The purpose of the study is to explore the life experiences, identities, and self-esteem of a group of Mexican women who attend Even Start, a family literacy program. The study also focuses on the effect that the program has on the women's self-identities. I chose qualitative research considering I was interested in their phenomenological experience. In order to gather data I interviewed ten women, conducted a focus group with the women who were not interviewed, and did participant observation while the women were in class. The Mexican women I interviewed came to this country hoping to improve their socioeconomic status. Most of them had relatives in the US and the support that they gave them made it easier for them to come and get established. As a result of being away from their people and their culture, they had a hard time, particularly at the beginning. Their illegal status and the fact that they didn't speak English complicated things even more. In spite of the many difficulties they had to face, their experiences in this country have allowed them to improve their socioeconomic situation and to achieve greater levels of independence. In regards to their self-esteem, most of my informants have positive self-images. The few that have lower levels of self-esteem were often mistreated by caregivers and their families were dysfunctional in some way. Even though a few have lower levels of self-esteem, all my informants felt loved by their parents and other family members. Because of this and because they were raised in social environments that fostered interdependence, my informants have generally developed into responsible and reliable people who work towards their goals. Their identities mirror their society and in particular their social network. At the core of 'who they are' are traits of the identities of caregivers that through active choices (Blumstein 1991) they came to internalize. Even Start plays a crucial role in their self-identities for two main reasons. First, in the program the women are taught English which is the basic tool they need in order to communicate and move around in this country. Second, the women are around people from their country. By feeling they belong to a larger community, the women feel supported and find strategies to cope with their reality. At the same time, being around other Mexicans strengthens their Hispanic identity. The following are recommendations that could be used by Even Start to enhance the women's self-esteem. (1) Incorporate more one-on-one activities to enable students to learn at their own pace and to help participants with special needs to work without feeling a sense of pressure. (2) Provide the women with the opportunity to improve their literacy skills in Spanish and to strengthen their knowledge in basic areas. (3) Include activities that would allow the participants to release stress and thus to improve their ability to concentrate. (4) Provide the students with skills that will enable them to find jobs or get promoted. Although the literature on self-identities was useful to conducting this research, the fact that scholars have approached the topic mainly from an intellectual perspective has resulted in an understanding of the self often disconnected from reality. Among the main contributions of this research is the realization that adult experiences such as migration and participation in a literacy program play a crucial role in people's self-esteem and identities. / Graduation date: 2004

In this piece of literature, storytelling is used as a method towards understanding, knowing, and validating the experience of the “other”, in this case Mexican immigrants of all shapes and colors, sexual preferences, and diverse socioeconomic standing. I would like to shift the discourse from their potential as socioeconomic assets towards a recognition of their essence as participating members of our community. Immigrants are artists, they are intellectuals, they are leaders. They are simply not given the space in American society to develop their potential without being chained down to the “immigrant” label. I would like to stress the recognition of fluidity and diversity within this marginalized group, in the sense that to assume a homogeneous experience for this population aggravates the gap of understanding, tolerance, acceptance, and celebration of this rich community. Hegemonic forces have kept immigrants in the shadows, blinded, and hidden from the rest of society. My ultimate goal is to promote an idea of fearless engagement in active, undisciplined, self-determined embracement of the hybrid culture that remains buried under layers of socially constructed self-disciplining forces of domination.

In my dissertation I show how the hegemonic power of the post-revolutionary state in Mexico utilized the figure of legendary Pancho Villa in literature and cinematography to create a national myth that represents a consensus in a mestizo patriarchal Christian society. I examine how the use and abuse of the image of Villa in post-revolutionary literary works and films caused this figure to acquire mythical characteristics and dimensions, and to become a key element in the construction of national identity and masculinity in Mexico. I argue that the figure of Villa is a confirmation of a traditional rather than a revolutionary proposal in gender terms. Equally important, I demonstrate how the literature and film of the Mexican revolution constitute instrumental devices for the formation of masculinity and the strengthening of a homo-social culture in the Mexico’s post-revolutionary stage, a process that would later determine the structure of the Mexican state. I also contend that in the construction of the mythical figure of Pancho Villa at least two sources of representation are participating: the Mexican state machinery on the one hand, and the American media on the other. By the same token, I show how the figure of Villa nurtures a national project and constitutes one of the most diffused perceptions of Mexican identity in the United States. / text

