CSRC Newsletter - April 2008
Volume 6, Number 7
Director's Message
April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
— T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land
This April brings many changes to the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center. We are pleased to announce the appointment of a new librarian and a new assistant director. Professors Eddie Telles and Vilma Ortiz have released their long awaited follow-up to the 1965–66 Mexican American Study Project, which was conducted at UCLA and CSRC. And there is more, as you will see below. I would also like to note the retirement of CSRC Assistant Director Carlos M. Haro, whom I was able to lure back to the CSRC in 2002 after nearly two decades as assistant dean at the International Institute. Carlos logged thirty-two years of service at UCLA, preceded by eleven years as a Bruin! He was here at the start of the CSRC in the early 1970s, and he has been absolutely critical to our accomplishments over the last five years. Truth be told, he has been trying to retire for almost two years, but I would not let him…. And although his retirement actually took effect in early January, I have been in denial, and he kept showing up on a volunteer basis. But all things must pass—or, rather, transform—from one thing into another. Carlos has been named as a visiting scholar at the CSRC, where he will continue his own research on educational issues, and he has agreed to work part-time on projects that have been very near and dear to his heart: our grants and fellowships programs and the Latina/o Education Summit.
Chon A. Noriega
Director and Professor
Director and Professor
News
CSRC Announces New Assistant Director
The center would like to welcome Francisco Javier Iribarren as our new assistant director. Dr. Iribarren holds a doctorate in clinical psychology and a master’s in social welfare. His research focuses on health care, the poor, and community collaborations. He is currently working on developing evidence-based interventions, understanding health care access and disparities, and integrating biomarkers into social sciences research. As a project director at the UCLA Center for Community Health, Dr. Iribarren helped develop an intervention program aimed at reducing the number of homeless adolescents in Los Angeles County. As director of a UCLA community consultation program office, he was in charge of a pioneering effort to assess the Mexican American community’s involvement in medical research. Dr. Iribarren is also involved in documentary filmmaking and other arts-related projects.
The center would like to welcome Francisco Javier Iribarren as our new assistant director. Dr. Iribarren holds a doctorate in clinical psychology and a master’s in social welfare. His research focuses on health care, the poor, and community collaborations. He is currently working on developing evidence-based interventions, understanding health care access and disparities, and integrating biomarkers into social sciences research. As a project director at the UCLA Center for Community Health, Dr. Iribarren helped develop an intervention program aimed at reducing the number of homeless adolescents in Los Angeles County. As director of a UCLA community consultation program office, he was in charge of a pioneering effort to assess the Mexican American community’s involvement in medical research. Dr. Iribarren is also involved in documentary filmmaking and other arts-related projects.
CSRC Awarded Ford Foundation Grant
In March the CSRC was awarded a $200,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to extend A Ver: Revisioning Art History, the CSRC’s ongoing project to document the art of Latino artists. The grant covers two areas: upcoming books in the A Ver series, and a community archiving component that will be developed in conjunction with the LGBTIQ and Mujeres initiatives at the CSRC Library.
In March the CSRC was awarded a $200,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to extend A Ver: Revisioning Art History, the CSRC’s ongoing project to document the art of Latino artists. The grant covers two areas: upcoming books in the A Ver series, and a community archiving component that will be developed in conjunction with the LGBTIQ and Mujeres initiatives at the CSRC Library.
Decades of Assimilation
Edward E. Telles and Vilma Ortiz, principal investigators for the Mexican American Study Project at CSRC, have just published their findings in the book-length study, Generations of Exclusion: Mexican Americans, Assimilation, and Race (Russell Sage Foundation, 2008). The volume examines how the Mexican American experience has evolved over the past four decades. For their study, which builds on the groundbreaking survey conducted at UCLA in 1965–66, Drs. Telles and Ortiz located and re-interviewed most of the original respondents, plus many of their children. Then they combined the findings of both studies to construct a thirty-five-year analysis of Mexican American integration into American society. Their research, which has been reported in Newsweek and UCLA Today, is summarized in five new CSRC Latino Issues and Policy Briefs, which will be issued over the next two months.
Edward E. Telles and Vilma Ortiz, principal investigators for the Mexican American Study Project at CSRC, have just published their findings in the book-length study, Generations of Exclusion: Mexican Americans, Assimilation, and Race (Russell Sage Foundation, 2008). The volume examines how the Mexican American experience has evolved over the past four decades. For their study, which builds on the groundbreaking survey conducted at UCLA in 1965–66, Drs. Telles and Ortiz located and re-interviewed most of the original respondents, plus many of their children. Then they combined the findings of both studies to construct a thirty-five-year analysis of Mexican American integration into American society. Their research, which has been reported in Newsweek and UCLA Today, is summarized in five new CSRC Latino Issues and Policy Briefs, which will be issued over the next two months.
