Chicana/o Studies Commons^™

Now Hiring: Exploring Deportee Transnational Identities And Socio-Economic Reintegration In Baja California, Mexico’S Call Center Industry, Brenda Vargas

Master's Theses

The anti-immigrant rhetoric in the U.S. intensified deportation, including that of Mexican and Salvadorian migrants with some having served in the U.S. military. Despite weak social connections and explicit/structural barriers in Mexico, many deportees make the decision to stay in Mexico. The focus of this thesis is male deportees belonging to the “1.5 generation,” aged late 20’s-early 60’s, who, after spending their childhood and adulthood in the U.S., have undergone deportation and are faced with social and economic reintegration in the northern border area of Baja California, Mexico. Through 15 in-depth semi-structured interviews, I explore transnational identity negotiations that impact …

De-Centering The Monolingual: A Psychophysiological Study Of Heritage Speaker Language Processing, Christen N. Madsen Ii

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Models of grammar, processing and acquisition are primarily built on evidence from monolinguals and adult learners of a second language. Heritage speakers, who are bilinguals of a societal minority language, acquire and use their heritage language in informal settings; but who live, work, and are educated in the societal majority language. The differences between heritage speakers and both monolinguals and adult second language learners are extensive: heritage speakers are not educated in the heritage language, their input is typically not from a prestige variety of the heritage language, and they are dominant in the majority language, using it more frequently …

Toward Culturally Competent Archival (Re)Description Of Marginalized Histories, Annie Tang, Dorothy Berry, Kelly Bolding, Rachel E. Winston

Library Presentations, Posters, and Audiovisual Materials

Influenced by the radical archives movement, panelists discuss their (re)processing projects for which they wrote or rewrote descriptions in culturally competent approaches. Their case studies include materials regarding underrepresented peoples and historically oppressed groups who are marginalized from or maligned in the archival record. Targeted to processors, this session aims to teach participants to apply their cultural competencies in writing finding aids through an introduction to cultural competency framework, the case study examples, and a short audience-participation exercise.

Yes We Can Can, Eliseo Angel Casiano

LSU Master's Theses

Yes We Can Can is a compilation of paintings and short stories that depict my placement and role among substantially white rural communities in the South. Through portraiture in painting, I interpret family and biographical events that examine representations of race, family relationships, and my maneuverability through a space of otherness.

Casiano, 2018

Overlooking Men And Boys In Forced Criminality At The Border: A Content Analysis Of Human Trafficking Training And Awareness Materials, Eric Beasley

Master's Theses

Executive Summary

In the Post 9/11 era, where American security is intimately linked to a militarized border management system designed to protect the United States and its territories from threats of terrorism, illegal drugs, and illegal immigration, the media continues to perpetuate the 'Latino Threat Narrative'. The images and information offered to us for consumption help us construct an understanding of events, people, and places. This paper explores how the 'Latino Threat Narrative' and inherent gender biases shape how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) understands vulnerability and identifies human trafficking victims, particularly men and boys from Mexico and Central …

Self-Perceived Success Of First-Generation College-Going Latinx Students, Sarah Mongillo

Honors Scholar Theses

This exploratory study aims to address the unique experiences of Latinx first-generation college-going students during their undergraduate careers. Literature has emphasized the obstacles Latinx students face during admission phase to college; this research examines the experiences of students attending a predominantly white institution (PWI) in the northeast. Latinx individuals are the most underrepresented ethnic group on college campuses, and those whose parents lack knowledge of the US education system must overcome additional struggles. Through qualitative data analysis of 20 undergraduate students’ survey responses, this study finds that first-generation college-going Latinx students feel isolated in their college experience and prioritize non-traditional …

“The Only Way Out Is In”: Negotiating Identity Through Narrative In The House On Mango Street And The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao, Brianna E. Taylor

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

While aimed at vastly different audiences, Sandra Cisneros’s beloved coming-of-age story The House on Mango Street and Junot Díaz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning debut novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao both uniquely capture the complexities of navigating the hyphenated territory between their respective Mexican-American and Dominican-American identities. Cisneros engages readers with the simple yet profound narrative voice of Esperanza in a series of vignettes that subtly reveal a growing consciousness of her role as a young Mexican-American woman and her creative consciousness as an artist. Through the multifaceted narrative perspective of Yunior, Díaz skillfully weaves together “ghetto nerd” Oscar de …

