance of migration/settlement into the region. For instance, Cardenas notes the importation of Mexican labor in the Midwest increased due to war-related industrial activity, the substitution of Mexican Labor from European labor for “cheaper prices”, and the effects of The Operation Program (contract workers employed in railroad industries, manufacturing plants, stockyards, etc). Furthermore, provides descriptions of immigration and farm labor patterns coupled with an analysis of demographic/social characteristics of the population within the Midwest using the 1970 census data