The aim of this study was to reconfigure the concept of 'Latinidad' through reexamining various historical and contemporary discourses on Latinos' identities and recent scholarly exploration of cultural differences in Latino communities in the U.S. Th ...
The aim of this study was to reconfigure the concept of 'Latinidad' through reexamining various historical and contemporary discourses on Latinos' identities and recent scholarly exploration of cultural differences in Latino communities in the U.S. The rapid increase of Latino population has caused American society to experience too dramatic changes in the various areas such as politics, economy and culture, etc. enough to have the necessity of identifying its national identity as multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual. In comparison with other ethnic communities, Latinos show higher tendency of maintaining cultural and emotional attachment to their origin countries, which ultimately serves to embody 'inter-american' or 'transamerican' connection.
This study was focused on the framework of the border theories as a compelling explication for 'identity in-between' that Latinos are acquiring and experiencing. The study took seriously the knowledges, epistemologies and critical thinking produced by the border theories which deal with racially and sexually oppressed Latino subjects. It delved into the way in which the border theories contribute to accounting for conflict between anti-immigrant sentiment prevailed in the mainstream society and the massive immigration from Latin America. In that sense, the study was largely oriented by the concerns for social, epistemic and identity differences of Latino communities.
In this vein, we intended to reexamine the perspectives and historical experiences of Latina/os that Latino Studies in the U.S. academy have represented in the last few decades. Our researches attempted to provide a detailed overview of preliminary studies on Latino identities in pursuit of reappropriating their methodological uniqueness and scholarly outcomes, the significance and limitation of the border theories. To achieve this we vastly considered Latin American Studies, American literature studies, Spanish literature studies, comparative studies, feminism studies, postcolonial/decolonial studies, and multiple theoretical approaches as conceptual sources.
Through traditional and interdisciplinary approaches, our researches illuminate the various U.S. Latino experiences, such as the history of Mexican Americans in the 19th and 20th century southwest, the post-1965 Chicana/o and Nuyorican movements, the impact and influence of Latino multi-media, Latino visual and mural arts, historical and changing Latino migrations, Latino novels, Chicana feminist thoughts, philosophies of resistance, Latin music, and the broad and in-depth analysis of the border theories.
Each researcher's scholarly outcomes are as follows:
"Overview of the history and scholarly outcomes of Latino Studies, and the discourses on Latinidad", "Latino identity embodied in ‘The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao’", "Cesar Chávez and UFW's contribution to Chicano Movement", "Latino image and the debate on Latino threat caused by massive Mexican immigration", "Postcolonial perspective on Latino immigration", "The role and influence of Latino medias", "Mural paintings of Latino communities in San Francisco", "The development of Latin/Latino arts", "Judy Baca’s The Great Wall of Los Angeles and The World Wall Mural Projects: From a National(Multicultural) to a Transnational Perspective", "Bilingualism and Latinidad" "Latin music and Latino metropolis", "A Study of "Missed Encounter" between American Culture and Latino Culture and the Border Theory: Theodore Roosevelt and José Martí", "The Dilemmas of the Border Theory of José David Saldívar and Gloria Anzaldúa", "Multiculturalism and the early Chicano novels", "Latinidad revealed in the 70s' Chicano narratives", "Chicana feminism and the myth of Llorona: analytical approach to Sandra Cisneros’ novels", "Chicana feminism and border crossing in Chicana narratives"