CSRC Newsletter - February 2010
Volume 8, Number 6
Director’s Message
UC Santa Barbara professor Luis Leal passed away on January 25. He was 102. There is much to say about Don Luis’s contributions to Mexican and Chicano studies. After all, his career spanned sixty years, during which he published over forty-five books and four hundred articles. In 2007 UC Santa Barbara held a two-day conference in celebration of his 100th birthday and his contributions to arts and letters. As Mario Garcia, who collaborated with Leal on his Auto/Biography, noted, "Luis Leal is the ultimate role model for me and my colleagues in Chicano Studies. He is the quintessential scholar." He was also the quintessential teacher. Last year UC Santa Barbara offered a course that was called, simply, “Luis Leal 101.” It was a fitting capstone to an exemplary career, but it was also an introduction, and an invitation to continue the intellectual project he helped introduce into the American university.
I am fortunate to have known Don Luis over the last decade, albeit in brief encounters in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Palo Alto. When I first became director of the Chicano Studies Research Center in 2002–03, I invited my colleagues from UC Santa Barbara to visit UCLA. Our campuses were unique in the UC system for having Chicano studies research centers, departments, and archives, as well as Chicana vice chancellors for faculty diversity. Why not meet! But UC Santa Barbara had something that we did not: Luis Leal. Don Luis joined our half-day meeting, during which we explored multiple areas of shared concern and potential collaboration. By the end of the meeting I was exhausted. But not Don Luis. He provided a detailed summary of our meeting, our main discussion points, our action items, and then he offered a humane and generous vision of why our efforts mattered. Of course, he was only 95 years old at the time, so I imagined that he then drove Maria, Francisco, and Carlos back to Santa Barbara. The last time I saw Don Luis was in spring 2008 at the Sixth International Corrido Conference at UC Santa Barbara. Our UCLA contingent of junior faculty had driven up to present a panel. Don Luis sat in the front row, showing his interest and support, and serving as a role model for a life of the mind.
Chon A. Noriega
Director and Professor
Director and Professor
News
Getty Foundation Awards Grant
The CSRC is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $175,000 grant from the Getty Foundation as part of the special initiative Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945–1980. The grant will support the installation of Los Angeles: The Mexican Presence in L.A., 1945–80, a three-part exhibition scheduled for Fall 2011 at the Autry National Center of the American West, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and the UCLA Fowler Museum. The press release is available online.
Free Speech – Hate Speech
Chon A. Noriega, CSRC director, participated in a panel discussion titled “When Does Free Speech in the Media Turn into Hate Speech … Triggering Hate Crimes?” on January 28. The event took place at the Screen Actors Guild and was sponsored by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, the Media Image Coalition, and the YMCA–Greater Los Angeles. For more information about the event, visit the Screen Actors Guild website.
Awards for Generations of Exclusion
Congratulations to Edward E. Telles and Vilma Ortiz, professors in the UCLA César E. Chávez Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies, whose book Generations of Exclusion: Mexican Americans, Assimilation, and Race has received numerous awards. The book, which is the result of a long-term research project at CSRC, received the 2009 Award for Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship (Pacific Sociological Association), the 2009 Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship and Research Award for a Book (ASA Latino Section), the 2009 Otis Dudley Duncan Award (ASA Population Section), and the 2009 Thomas and Znaniecki Award (ASA International Migration Section, honorable mention).
Thanks to CSRC Supporters
The CSRC greatly appreciates the individuals and organizations whose generosity makes our mission possible. We would like to acknowledge the recent support of Juleann and Daniel Gandara, Carmen Avila, Dr. Roberto Calderon, Michelle Gonzalez, Rafael Perez, Anabel Vallabhapurapu, Leticia Mejia, Cynthia Telles, Tamar Diana Wilson, The Getty Foundation, and The California Endowment.
