Walls and Mirrors: Mexican Americans, Mexican Immigrants, and

Walls and Mirrors: Mexican Americans, Mexican Immigrants, and the Politics of Ethnicity

Covering more than one hundred years of American history, Walls and Mirrors examines the ways that continuous immigration from Mexico transformedâ€”and continues to shapeâ€”the political, social, and cultural life of the American Southwest. Taking a fresh approach to one of the most divisive political issues of our time, David GutiÃ©rrez explores the ways that nearly a century of steady immigration from Mexico has shaped ethnic politics in California and Texas, the two largest U.S. border states.

Drawing on an extensive body of primary and secondary sources, GutiÃ©rrez focuses on the complex ways that their pattern of immigration influenced Mexican Americans' sense of social and cultural identityâ€”and, as a consequence, their politics. He challenges the most cherished American myths about U.S. immigration policy, pointing out that, contrary to rhetoric about "alien invasions," U.S. government and regional business interests have actively recruited Mexican and other foreign workers for over a century, thus helping to establish and perpetuate the flow of immigrants into the United States. In addition, GutiÃ©rrez offers a new interpretation of the debate over assimilation and multiculturalism in American society. Rejecting the notion of the melting pot, he explores the ways that ethnic Mexicans have resisted assimilation and fought to create a cultural space for themselves in distinctive ethnic communities throughout the southwestern United States.
Country USA
Manufacturer University of California Press
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 1995-03-27
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	University of California Press
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	1995-03-27
Format	Kindle eBook

Walls and Mirrors: Mexican Americans, Mexican Immigrants, and the Politics of Ethnicity

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