Edwards, 2007

Identity “…Latino population’s sense of self and its collective history are still far from having a definitive impact on the understanding of race, ethnicity, and nationhood in the US.”

THINK ABOUT THIS The Mexican [Latin American] does not want to be either an Indian or a Spaniard. Nor does he want to be a descendent from them. And he does not affirm himself as a mixture, but rather as an abstraction.” Octavio Paz

Definitions “The term Latino is a new and ambiguous invention.”.”

Definitions “The term Latino has meaning only in reference to the US experience.”

Identity “One student, in particular, explained that all the members of her family had answered the racial question differently, depending on their own self-identities.”.”

THINK ABOUT THIS “Learning who you are…creating who you want to be.” Lisa Froemming

CULTURAL STRENGTHS 1.) Ethnic Identity 2.) Biculturalism 3.) Familismo Edwards, Lisa, Marquette University, 2007

Ethnic Identity The meaning or importance of ethnicity to an individual at a given time. Includes: –Exploration & Search –Affirmation, Commitment & Belonging

Edwards,Lisa, Marquette University 2007 Multi-Group Ethnic Identity Measure Exploration & Search –Items 1, 2, 4, 8, 10 –Add up and divide the total by 5 Affirmation, Commitment & Belonging –Items 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12 –Add up and divide the total by 7

ACCULTURATION Includes and influences ethnic identity Comprised of various domains: –Language –Social Affiliation –Daily Living Habits (Food, Music) –Identification and Pride Edwards, Lisa, Marquette University, 2007

BICULTURALISM The ability to navigate multiple cultural contexts. --Retaining one’s culture of origin while still adapting to majority culture --Can be challenging, but can also be a strength. Edwards, Lisa, Marquette University, 2007

Lisa Edwards, Marquette University, 2007 Models of Acculturation Latino Culture Anglo Culture Bidimensional Model Bicultural Identity

FAMILISMO Familism can be defined as, “a strong identification and attachment of individuals with their families and strong feelings of loyalty, reciprocity and solidarity among members of their family.” (Triandis et al., 1982)

Generational Differences 1.) First Generation Person –Different view of America, different sense of identity, & different sense of entitlement. 2.) Native Born Person –Role of parents’ perceptions/experiences, experience in school system, minority person, race/ethnic relations.

Millennials, …have been depicted more recently by employers, professors and earnestly concerned mental-health experts as entitled whiners who have been spoiled by parents who over-stoked their self- esteem, teachers who granted undeserved A’s and sports coaches who bestowed trophies on any player who showed up. New York Times Magazine, May 30, 2010

Languages/Identities “Language, the medium through which all culture is learned and transmitted, is a powerful lens through which we can detect the ways in which use different voices…as members of different groups, at different times, even same time.”

Languages/Identities “…facilitate the adoption of new words and ways of speaking that reflects new ethnic and racial identities. Help understand how linguistic codes help construct identities, including how and where the boundaries between linguistics codes are drawn...advocated anthropolitical linguistics.”

Languages/Identities “…of the fact that critics denounce hybrid identities as evidence of cognitive confusion, as watered-down versions of one culture or another, and even as unpatriotic abandonment of a core culture.”

Languages/Identities “Anthropolitical linguistics assumes that the ways in the US speak English and Spanish cannot be divorced from socioeconomic and political realities.”

THINK ABOUT THIS “I have seen many Anglo-Americans have an easier time mastering the Spanish language, but with Chicanos [Latinos], there seems to be a barrier, a phobia that is more psychological than people realize. There is a resentment for past treatment. We have scars, and they appear when we talk our mother tongue.” Jose Antonio Burciaga

Gender, Ethnicity, & Race “The boys’ experience of the `Mexicanness’ and gender approximates a process of racialization, with the associated difficulties of engagement and entry, whereas the girls’ experience approximates a process of ethnicization.’

“RACISM, NO LONGER A BLACK/WHITE BINARY PARADIGM". THIS RACISM PERMEATES THROUGH TO LATINO CITIZENS OF THIS COUNRTY, EITHER AS A PERCEIVED RACISM OR AS REAL. THERE ARE ALSO SOME RACIST-BASED VIEWS BETWEEN AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND LATINOS. Source--New York Times, January 15, 2008

“RACISM, NO LONGER A BLACK/WHITE BINARY PARADIGM". WITHIN THE LATINO COMMUNITY, RACISM IS NOT STRICKLY A SKIN-COLOR ISSUE, THOUGH IT CERTAINLY IS. IT’S ABOUT LAST NAME, FORM OF SPEAKING, AND MANNER OF DRESS, AS WELL. Source--New York Times, January 15, 2008

As you develop, the world changes … what’s put away does not go away. Think About This

METRO AREAS & RACE GAP, NYT, May-18-’10 METRO % WHITE % WHITE AREAOVER 65 UNDER 18GAP Phoenix, Az85%44%41 Riverside, Ca Tucson, Az Bakersfield, Ca Fresno, Ca Modesto, Ca Ft. Myers, Fl Dallas, Tx Las Vegas, Nv San Diego, Ca Stockton, Ca622734

THINK ABOUT THIS “Membership in a group often means embracing shared beliefs, values, and traditions that are passed on through generations.” Michael J.A. Wohl