The aim of the study is to illustrate the importance of magic realism in American women's fiction in the late twentieth century. The term magic realism, which has traditionally been associated with Latin American men's writing, has been known by different, and often contradictory, definitions. It may be argued that, properly defined, it can be a valid term to describe a number of characteristics common to a corpus of work, and can be considered as an aesthetic category different from others such as Surrealism or Fantastic literature, with which it has often been compared. Furthermore, magic realism has viability as a contemporary international mode and is particularly suitable to women writers from minority ethnic groups. The present study intends to draw relevant comparative analyses of uses of magic realism that show various formal and thematic interactions between separate literary traditions. The introduction offers an overview of the different conceptions and applications of the term since its origins within the area of painting, and suggests a working definition that can be effective for intensive textual analysis of several novels. In order to offer a new approach which can enable us to move away the paradigm of magic realism from Latin America towards a more multicultural framework, the focus will be on three geographical-cultural areas: African American, Native American and Chicano/Mexican writing. The implementation of magic realist strategies in African American writing will be examined in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon (1977) and Gloria Naylor's Mama Day (1988), with a particular emphasis on the significance of African mythical background and the experience of dispossession and transference of culture. Magic realist elements in the novels Tracks (1988) by Louise Erdrich and Ceremony (1977) by Leslie Marmon Silko will be studied in the context of Native American oral tradition and cosmologies. The practice of magic realism on both sides of the U. S. - Mexico border will be explored in the novels So Far from God (1993), by the Chicana Ana Castillo, and Like Water for Chocolate (1989), by the Mexican Laura Esquivel. A description of the borderland culture in the American Southwest, as well as comparisons between North and Latin American uses of magic realism will be provided. Finally, some connections amongst the discussed literary traditions and further lines of research will be suggested.

The Sandbox and Other Short Stories is a part of an anthology reflecting on conflicting military cultures, tribal identities, and transition struggles within an enduring war and postmodernism society.

Master of Arts / Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and Social Work / Robert Schaeffer / This thesis examines Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (M.E.Ch.A), one of the oldest organizations of the Chicano movement. History shows that M.E.Ch.A has been able to reflect on itself and change accordingly; thus, it has been able to stay alive due to internal debates from the 1960s to the 1990s. In the 1960s, male, heterosexual Mexicans dominated the Chicano movement. In the 1980s, Xicanas challenged them to look past their privileges into more intersectional, inclusive identities. My research question is: in 2013, how do Californian MEChistAs view themselves, their political consciousness, and their social justice work? MEChistAs view themselves as an inclusive, diverse, and progressive organization. Chican@/Xican@ is a political identity and ideology that includes women, queers, and non-Mexicans. Women and queers took leadership of the organization, which shows that the revised historical documents made a difference. However, M.E.Ch.A continues a Mexican-centric organization that isolates Central Americans, South Americans, and Afro-Latin@s. M.E.Ch.A has changed since the 1960s in many ways, but the work continues. M.E.Ch.A still needs to address several internal debates as an organization, such as: Aztlán’s meanings, community versus campus organizing, generational gaps, and working with social organizations. Despite these debates, M.E.Ch.A has survived. Using 22 in-depth interviews with contemporary MEChistAs in California from 10 different universities, I examined the identities and politics of M.E.Ch.A activists. I enact Dorothy Smith and Patricia Hill Collin’s standpoint theory to guide the research and apply third world feminism and ideology/utopia theories to analyze the ideas and concepts of the MEChistAs.

This dissertation addresses the development of Nuevomexicano/a student identity at New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) during three periods: (1) New Mexico's Territorial period and early statehood, (2) the 1940s, and (3) the late 1960s and early 1970s. Nuevomexicano/a student identity was shaped through a process of accommodating to and resisting institutional powers. Since 1898, Nuevomexicano/a students have been active members of the university community, despite periods when they constituted a small portion of the student body and the institution's frequent disregard for Nuevomexicano/a culture and language. As they participated in campus activities, Nuevomexicano/as reconstructed their individual and collective identities, appropriating terms such as Spanish or Chicano/a, as a rhetorical strategy to revise their relationships with the university. Extralocal institutions, including government institutions, national protest movements, and international organizations shaped public conversations about cultural identity. During the first two periods, students employed subtle strategies of resistance that included presenting speeches and reorganizing student government. Often labeled as accommodationist, these strategies represent viable rhetorical strategies that provided students access to dominant literacies, which were used to promote social change. In the 1970s, Chicano/a students utilized more aggressive practices, such as a weeklong sit-in, to radically alter the institutional culture at NMHU. In the forty years since the sit-in, NMHU has developed into a university that supports its Nuevomexicano/a students and incorporates elements of their culture into the university's social fabric.

