Narratives of Mexican American Women - by Alma M García (Paperback)

About the Book

García offers a bold new interpretation of identity formation for second-generation immigrants in America. Her qualitative analysis of Mexican American women in higher education reveals the processes by which they negotiate ethnic, gender, and class identities with Mexican imm...

Book Synopsis

García offers a bold new interpretation of identity formation for second-generation immigrants in America. Her qualitative analysis of Mexican American women in higher education reveals the processes by which they negotiate ethnic, gender, and class identities with Mexican immigrant parents and with their university communities. She provides significant insight into the processes of cultural continuity and change. Her new book is an innovative contribution to Mexican American studies, women's studies, multicultural education, and sociology.

Review Quotes

A benchmark contribution to the fields of Chicana/o studies, gender studies, sociology, and education. With an ethnography that sparkles, Alma García provides an incisive, intimate portrait of Chicana college students. A bold, new interpretation on identity formation, Narratives of Mexican American Women is an exciting, transdisciplinary study that advances our understanding of Mexican American youth.

After the 1965 Immigration Act eased restrictions on immigration, and as the children of post-1965 immigrants are coming of age, research on the 'new second generation' is gaining increasing momentum. Alma Garcia's exciting exegesis, Narratives of Mexican American Women: Emergent Identities of the Second Generation, is an important addition to this growing literature. Through the voices of women college students, Garcia examines the emergence and development of ethnic identity among second-generation Mexican American women. Bridging social constructionist and postmodernist frameworks, Garcia shows how these women construct and negotiate ethnic boundaries, identities, and cultures between and within the spaces of their immigrant homes, the educational environments, and the larger society. This book is a valuable resource for researchers, instructors, and students in the fields of immigration, ethnic identity, women's studies, and Mexican Americans.

Garcìa (soiciology, Santa Clara Univ.) fills a niche in immigrant studies by crafting this interdisciplinary study of second-generation Mexican American women attending US colleges. Written in a very engaging style, the study is structured within postmodernist, feminist, and social consrtuctionist theoretical orientations....a finely focused study of a specific group that should serve commendably as the basis for establishing future higher education policy, as the author had hoped....Highly Recommended.

This is a wonderful book-an engaging and timely study of intertwining perspectives and subjectivities in women's lives. You can read Narratives of Mexican American Women for the poignant and powerful stories. At the same time, you will learn about the new second generation and the social worlds these women inhabit. . .a valuable contribution to racial-ethnic studies, immigration research and feminism

About the Author

Alma Garcia is professor of sociology at Santa Clara University. She is the author of Chicana Feminist Thought: The Basic Historical Writings. Her research includes Chicano/a studies, race, class and gender, and qualitative research methods.