New Visiting Scholar
Frances Negrón-Muntaner, a filmmaker and professor at Columbia University, will be a CSRC scholar-in-residence during spring 2008. Dr. Negrón, author and director of the award-winning film Brincando el charco: Portrait of a Puerto Rican and author of Boricua Pop: Puerto Ricans and the Latinization of American Culture, will teach two courses: “Sex in the Tropics” (LGBTS 187.3) and “Latino Cultures and Global Cities” (Chicano 188.3). Other visiting scholars at the CSRC this year are: Ellie Hernandez, Deborah Vargas, David G. Garcia, Nao Bustamante, Luis Ortiz-Franco, Alvaro Ochoa-Serrano, Angela Ixkic Duarte Bastian, Lauryn Camille Salazar, and recently retired CSRC assistant director, Carlos M. Haro.
Frances Negrón-Muntaner, a filmmaker and professor at Columbia University, will be a CSRC scholar-in-residence during spring 2008. Dr. Negrón, author and director of the award-winning film Brincando el charco: Portrait of a Puerto Rican and author of Boricua Pop: Puerto Ricans and the Latinization of American Culture, will teach two courses: “Sex in the Tropics” (LGBTS 187.3) and “Latino Cultures and Global Cities” (Chicano 188.3). Other visiting scholars at the CSRC this year are: Ellie Hernandez, Deborah Vargas, David G. Garcia, Nao Bustamante, Luis Ortiz-Franco, Alvaro Ochoa-Serrano, Angela Ixkic Duarte Bastian, Lauryn Camille Salazar, and recently retired CSRC assistant director, Carlos M. Haro.
Wendy Belcher Appointed Assistant Professor
The CSRC would like to congratulate former press manager Wendy Belcher. She has accepted a tenure-track appointment as assistant professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Center for African Studies at Princeton University. Ms. Belcher is finishing her PhD in the UCLA Department of English. During her eleven-year tenure at the CSRC she was a driving force behind the return and growth of Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies. She was also the person most responsible for the “re-branding” of the CSRC publications unit as an academic press. That move would not have been possible without the exponential growth of CSRC’s publications activities that she oversaw.
The CSRC would like to congratulate former press manager Wendy Belcher. She has accepted a tenure-track appointment as assistant professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Center for African Studies at Princeton University. Ms. Belcher is finishing her PhD in the UCLA Department of English. During her eleven-year tenure at the CSRC she was a driving force behind the return and growth of Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies. She was also the person most responsible for the “re-branding” of the CSRC publications unit as an academic press. That move would not have been possible without the exponential growth of CSRC’s publications activities that she oversaw.
CSRS in the News
CSRC Director Chon A. Noriega discusses the upcoming exhibition Phantom Sightings in an article in UCLA Today, “Making Space for Chicano Art.” He is also quoted in “Latino Festival Celebrates Its Quinceañera,” an article about the 2008 San Diego Latino Film Festival published by Inter Press Service.
CSRC Events
Phantom Sightings: Opening Symposium
Phantom Sightings: Art after the Chicano Movement, an exhibition developed through an ongoing agreement between the CSRC and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is the largest exhibition of cutting-edge Chicano art ever presented at the museum. The opening symposium on Saturday, April 5, “Phantom Sites: Rethinking Identity and Place in Chicano Art,” will explore the connection between the politics of identity and contemporary Chicano art. The symposium was organized by exhibition co-curators Chon A. Noriega, Rita Gonzalez, and Howard Fox. “Phantom Sites,” which is free and open to the public, will be held in LACMA’s Bing Theater, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. The exhibition continues at LACMA through September 1, then travels to venues in New York, Texas, and Mexico. The exhibition catalog was published by the University of California Press. For more information visit the LACMA website.
Phantom Sightings: Art after the Chicano Movement, an exhibition developed through an ongoing agreement between the CSRC and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is the largest exhibition of cutting-edge Chicano art ever presented at the museum. The opening symposium on Saturday, April 5, “Phantom Sites: Rethinking Identity and Place in Chicano Art,” will explore the connection between the politics of identity and contemporary Chicano art. The symposium was organized by exhibition co-curators Chon A. Noriega, Rita Gonzalez, and Howard Fox. “Phantom Sites,” which is free and open to the public, will be held in LACMA’s Bing Theater, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. The exhibition continues at LACMA through September 1, then travels to venues in New York, Texas, and Mexico. The exhibition catalog was published by the University of California Press. For more information visit the LACMA website.
