front cover of Ethnic Labels, Latino Lives
Ethnic Labels, Latino Lives
Identity and the Politics of (Re) Presentation in the United States
Suzanne Oboler
University of Minnesota Press, 1995
"Subtle and provocative. Readers interested in exploring the complex processes involved in ethnic formation and reformation and the increasingly volatile politics of citizenship in the United States will learn a great deal from Oboler's insightful study." Journal of American Ethnic History "An excellent historico-political analysis. Oboler's book provides a good point of departure for broader cross-cultural analysis." MultiCultural Review "The book is also an elegant synthesis of the fundamental theoretical questions and emerging set of concepts in the literature on ethnic identity. An excellent monograph on an important and timely subject, it should be read by anyone interested in the study of present-day intergroup relations in the United States." International Migration Review "Professor Oboler draws on her own heritage as a Peruvian American scholar of Latino/a studies and American literatures and cultures to offer a lucid and well-documented account of the historical emergence and multiple effects of the ethnic label `Hispanic,' as mobilized by the U.S. government in response to Latino/a claims for social justice during the civil rights movements of the 1960s. Her combination of thoroughly researched social history and qualitative analysis results in an important, carefully reasoned, and timely contribution to contemporary debates on affirmative action. On the whole, Ethnic Labels, Latino Lives is a significant and accessible resource that will serve a wide variety of socially-conscious readers including students and scholars of policy, sociology, gender, women's studies, literature, culture, history, and diversity studies." Canadian Review of American Studies Hispanic or Latino? Mexican American or Chicano? Social labels often take on a life of their own beyond the control of those who coin them or to whom they are applied. In Ethnic Labels, Latino Lives, Suzanne Oboler explores the history and current use of the label "Hispanic" as she illustrates the complex meanings that ethnicity has acquired in shaping our lives and identities. Exploding the myth of cultural and national homogeneity among people of Latin American descent, Oboler interviews members of diverse groups who have traditionally been labeled "Hispanic" and records the many different meanings and social values they attribute to this label. For example, a person of Mexican descent has a different historical relationship with the United States and a different cultural background than an individual of Puerto Rican or Brazilian descent. The different meanings and social values those interviewed attribute to the label "Hispanic" also correspond to their gender and social class position, including racial prejudices and values stemming from their countries of origin. Though we have witnessed in recent years the fading of the idealized image of U.S. society as a melting pot, we have also realized that the possibility of recasting it in multicultural terms is problematic. Oboler discusses the historical process of labeling groups of individuals, illustrating how labels affect the meaning of citizenship and the struggle for full social participation in the United States. Ethnic Labels, Latino Lives aims to understand the role ethnic labels play in our society and brings us closer toward actualizing a society that values cultural diversity. Suzanne Oboler, a Peruvian American, is currently assistant professor in the Department of American Civilization at Brown University.
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front cover of Latino Lives in America
Latino Lives in America
Making It Home
Luis R. Fraga, John A. Garcia, Rodney E. Hero, Michael Jones-Correa, Valerie Martinez-Ebers and Gary Segura
Temple University Press, 2010

Latinos are the largest and fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, with increased levels of political mobilization and influence. In the timely and thoroughgoing Latino Lives in America, six prominent Latino scholars explore the profound implications of Latinos’ population growth and geographic dispersion for American politics and society, tracking key changes and continuities in Latinos' attitudes, behavior, and social experiences.

Utilizing a unique set of “narratives” from focus group interviews, supplemented with quantitative findings from the 2006 Latino National Survey, the authors provide a snapshot of Latino life in America. The Latinos interviewed provide their thoughts regarding their sense of belonging and group identification, assimilation and transnationalism, housing, education, civic engagement, and perceptions of discrimination, as well as their experiences in new destinations, where they are trying to realize the “Americano” dream.

Latino Lives in America uses these conversations and the survey data to offer both a micro and macro look at how Latinos are transforming various aspects of American politics, culture, and life and how their experiences in the United States are changing them and their families.

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