What the chicano studies course can teach you

Chicanos Studies

In typical terms, the term Chicano was coined to describe the Mexican immigrants who resided in the United States of America. As such, they were referred to as the Mexican-Americans. It was discovered that majority of the Chicanos felt at peace when they were referred to as the Chicano as opposed to the Mexican-America. In regards, they crave to be referred to Chicanos is the reason behind why they are compelled to establish their peculiar identities. The Chicanos hated the fact when they were being identified and perceived as immigrants of America. In their convention to develop a new identity, they achieved institution of culture. In some instances, people in America have used the term Chicano to refer to negative phenomena. In this case, the majority of the people attributed Chicanos studies are less fortunate people who are incompetent and unskilled as compared to the native Americans.

It has been holistically noted that the native Americans have progressively disregarded the Mexicans who dwelled in America among the Mexican descent. The reason why the Chicanos living in the US were disregarded is that they were perceived to poses lower status. In brief, Chicanos can be defined as the formulation of the new culture that is linked to the American cultures as well as the Mexican custom. Historically, the Chicanos studies came about due to the snowballing chances for the minorities with a major objective to enrolling to the university institution since the 1960s that also exhibited due to the cumulative student activism of the same time (Gómez, 2018). In particular, the exhibition of the Chicanos studies due to the broad exploration and extensive investigation of the Latino culture as well as the ethnic studies that involved the native Americans and the Mexicans. In addition, it also manifested in the process when the Mexican-Americans sought to source ethnic pride and identity.

More importantly, in the course of exploring the Chicanos studies issues that revolve around religion, gender, work, race, and sexuality were boldly outlined. In line, the issues above were outlined in the context of social and justice dynamics to the larger extent. The Chicanos attributed women to racism, poverty, and sexism within their own culture and the broad American culture (MacDonald & Cook, 2018). The development of Chicana was initiated as a Mexican American convention that was founded by the Chicano movement to advocate for the cultural, social as well as political identities in the United States of America. Chicana represented Mexican women who loved her culture and custom and was also identified by the American culture.

As such, Chicana is a self-proclaimed term that is mostly employed by the women recognize male chauvinism and their dominance in the society as well as the fact that there exists gender discrimination in the domestic homes as well as work situations. Chicano studies have established the concept of Chicana feminism which is described as the Mechanism as a dogma that provides against conservative household’s roles of the Mexican-American women in the society. In essence, the concept challenges typecast that defines women roles across dynamics such as class, gender, ethnicity, race as well as sexuality.

The Chicano studies under the Chicano movement involved diverse and separate protests who largely advocated for education for women among other key themes that revolved around social, political as well as equality in the United States of America. For instance, the formation of the Farm Workers Organization in the year 1962 by proponents such as the Dolores Huerta, the UFW, and Chavez among others fought for the equality of the Mexican-America workers in the agribusiness segment. Particularly, the UFW tend to seek better working conditions for both women and other Chicano residents under the call of insurance benefits, safer working situation as well as employees’ rights.

As much as the Chicano religion is largely influenced by Catholicism, its religiosity involves largely the power of mystery and which thus is override by the material culture. In particular, the Mexican Catholic philosophy is inescapable among the population of the Chicano. In this case, there is a bod integration pattern that connects the Indians sequence and those of the European (Deck, 2016). During the special days of duty as well as observance, rituals of baptism, saint worship, death and material that strictly followed as custom even in situations that are not patent to religious obligations.

In addition, the evangelical Protestantism has also make ways through Mexico and also into the lives of the Chicano that hails in the United States of America. However, some of the Mexicans Texas annealed their allegiance to the church and tended to interfere Catholicism through their own knowledge. The work of the priests among other institutions that offered several services required strong financial aid. In essence, the Tejanos, however, were attributed to extensive religiosity. They pledged full constancy to the Virgin Mary as well as the saints and manifested great reverence for people such as priest as well as nuns. In particular, the Tejanos adhered to fundamental doctrines of Catholicism and strictly followed traditional holidays to the latter. Nevertheless, some church officials, the Texas Mexican also assumed certain religious exclusions which involved marrying outside the church and cultivated the unendorsed customs such as the home alters (altarcitos).

Chicanos studies suggest that the Mexican American exhibited robust ignorance towards the theology but manifested significant religious faith. In other perception, the church leaders also viewed the Tejanos as being spiritually deficient. Catholicism among people was influenced significantly by factors such as cultural obstacles and the linguistic barriers. The Mexican Americans used religion to define their identity to the larger extent. The church has been so instrumental in making bold sense to their lives as overall poor as well as oppressed people who thus proclaimed their distinctiveness.

References:

Deck, A. F. (2016). Latino Migrations and the Transformation of Religion in the United States: Framing the Question. In Christianities in Migration (pp. 263-280). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.

Gómez, L. E. (2018). Manifest destinies: The making of the Mexican American race. NYU Press.

MacDonald, V. M., & Cook, A. (2018). Before Chicana Civil Rights: Three Generations of Mexican American Women in Higher Education in the Southwest, 1920–1965. In Women’s Higher Education in the United States (pp. 233-254). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.