Purgatorio, Rosie Pineda

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies (2015-2021)

Rodrigo Reyes’ provocative essay film re-imagines the Mexico/U.S. border as a mythical place comparable to Dante’s purgatory. Leaving politics aside, he takes a fresh look at the brutal beauty of the border and the people caught in its spell. By capturing a stunning mosaic of compelling characters and broken landscapes that live on the US/Mexico border, the filmmaker reflects on the flaws of human nature and the powerful absurdities of the modern world. An unusual border film, in the auteur tradition of camerastylo, Purgatorio ultimately becomes a fable of humanity, an epic and visceral experience with powerful and lingering images. …

Lupe Under The Sun, Rosie Pineda

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies (2015-2021)

Lupe Under the Sun is a neorealist film following an aging migrant worker living in California, who longs to return to Mexico before it is too late. Featuring a cast of nonprofessional actors, real farmworkers and authentic locations, Lupe Under the Sun tackles issues of depression, homesickness and the immigrant myth of the American Dream.

Long estranged from his family in Michoacán, migrant laborer Lupe finds relief from the backbreaking work of harvesting peaches in California’s Central Valley through camaraderie and a quiet love affair with fellow immigrant Gloria. Soon the stability of his daily routine begins to crack under …

Borderlands After Anzaldúa: Queer/Latinx Identity In Theory And Practice, Joshua Truett

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies (2015-2021)

The Latinx queer subjectivity complicates the racial and social discourses of the United States and Latin America, in both the academy and popular culture. The complex intersections of identity that marks the queer Latinx subject disrupts conventional narratives of race, ethnicity and culture, as well as gender and sexuality.

The Latinx identity breaks down the rigid construction of race as a biological “truth,” challenging the Black versus White racial binary that is the foundation of the United States racial mythology; the Latinx subject is constructed in the American racial imaginary as neither black nor white, but ¨brown.” This construction of …

Racism And The Latino Identity In America, 1910-1970, Cooper J. Smith

2018 Symposium

Beginning in the early 1900s and continuing today, there has been mass immigration by Mexicans and other Latin-Americans to the United States, and this has caused a great deal of strife between local Americans and these immigrants. There has been much discrimination on the part of Anglo Americans towards Latinos, claiming the loss of jobs and opportunity, and the increase in a threatening community. The identity of these immigrants has changed significantly over the course of the past century, largely due to the racism they have encountered. This research paper uses peer reviewed journals and scholarly articles to analyze how …

Chicanos: An Equal Opportunity For Higher Education, Cecilia Zamora

2018 Symposium

Latinos are the most rapidly growing population group in the Unites States and now account for the Nation’s largest minority group. This creates a significant opportunity to move forward and grow into more than a typical stereotype. This paper will explore ways to ensure that Latinos can advance and work for the jobs that will lead the U.S. into the 21st century. The U.S. Census Bureau states that 17.8% of Latinos in 2016 graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher compared to Whites at 61.3%. The percentage of Latino students graduating from college of higher education is surprisingly low. Latinos …

Latinos In The United States Military: World War Ii, Brianna R. Lasso

2018 Symposium

The reason for writing this research paper is to inform the audience and present them with a new understanding of Latinos in the United States military, during World War II. This research project brings to light the positive and negative experiences for Latinos who served their country during this period in history. It also recognizes the achievements and heroic acts of several Latinos during World War II, and explores the various roles that they played, and contributions that they made for the war effort. The method of research used for this study primarily consists of scholarly journals, books, and documentaries. …

Challenges And Motivations Experienced By 1st Generation Latina/O Students In Higher Education, Ereisa G. Morales

2018 Symposium

As of 2014, Latinx have accounted for more than half of the United States population. Additionally, the number of Latinx students pursuing higher education is increasing across the country, yet these students have also shown to be the highest in not completing their degrees. Currently, there is much research on the challenges that Latinx first-generation students face in pursuing higher education but limited on the motivation to pursue and stay in college. This work explores what keeps Latinx driven to continue their education despite the challenges experienced. Factors such as college knowledge and adjustment to college will be addressed in …

The Effect Of Chicanx Studies In High School Graduation Rates, Angelica Garcia-Macias

