Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Irvine, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 160-167).

Thesis (Ph. D. in City and Regional Planning)--University of California, Berkeley, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 276-290).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2010. / Includes abstract. Title from first page of PDF file (viewed May 19, 2010). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Southern Methodist University, 2004. / "December 11, 2004." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 227-240).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The stories in this collection represent an increasingly transcultural world by exploring the intersection of cultures and identities in border spaces, particularly the Mexican-American border. Characters, regardless of ethnicity, experience the effects of migration and deportation in schools, hometowns, relationships, and elsewhere. The collection as a whole focuses on the issues and themes found in Mexican-American literature, such as loss, separation, and the search for identity.

Inspired by Mexican-American folktale, La Llorona, (the Weeping Woman), Malas is a work of fiction. The novel is set in the early 1990s, in Las Cienegas, a fictional town on the Texas-Mexico border. Nerdy high school freshman by day, wannabe rock singer by night, fourteen-year-old Lulu Muñoz is out to make her mark on the world in spite of her complicated father, Julio Muñoz. When her father’s relationship with a married woman brings violence into Lulu’s life, and he reacts by shutting her out, Lulu decides to take matters into her own hands. She sets out to find the truth about her father while keeping him from discovering her own secret life. She’s the front-man for a high school punk band, Pink Vomit. She’s sneaking into night clubs across the Mexican border. Battling her father for her own autonomy, she breaks the family taboo and seeks out Pilar Aguirre, her estranged biological grandmother, and the woman who, local history says, tried to drown Julio at birth.

The Mexican American population is the largest and fastest growing Latino subgroup in the United States. Research has indicated Mexican Americans experience as many, if not more, mental health problems as other ethnic groups, including anxiety, depression, agoraphobia, simple phobia, drug and alcohol abuse, and increased rates of suicide. Mexican Americans, however, are among some of the most underserved by the mental health community. Little research, however, has focused on parents’ beliefs about their adolescents’ mental health, their utilization of mainstream mental health services, or their use of alternative resources for addressing their adolescent’s problems. This is particularly troubling given Mexican American youth have disproportionately high rates of substance abuse, delinquency, depression and suicide. Mexican American youth’s utilization patterns mirror those of adults, with lower rates of utilization than their peers of other ethnicities, and higher rates of early termination of treatment. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine a number of topics related to Mexican American mothers’ perspectives on adolescent mental health, including factors that contribute to problems, steps parents would be willing to take to help their adolescent, their beliefs about the use of mental health professionals, and their use of alternatives such as curanderos, priests, or family reliance to address their adolescent mental health problems. Participants were 27 mothers of adolescents who identify themselves as being of Mexican descent (Mexican; Mexican American). Mothers who agreed to participate were interviewed in person using a semi-structured interview format. The results revealed considerable consistency in the participants’ views regardless of family history, adolescent problems faced, language spoken, and their generation in the U.S. The results of this study indicated that the Mexican American mothers who participated were attuned to adolescent functioning, with a keen sense for determining whether their adolescent is experiencing problems. The participants were able to navigate a complex system that involved considering other resources in their surroundings to address their adolescent’s problems. Overall, participants indicated positive regard toward the use of family, church, schools, and professionals in helping their adolescent, while the use of traditional folk healers, such as curanderos, was only minimally indicated. / text

Mexico’s national sport of charrería is practiced year-round by Mexican-American communities across Texas. Roughly 50 teams play across the state for a chance to compete with other U.S. and Mexican teams in annual tournaments. The sport is a multi-staged competition in which teams of men and women are awarded points for the careful execution of 10 events. These test horsemanship, lasso control, and bull and mare riding. In both nations, riders must use sanctioned garb and horse tack. But riders in the U.S. carry more than just the technical knowledge of the sport. For central Texas teams outside of Austin, their participation in this culturally significant sport brings together their community. It connects riders with their heritage and identity. In this report, I profile two teams: the men’s team of El Herradero and the women’s team of El Rosario. Both train and compete at Rancho Tres Potrancas outside of Austin, Texas. The ranch is owned by local charrería association president and El Herradero captain, Roberto Chavira. I discuss the sport and its history in Mexico and the U.S., but also how riders from the two Austin teams find a sense of community and unity through charrería. / text