This thesis explores the immigration experiences of five Latino-American women who reside in Lethbridge, Alberta. Rather than using interviews as a research protocol, the author used conversation as a tool to explore the narratives of these women’s experiences. Four of the five told their story in Spanish, and after transcribing the conversations, the author used critical inquiry to find common ground between the women’s narratives and her own immigration experiences. This thesis explores topics such as belonging and connections to different communities and how these women use stories of change and continuity in constructing their identities. Language, employment, recognition of previous education as well as separation from their families and support networks were the main difficulties identified. As anticipated, these women accessed federally funded and provincially delivered immigrant settlement services, such as ESL classes. While hesitant to use formal counselling, three of the women accessed these services for gendered matters such as spousal abuse. Relationships based on kinship were crucial resources and central to their narratives as was church, which provided both a familiar and significant source of community and support. This study found that when using conversation the researcher establishes relationships with the participants, other writers/academics, as well as the readers. Thus this thesis suggests that narrative research is fundamentally a relational activity. In this context stories are considered gifts, and the exchange of gifts an important aspect of research design. The narratives were shaped by, and interpreted in light of, various contextual factors such as the women’s relationships with the researcher, and their individual as well as socio-cultural and historical circumstances. The five women who participated in this research were found through community networking, and had some familiarity with counselling–either as service recipients or a professional connection–circumstances which shaped their willingness to participate as well as the stories they narrated about their immigration experiences. In constructing the narratives of their past experiences, from the vantage point of the present, the women emphasize gratitude to Canada and only subtly allude to issues such as racism or stereotyping. / viii, 170 leaves ; 29 cm. --

The present thesis studies the concepts of mestizaje and Mexican identity in five essays and two short stories: La raza cosmica and Indologia, by Jose Vasconcelos; El perfil del hombre y la cultura en Mexico, by Samuel Ramos; El laberinto de la soledad and Posdata, by Octavio Paz; and finally the short stories "Chac Mool" and "Por boca de los dioses", by Carlos Fuentes. The thesis shows how the confrontation between the European and the Pre-Columbian cultures, still very much a part of the Mexican reality, affects the intellectual efforts by which those authors try to grasp the problematic of mestizaje and Mexican cultural identity. The perspectives of those four authors, from the racial and optimistic vision of Vasconcelos to the psychoanalytical and rather bleaker approach of Paz, are unable to give an objective account of mestizaje and Mexican identity, precisely because of the confrontation, never settled, between the two cultural universes.

A key consideration in the human migration process to a destination country is the need to secure suitable and affordable housing. As housing costs have increased in the United States in recent decades, mobile homes – also known as manufactured housing or "trailers" – have become a significant source of affordable housing for people living in the United States. In rural communities, mobile homes have become a substantial portion of the available housing stock. This research project explored mobile home living specifically in relation to Mexican migrants who lived in a rural county in central North Carolina. Consideration was given to the practical issues of this type of housing, as well as any influence the American stigma of mobile homes might have had on the ways people experienced their homes and communities.

Review of previous research on cultural differences in pain experience and/or pain behavior revealed that cultural affiliation affects pain perception and response. Unfortunately, the many inconsistent findings in the literature on cultural differences in pain experience and behavior have made interpretations and comparisons of results problematic. These inconsistent findings could be attributed to variations in acculturation level among cultural groups. The purpose of this study was to investigate cultural differences in pain experience (assessed by McGill Pain Questionnaire, the Box Scale, the Headache Pain Drawing, and the Headache Questionnaire) and pain behavior (measured by determining medication use and interference of daily functioning due to headaches) among Mexican (n = 43), Mexican American (n = 36), and Anglo American (n = 50) female chronic headache pain sufferers. The contribution of acculturation to differences in pain experience and behavior among cultural groups was measured by the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans. The three cultural groups of women significantly differed on pain experience and pain behavior. Specifically, Mexican women experienced their headache pain more intensely, severely, and emotionally than Mexican American and Anglo American women. Furthermore, Mexican women were more willing to verbally express their pain than the other two groups. As for pain behavior, Mexican women took more medication and reported more severe inhibition of daily activities due to headaches than Mexican American and Anglo American women. Ethnic identity, ethnic pride, and language preference were factors in the acculturation process which contributed the most to women's chronic pain experience and behavior. The greatest variability occurred within the Mexican American group of women who perceived themselves as being more Mexican in attitudes and/or behaviors, but more similar to Anglo American in their pain experience and pain behavior. Results are explained using biocultural multidimensional pain theory, social learning theory, and acculturation theory.

No description available.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / During the 20th century, production and labor flows across borders have increased the frequency of transnational constituted families. In the past, family configurations across borders were composed primarily of an immigrant male income-producer living apart from women and children who remained in the sending country. In contrast, in recent years more women are also leaving their loved ones behind in order to become their family’s main source of income. In many cases, women even leave their children to be cared for by their relatives. This social phenomenon is now known as transnational motherhood. In the U.S., transnational motherhood has become increasinly common, particulalry among women of Filipino and Latin American origins. The new trends of transnational motherhood, challenge mainstream western ideas about family configuration and in particular, about women’s maternal role. Whereas in Western cultures mothering is generally understood as a practice that involves the physical presence, nurturance and training of children for adulthood, transnational mothers generally choose physical separation in order to better their children material conditions. Consequently, transnational mothers may suffer as a result of social stigma and peer pressure of 'good mothering'. The present study examined the processes of meaning construction that serve to promote and negotiate motherhood identity and stigma management among Mexican mothers who left their children back in their country. In doing so, this study relied on theoretical frameworks about ideology, identity construction, social roles and stigma management.

No description available.