2018 Symposium

Chicanx students have a relatively lower high school graduation rate in the United States than other ethnic groups. This study assesses Arizona’s civic curriculum to determine the inclusivity of Latinx social movements that have influenced high school graduation rates. Additionally, Arizona has had ethnic studies within the Tucson school district for various years, since the 1990s. The study will compare graduation rates among Latinx student, through resources provided by ethnic studies. The Latinx Critical Race Theory is used to explain the findings and the works of ethnic studies on the Latinx population. The method of analysis for this study includes …

Dropout Rate Among Chicano And Latino Immigrant High School Students, Emma Smith

2018 Symposium

This paper will discuss the dropout rate among Chicanx immigrant high school students in the U.S. This study will exhibit a much higher percentage of Latinx dropouts compared to any other ethnic group in America from 2003 to 2015. There will be specific factors identified as to why this is true, among them, language barriers, the age at which the child first immigrated, and their prior schooling. Additionally, this work explores what can be done to reduce the dropout rates. With the help of scholarly articles, reviews and data analysis, this paper will demonstrate the problems that foreign born Latinx …

Deconstructing Colonization In The Classroom, Claire Israel

2018 Symposium

Many argue that the neocolonial culture that permeates the American public-school system directly leads to the disengagement of Latina/o students. In my research, I aim to unpack each element of this assertion. Though there is still a lot of work to do, many school districts and state public education authorities have introduced various innovative ethnic studies programs into their curriculums in attempts to diversify the content and reengage the Latina/o students in the public education system today. In the last 18 years, the national dropout rate of Latina/o students has dropped by almost half. By way of interviews and critical …

Latino-Owned Business’S: The Future Of The Us Economy, Jeffrey R. Styborski

2018 Symposium

In recent years the United States has witnessed an unprecedented rate of growth in the number of Latino-Owned Business’s, LOB’s, which has dramatically boosted the US Economy. However, while the number of LOB’s has increased, the sizes of these individual businesses hasn’t, growing at a rate that’s half the national average and leaving trillions of dollars and countless jobs out of reach. In search for a solution, this research bases its information in a variety of sources including government agencies and partnerships between higher education and the LOB community, among them Stanford University and the Latino Business Action Network. Through …

A Failing System, Tyler Gedney

2018 Symposium

The purpose of this research is to discover the underlying issues that Chicano children have in the American education system. The idea is to emphasis the importance of a good educational backing for all students, giving an equal opportunity to students of all ethnicity. The research will look at the work of Barbara Schhneider, Sylvia Martinez, and Ann Ownes and the idea of economic and social resource disadvantages that Mexican Americans have. This paper will also look at how the home language of immigrant parents affects the learning of adolescence in the American school system. In addition, the research will …

Latinos: Breaking The Barrier Of College Education Completion, Wendolyn J. Martinez

2018 Symposium

After being met with disadvantage for years Latinos have begun to break away from stereotypes and reaching new highs in college enrollment as the group experiences reduced high school dropout rates. Despite the high rate of Latino college enrollment, low completion rates of bachelor’s and associate degree programs persist. The goal of this project is to identify the barriers Latinos experience while attending higher education, prompting them to drop out and suggest solutions to these problems. Through the analysis of data from scholarly sources and the U.S Census Bureau, conclusions are drawn on the reasons Latinos have such a low …

The Link Between Latinx And American Music, Koby T. Sonnabend

2018 Symposium

Music is something that is constantly changing along with its listeners. What is unique about music is the affects it can have on communities and specific groups of people while in return, those people change the future music that will be released in the future. As the Latino population grows in the U.S., the impact felt by the culture follows suit. Latinx musical elements are becoming an integrated part of American popular music which coincides with the increasing presence of Latinos in America. This paper will describe the traits present in Latino music and relate them to developing traits in …

Standardized Test And The Impact On Latino Students, Jose A. Hernandez

2018 Symposium

This research reports on what Standardized Test are telling us about the type of education students of color are receiving and how it impacts them and the schools they attend. The method of analysis for this research relies on multiple peer reviewed articles and journals to draw conclusions on the impact of standardized testing. Upon examining the data, it has become clear that standardized testing indicate students of color are not getting the quality of education that their white counter parts are receiving. Standardized testing has clearly shown the education gap which has minimized future educational opportunities due to the …

Obstacles That Latinx/Chicanx Encounter While Getting Into The Medical Field, Shreya Patel

2018 Symposium

This research paper informs the audience and presents them with an understanding of Chicanos/Latino education obstacles that are in their way of getting jobs in the medical field. Among these challenges include poverty rates, language barriers and discrimination. This paper discusses the potential opportunities and benefits of Chicano students entering the medical profession. My study assess the current state of Chicano’s in the medical profession and how they can shape their future. This study relies on scholarly sources and peer review journals as the method of analysis from which its conclusions are drawn.