Lecture and Book Signing
The CSRC and the UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library are pleased to host Laura E. Gómez, who will present "Manifest Destiny's Legacy: Race in America at the Turn of the 20th Century" on Tuesday, April 15, 4:00–6:00 p.m., in the Research Library Presentation Room. Dr. Gómez will also sign her new book, Manifest Destinies: The Making of the Mexican American Race. In Manifest Destinies Dr. Gómez traces the origins of Mexican Americans as a racial group in the United States by looking at the Mexican population in the portion of the Mexican territory that is now New Mexico. She explores the construction of racial status from the perspectives of law, history, and sociology. Dr. Gómez is a professor of law and American studies at the University of New Mexico. From 1994 through 2005 she held a joint faculty appointment at the UCLA School of Law and the UCLA Department of Sociology. A reception will follow the lecture.
The CSRC and the UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library are pleased to host Laura E. Gómez, who will present "Manifest Destiny's Legacy: Race in America at the Turn of the 20th Century" on Tuesday, April 15, 4:00–6:00 p.m., in the Research Library Presentation Room. Dr. Gómez will also sign her new book, Manifest Destinies: The Making of the Mexican American Race. In Manifest Destinies Dr. Gómez traces the origins of Mexican Americans as a racial group in the United States by looking at the Mexican population in the portion of the Mexican territory that is now New Mexico. She explores the construction of racial status from the perspectives of law, history, and sociology. Dr. Gómez is a professor of law and American studies at the University of New Mexico. From 1994 through 2005 she held a joint faculty appointment at the UCLA School of Law and the UCLA Department of Sociology. A reception will follow the lecture.
Welcome Reception
Please join us in welcoming new additions to the CSRC staff on Wednesday, April 23, 4:00–5:00 p.m., in the CSRC Library (144 Haines). The CSRC is pleased to announce the appointments of Dr. Javier Iribarren, assistant director; Miguel Juárez, librarian; Jae Chung, IT coordinator; and Frances Negrón–Muntaner, visiting scholar.
Please join us in welcoming new additions to the CSRC staff on Wednesday, April 23, 4:00–5:00 p.m., in the CSRC Library (144 Haines). The CSRC is pleased to announce the appointments of Dr. Javier Iribarren, assistant director; Miguel Juárez, librarian; Jae Chung, IT coordinator; and Frances Negrón–Muntaner, visiting scholar.
Gronk Featured in Speaker Series
The New LATC will present “A Conversation with Gronk” as part of its speaker series, “Spring on Spring!” Gronk will discuss his art, which ranges from street murals and large-scale paintings to performance art and operatic set design, his work with Asco, and his collaborations with Cyclona, Mundo Meza, Jerry Dreva, and Tomata DuPlenty. The talk, which will be moderated by CSRC Director Chon A. Noriega, will be held on Sunday, April 27, 3:00 p.m., in Theater 2, The New LATC, 514 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles. Tickets are $10.00. To purchase tickets, visit the company’s website.
The New LATC will present “A Conversation with Gronk” as part of its speaker series, “Spring on Spring!” Gronk will discuss his art, which ranges from street murals and large-scale paintings to performance art and operatic set design, his work with Asco, and his collaborations with Cyclona, Mundo Meza, Jerry Dreva, and Tomata DuPlenty. The talk, which will be moderated by CSRC Director Chon A. Noriega, will be held on Sunday, April 27, 3:00 p.m., in Theater 2, The New LATC, 514 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles. Tickets are $10.00. To purchase tickets, visit the company’s website.
The CSRC published the first major book on Gronk in 2007 as part of the A Ver: Revisiting Art History series. The book, by Max Benavides, may be ordered at the CSRC’s online store. For more information about Gronk and forthcoming books in the A Ver series, visit the CSRC Press website.
Save the Date
CSRC will host a panel discussion and reception in conjunction with The African Presence in México: From Yanga to the Present, an exhibition currently on view at the California African American Museum (CAAM). The exhibition explores the artistic and cultural legacy of African descendants in Mexico and the Americas. The discussion, which is co-sponsored by the CSRC, the Bunche Center for African American Studies, and CAAM, will be held on Wednesday, April 30, 4:00–6:00 p.m., in the CSRC Library (144 Haines). For more information about the exhibition, visit the CAAM website.