abstract: In the last three years, a transition from Catholicism to other religious affiliations has been observed of Hispanic Americans. According to a study by the Pew Research Center in 2013, there are now 24% Hispanics who are now ex-Catholics. This dissertation examines the religious trending away of Chicanas and Chicanos from Catholicism in particular. It contributes to the field of Chicano cultural studies by exploring religious expressions and spiritualities that are an alternative to traditional Catholicism from 1960 to 2014. Chapters One and Two are a foundation to this investigation, as they provide a brief historical contextualization of religiosity in Chicano culture, as well as explain the theoretical framework utilized throughout the dissertation. Chapter Three examines the activism of Reies López Tijerina, a Pentecostal preacher, and Ignacio García, a devout Mormon, in the 1960s and 1970s. Their autobiographies are studied, particularly focusing on how their religion became an integral part to in their awareness as they became involved in the Chicano Movement. Chapter Four explores the representation and relationships between spiritual figures of the Chicana mother in the following works: the artworks Housewife Battles Self (1994) by Max-Carlos Martínez, Tonantzin, the Aztec Earth Goddess (2001) by Dolores Guerrero, and the novels So Far from God (1993) by Ana Castillo and Esperanza’s Box of Saints (1999) by María Amparo Escandón. Finally, Chapter Five presents religious expression and spirituality in the borderlands experience. In this chapter several popular saints are studied, including the Texas curandero, don Pedrito Jaramillo, and the images of Jesús Malverde and la Santa Muerte. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Spanish 2016

<p>The thesis examines local and global functions of code-switching and code-mixing in Chicano theater, i.e. in writing intended for performance. The data of this study consists of three published plays by Chicana playwright Cherríe Moraga. </p><p>Distinguishing between code-switching and code-mixing, the investigation explores local and global functions of these phenomena. Local functions of code-switching are functions that can be seen in the text and, as a consequence, can be regarded as meaningful for the audience of the plays. These functions are examined, focussing on five loci in which code-switching is frequent and has clear local functions. The loci are quotations, interjections, reiterations, ‘gaps’ and word/language play. </p><p>Global functions of code-switching and code-mixing operate on a higher level and are not necessarily detected in the actual texts. These functions are discussed, focussing on two main areas, namely power relations (addressing questions of domination, resistance and empowerment) and identity construction (addressing questions of how identity can be reflected by use of language and how identity is constructed and reconstructed by means of language). </p><p>The study suggests that code-switching fills creative, artistic and stylistic functions in the plays and that code-switching and code-mixing can serve as responses to domination in that they can be used to resist, challenge and ultimately transform power relations.</p>

The thesis examines local and global functions of code-switching and code-mixing in Chicano theater, i.e. in writing intended for performance. The data of this study consists of three published plays by Chicana playwright Cherríe Moraga. Distinguishing between code-switching and code-mixing, the investigation explores local and global functions of these phenomena. Local functions of code-switching are functions that can be seen in the text and, as a consequence, can be regarded as meaningful for the audience of the plays. These functions are examined, focussing on five loci in which code-switching is frequent and has clear local functions. The loci are quotations, interjections, reiterations, ‘gaps’ and word/language play. Global functions of code-switching and code-mixing operate on a higher level and are not necessarily detected in the actual texts. These functions are discussed, focussing on two main areas, namely power relations (addressing questions of domination, resistance and empowerment) and identity construction (addressing questions of how identity can be reflected by use of language and how identity is constructed and reconstructed by means of language). The study suggests that code-switching fills creative, artistic and stylistic functions in the plays and that code-switching and code-mixing can serve as responses to domination in that they can be used to resist, challenge and ultimately transform power relations.

This thesis analyzes at how Latinx Hip Hop artists from Chicago act as organic intellectuals within their community and how they use their platform as artists to challenge the narratives created by government officials that aim to criminalize their community in an effort to normalize and justify the policing of their neighborhoods.