Latino Communities And The Health System, Savanna Stockman

2018 Symposium

This research project is to give an insight into the relationship between Latinos in both careers and lifestyle. There are thousands of graduates each year into the medical field; yet the percentage of those of Latino descent is below average. This research paper will show the involvement of Latino communities within the medical field. The reasons why the percentage of those in the field is lower than that of any other ethnicity. Surveys of Latino culture would suggest that many feel that the Healthcare system doesn’t satisfy their needs and institution rates of Latino medical graduates is significantly lower. This …

Why Are Higher Education Institutions Failing Latinx Students In Helping Them Obtain A College Degree?, Adrianna Amarillas

2018 Symposium

Latina/o’s represent the largest college going minority in America, yet only 15 out of 100 students will graduate a 4-year institution (Castellanos & Gloria 2007). Latina/o’s have been identified as the minority in the United States but now represent the majority of the minority. With the demand for higher education and degrees, this study explores whether or not higher education institutions in the U.S are fully prepared for the increase of diversity. Being the second largest ethnic group, this work attempts to identify addressing possible barriers that make it harder for students, specifically Latino students achieve higher education. Barriers such …

The Causes Of Underrepresentation Of Latin@S In Computer Science And Stem Fields, Casey Cahill

2018 Symposium

The purpose for writing this research paper is to inform readers and give them a new perspective on the low population of Latin@s in computer science and other STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) related fields. This research project shows the underrepresentation of Latin@s in high tech jobs, and some of the possible causes behind this phenomenon. This paper will look toward the statistics showing that there is an absence of Latin@s in computer science and STEM across the nation, and through those statistics attempt to give the reader a comprehensive understanding of the current situation in the computer science and …

Latinos In Higher Education, Teala Frazier

2018 Symposium

In the United States the population of Latinos is disproportionately underrepresented in higher education and completing a degree. The percentage of high school age Latinos have a disproportionate dropout rate compared to other populations and as a result do not pursue further education. This study will examine whether the dropout rate in the United States since 2000 is the primary reason for the lower representation in college or if there are other factors including socioeconomic or cultural. Sources used to study this issue include newspaper, PEW research, U.S. census data, and scholarly articles. The research presented in this paper will …

False Stereotypes, Jordan Everard

2018 Symposium

Despite the Latinx community being misrepresented in mainstream American media, countless Latinx individuals have accomplished prestigious milestones throughout history in America. The stereotypical notions that have formed over the years towards Latina/o’s are both insulting and undermining. Common traits that these stereotypes follow often include the idea that Latinx people are poor, uneducated, violent and unsuccessful. My intent is to discuss self and societal impacts of these stereotypes and to nullify these negative stereotypes toward Latinx individuals by identifying positive traits that outstanding Latinx citizens possess, along with important positive impacts the Latinx community has made in American society. Through …

Why Are Latinxs Underrepresented In Medical Professions?, Elizavet Mariscal Guzman

2018 Symposium

Between 1960 and 2013 the number of Physicians in the United States with Latinx background increased by 3.8%. For example, 7% out of 70,000 bachelor’s degrees in 1986 were acquired by Latinxs. This research examined will address why the health industry is lacking Latinxs in medical professions, along with what factors are impeding them to get into the Medical Field. The methods used will consist of scholarly and peer reviewed articles. Based on preliminary research, the factors contributing to this underrepresentation include lack of role models and resources, as well as urban schools that are infested with violence, drugs, and …

Academic Focus On Hispanic Students In Predominantly White Institutions, Marixza Torres

2018 Symposium

This project explores the extent in which federally funded programs, Chicano/a studies courses and Chicano/a Studies departments in predominantly white institutions have provided an inclusive learning environment for Hispanic students. The goal of this paper is to shed light on the resources universities provide for Hispanic students. Studies have shown that Latinos students attending predominantly white institutions experience more hardships because of the resources that are less inclusive of their experiences. This work uses peer review and scholarly sources as the method of analysis to assess the effectiveness of retention practices by colleges and universities with Hispanic students.