CSRC will host a panel discussion and reception in conjunction with The African Presence in México: From Yanga to the Present, an exhibition currently on view at the California African American Museum (CAAM). The exhibition explores the artistic and cultural legacy of African descendants in Mexico and the Americas. The discussion, which is co-sponsored by the CSRC, the Bunche Center for African American Studies, and CAAM, will be held on Wednesday, April 30, 4:00–6:00 p.m., in the CSRC Library (144 Haines). For more information about the exhibition, visit the CAAM website.
CSRC Library & Archive
Special Thanks
The CSRC Library would like to thank its student workers—Angeline Macaspac, Albany Bautista, Cynthia Melchor, Judith Gallardo, and Salvador Mesinas—for their help and support. We would like to especially acknowledge Ms. Macaspac, who has been working at the CSRC Library for the past four years. This is her last quarter with the library and with UCLA, and we wish her the best of luck. During the month of March the students helped process the following archival collections: Church of the Epiphany Collection, Candelario Mendoza Collection, Joe Ortiz Collection, and additions to the Homeboy Industries Papers. Students assisted with the inventory of audio and serials holdings and the ongoing effort to clean and organize library space.
The CSRC Library would like to thank its student workers—Angeline Macaspac, Albany Bautista, Cynthia Melchor, Judith Gallardo, and Salvador Mesinas—for their help and support. We would like to especially acknowledge Ms. Macaspac, who has been working at the CSRC Library for the past four years. This is her last quarter with the library and with UCLA, and we wish her the best of luck. During the month of March the students helped process the following archival collections: Church of the Epiphany Collection, Candelario Mendoza Collection, Joe Ortiz Collection, and additions to the Homeboy Industries Papers. Students assisted with the inventory of audio and serials holdings and the ongoing effort to clean and organize library space.
CSRC Press
New Policy Briefs Focus on Assimilation
CSRC Press will release two new CSRC Latino Policy and Issues Briefs this month. The authors, Edward E. Telles and Vilma Ortiz, present findings drawn from the Mexican American Study Project (MASP), a longitudinal and intergenerational research project based at UCLA. In 1965–66, MASP project teams interviewed Mexican Americans living in Los Angeles and San Antonio; in 1997–2000 the original participants, plus up to two of their adult children, were re-interviewed. The two surveys provide data for a systematic analysis of how well Mexican Americans are being absorbed into mainstream U.S. culture.
CSRC Press will release two new CSRC Latino Policy and Issues Briefs this month. The authors, Edward E. Telles and Vilma Ortiz, present findings drawn from the Mexican American Study Project (MASP), a longitudinal and intergenerational research project based at UCLA. In 1965–66, MASP project teams interviewed Mexican Americans living in Los Angeles and San Antonio; in 1997–2000 the original participants, plus up to two of their adult children, were re-interviewed. The two surveys provide data for a systematic analysis of how well Mexican Americans are being absorbed into mainstream U.S. culture.
Two key measures of assimilation are examined in the new briefs. Mexican Americans and Education, Latino Policy and Issues Brief No. 17, looks at the educational progress of Mexican Americans; Mexican Americans and Socioeconomic Status, Latino Policy and Issues Brief No. 18, assesses their socioeconomic standing. The authors conclude that Mexican Americans are assimilating, but not consistently and not as rapidly as some theories predict. Other measures of assimilation—including language, religion, family values, intermarriage, residential segregation, ethnic identity, and political preference—are explored in CSRC Policy and Issues Briefs Nos. 19–21, which will be released in May. For more information on these and other CSRC publications, visit the CSRC Press webpage.
Half Price on New Releases
During the spring quarter, anyone visiting the CSRC may purchase our newest books and the latest issue of Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies at a 50 percent discount. Take advantage of this spring sale by dropping by the CSRC; ask for Luz Orozco in 193B Haines.
During the spring quarter, anyone visiting the CSRC may purchase our newest books and the latest issue of Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies at a 50 percent discount. Take advantage of this spring sale by dropping by the CSRC; ask for Luz Orozco in 193B Haines.
Just released are: Paths to Discovery: Autobiographies from Chicanas with Careers in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering, edited by Norma E. Cantú, which traces the careers of a group of extraordinary Chicanas whose interest in math and science at a young age developed into a passion fed by talent and determination; and The Art of Healing Latinos: Firsthand Accounts from Physicians and Other Health Advocates, edited by David E. Hayes-Bautista and Roberto Chiprut, which collects the wisdom of health professionals who have particular expertise in treating Latino patients.