Orientador: Giséle Manganelli Fernandes / Resumo: Este trabalho objetiva analisar como as personagens dos episódios presentes na obra da literatura chicana ...y no se lo tragó la tierra, de Tomás Rivera (1992), têm sua identidade (des)estruturada, exemplificando a (des)estruturação identitária dos chicanos, imigrantes mexicanos nos Estados Unidos e seus descendentes. Por meio dos conceitos de nação e nacionalismo adotados por Ernest Gellner (1983), Eric Hosbsbawn (2008) e Benedict Anderson (2008), averiguar-se-á o contexto histórico e os eventos ocorridos a fim de entender como esses conceitos estão relacionados ao processo de formação da comunidade chicana nos antigos territórios mexicanos conquistados pelos EUA, intensificado pelo movimento diaspórico. Após esse levantamento histórico, pretende-se comprovar o processo de estruturação/consolidação da identidade chicana, associando-a com o conceito de identidade de subclasse, definido por Bauman (2005) como a negação do direito de um indivíduo reivindicar uma identidade que não seja a que lhe foi imposta por outros; e o de desestruturação dessa identidade, articulando-a com a ideia de identidade fragmentada do sujeito pós-moderno defendida por Hall (2005). Os trechos e passagens dos episódios validarão as características e experiências das personagens como instrumentos tanto de apresentação como de ruptura dos estereótipos estabelecidos à identidade chicana. / Abstract: This thesis aims at analyzing how the characters of the episodes presented in the Chicano Literature novel ...y no se lo tragó la tierra, by Tomás Rivera (1992), have their identity de/structured, exemplifying the identity de/structuring of the Chicanos, Mexican immigrants in the United States and their descendents. Through the concepts of nation and nationalism addressed by Ernest Gellner (1983), Eric Hosbsbawn (2008) and Benedict Anderson (2008), the historical context and the occurred events will be discussed in order to understand how these concepts are related to the process of the Chicano community formation in the former Mexican territories conquered by the U.S., itensified by the diasporic movement. After the historical data, it is intended to prove the process of structuring/consolidating the Chicano identity, associating it to the concept of underclass, defined by Bauman (2005) as the denial of the right of an individual to reclaim an identity different from the one that was imposed by others; and also the one of destructuring this identity, articulating with the idea of fragmented identity of the post-mordern subject defended by Hall (2005). The excerpts and passages from the episodes will validate the characters’ features and experiences as tools for both presenting and rupturing stereotypes given to the Chicano identity. / Mestre

The musical production of Los Tigres del Norte and El Vez illustrates Mexican and Chicano/a traditions of using popular music as an alternative way of narrating Mexican immigrant, Chicano/a and Mexican American community life in the U.S.A. These musicians grapple with the ways in which a dominant U.S. national discourse has historically subordinated Mexican immigrant and Chicano/a communities. Through their lyrics these musicians propose—albeit in different ways—a progressive cultural politics that underscores the importance of equality and anti-discrimination based on ethnic, cultural, gender and class positions. This thesis compares the work of Los Tigres and El Vez and argues that, beyond the merely documenting and providing a narrative representation of Mexican immigrant and Chicano/a experiences in the U.S.A., these musicians must also be regarded as political activists, using their lyrics and musical profile to articulate and present alternative politics on behalf of Mexican immigrants and Chicano/as in the U.S., and in ways that work with the legacies of the Chicano Movement in the 1960s and 1970s. In this thesis I attend to the differences between El Vez and Los Tigres del Norte. The musicians come from distinct musical and performance backgrounds, and work with distinct generic musical praxes. While recognizing those differences, I nonetheless identify five comparable axes of progressive politics in their work. First, they counter the notion that Mexican immigrant, Chicano/a and Mexican American communities in the U.S.A. form one homogenized group. Second, they emphasize community building as a form of empowerment for immigrant groups and ethnic minorities. Third, they continue the Chicano Movement fight for human rights and equality; but rather than calling for a separate nation of Aztlán, Los Tigres del Norte and El Vez claim a place for Mexican immigrants and Chicano/as as viable and productive constituencies in the U.S.A. Four, though these artists are male performers, they also deal with gendere issues and female characters and thus do not uphold the subordinate role of women in Mexican immigrant and Chicano/a patriarchal societies. And five, Los Tigres del Norte and El Vez engage with notions of an “America” whose pan-ethnic and trans-national qualities reflect the musicians’ advocacy of alliances between diverse subordinate groups. Such engagements demonstrate that Los Tigres del Norte and El Vez operate as political activists whose lyrics and musical profile confirm the lasting impact of Chicano Movement activist aspirations, while also reworking those aspirations in line with changing sociopolitical conditions.