The spring 2008 issue of Aztlán features essays on Arturo Islas’s The Rain God, the art of Delilah Montoya, Cherríe Moraga’s The Hungry Woman, Chicano muralism in Michigan, and the dramatic works of Luis Valdez. Political and cultural relations between Chicana/os and African Americans are explored in the dossier section. Margarita Cabrera is the featured artist, and her work is the subject of the editor’s commentary by Chon A. Noriega.
Opportunities
Chicana/o Studies Research Grants
The CSRC and the UCLA Institute of American Cultures (IAC) invite applications for support of research on Chicana/os in a variety of disciplines. The CSRC, the IAC, and the University of California Committee on Latino Research (UCCLR) are also offering research grants in Latino policy studies. Application forms are available online at the IAC website. Applications are due Friday, April 25, by 5:00 p.m., at the CSRC main office (193 Haines). Awards will be announced by the third week in June. For further information please contact Carlos M. Haro, or visit the CSRC website.
The CSRC and the UCLA Institute of American Cultures (IAC) invite applications for support of research on Chicana/os in a variety of disciplines. The CSRC, the IAC, and the University of California Committee on Latino Research (UCCLR) are also offering research grants in Latino policy studies. Application forms are available online at the IAC website. Applications are due Friday, April 25, by 5:00 p.m., at the CSRC main office (193 Haines). Awards will be announced by the third week in June. For further information please contact Carlos M. Haro, or visit the CSRC website.
UC/ACCORD Call for Proposals
UC/ACCORD (All Campus Consortium on Research for Diversity) announces a call for research proposals in several categories. The application deadline is Wednesday, April 16, at 5:00 p.m.; funding begins July 1. UC/ACCORD was established to engage UC scholars in research that will support efforts to replace prevailing patterns of schooling inequality and disparities in access to higher education in California with equitable conditions and outcomes for children from all sectors of our diverse state. UC/ACCORD is interested in increasing the number of graduate students and faculty within the UC system who are working in areas that inform its goals. It also supports scholars who have been working in this area and for whom additional funding would support a better connection with UC/ACCORD activities. For more information visit the UC/ACCORD website.
UC/ACCORD (All Campus Consortium on Research for Diversity) announces a call for research proposals in several categories. The application deadline is Wednesday, April 16, at 5:00 p.m.; funding begins July 1. UC/ACCORD was established to engage UC scholars in research that will support efforts to replace prevailing patterns of schooling inequality and disparities in access to higher education in California with equitable conditions and outcomes for children from all sectors of our diverse state. UC/ACCORD is interested in increasing the number of graduate students and faculty within the UC system who are working in areas that inform its goals. It also supports scholars who have been working in this area and for whom additional funding would support a better connection with UC/ACCORD activities. For more information visit the UC/ACCORD website.
Oral History Graduate Research Grant
The UCLA Library’s Center for Oral History Research is seeking applications for its 2008 Gold Shield Alumnae Oral History Graduate Research Grants. Two grants of up to $2,500 apiece will be awarded to UCLA graduate students in any field of study who, as part of their dissertation research, are conducting oral histories or other in-depth qualitative interviews with a comparable social or historical focus. The grants must be used to cover expenses associated with conducting the interviews, such as those for equipment, transcription, and travel. Preference will be given to projects focusing on Southern California and/or aspects of UCLA history. Applications must be received by Wednesday, April 30. Grant recipients will be announced in June. For more information, contact the Center for Oral History. The Gold Shield Research Grant is funded by Gold Shield Alumnae of UCLA.
The UCLA Library’s Center for Oral History Research is seeking applications for its 2008 Gold Shield Alumnae Oral History Graduate Research Grants. Two grants of up to $2,500 apiece will be awarded to UCLA graduate students in any field of study who, as part of their dissertation research, are conducting oral histories or other in-depth qualitative interviews with a comparable social or historical focus. The grants must be used to cover expenses associated with conducting the interviews, such as those for equipment, transcription, and travel. Preference will be given to projects focusing on Southern California and/or aspects of UCLA history. Applications must be received by Wednesday, April 30. Grant recipients will be announced in June. For more information, contact the Center for Oral History. The Gold Shield Research Grant is funded by Gold Shield Alumnae of UCLA.
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UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center • 193 Haines Hall • Box 951544 • Los Angeles, CA 90095-1544 Campus Mail Code: 154403 • Tel: (310) 825-2363 • Fax: (310) 206-1784