Noriega on College Funding
In an opinion piece published in the Sacramento Bee on January 21, CSRC Director Chon A. Noriega notes the shocking disparity between California's expenditures on its prison population ($48,214 per prisoner) and its UC and CSU student populations ($7,643 per student) and makes a "modest proposal" for cutting costs (and mitigating recidivism rates). Professor Noriega suggests that the state enroll a select 10 percent of nonviolent offenders in college instead of incarcerating them, which would immediately save $536 million. The piece, "Viewpoints: To Cut Costs, Send Inmates to College," is available on the Sacramento Bee and CSRC website.
CSRC in the Blogosphere
Esteban del Río quotes Chon A. Noriega’s Shot in America: Television, the State, and the Rise of Chicano Cinema in “Remembering Latina/o Television,” an article posted on FlowTV on January 9. Mr. del Río writes about Latina/o media advocacy—particularly the campaign to remove Frito-Lay’s Frito Bandito from television. In his book Professor Noriega notes that the struggle over the cartoon character “masked a more profound demand for access and control over the means of representation and communication.” The article is available on the CSRC website.
New Publications by CSRC Visiting Scholar
Alvaro Huerta, CSRC visiting scholar and PhD student in city and regional planning at UC Berkeley, recently authored several publications, including “Immigration Bill Adds Little to Reform,” which appeared in the Sacramento Bee on January 13. Mr. Huerta’s “The Ramona Gardens Sluggers,” a children’s short story, will appear in The Los AngelesTimes, and "El Robo: In Memory of My Mexican Mother” will be published in the winter issue of La Gente.
The CSRC is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $175,000 grant from the Getty Foundation as part of the special initiative Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945–1980. The grant will support the installation of Los Angeles: The Mexican Presence in L.A., 1945–80, a three-part exhibition scheduled for Fall 2011 at the Autry National Center of the American West, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and the UCLA Fowler Museum. The press release is available online.
Free Speech – Hate Speech
Chon A. Noriega, CSRC director, participated in a panel discussion titled “When Does Free Speech in the Media Turn into Hate Speech … Triggering Hate Crimes?” on January 28. The event took place at the Screen Actors Guild and was sponsored by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, the Media Image Coalition, and the YMCA–Greater Los Angeles. For more information about the event, visit the Screen Actors Guild website.
Awards for Generations of Exclusion
Congratulations to Edward E. Telles and Vilma Ortiz, professors in the UCLA César E. Chávez Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies, whose book Generations of Exclusion: Mexican Americans, Assimilation, and Race has received numerous awards. The book, which is the result of a long-term research project at CSRC, received the 2009 Award for Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship (Pacific Sociological Association), the 2009 Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship and Research Award for a Book (ASA Latino Section), the 2009 Otis Dudley Duncan Award (ASA Population Section), and the 2009 Thomas and Znaniecki Award (ASA International Migration Section, honorable mention).
Thanks to CSRC Supporters
The CSRC greatly appreciates the individuals and organizations whose generosity makes our mission possible. We would like to acknowledge the recent support of Juleann and Daniel Gandara, Carmen Avila, Dr. Roberto Calderon, Michelle Gonzalez, Rafael Perez, Anabel Vallabhapurapu, Leticia Mejia, Cynthia Telles, Tamar Diana Wilson, The Getty Foundation, and The California Endowment.
Noriega on College Funding
In an opinion piece published in the Sacramento Bee on January 21, CSRC Director Chon A. Noriega notes the shocking disparity between California's expenditures on its prison population ($48,214 per prisoner) and its UC and CSU student populations ($7,643 per student) and makes a "modest proposal" for cutting costs (and mitigating recidivism rates). Professor Noriega suggests that the state enroll a select 10 percent of nonviolent offenders in college instead of incarcerating them, which would immediately save $536 million. The piece, "Viewpoints: To Cut Costs, Send Inmates to College," is available on the Sacramento Bee and CSRC website.
CSRC in the Blogosphere
Esteban del Río quotes Chon A. Noriega’s Shot in America: Television, the State, and the Rise of Chicano Cinema in “Remembering Latina/o Television,” an article posted on FlowTV on January 9. Mr. del Río writes about Latina/o media advocacy—particularly the campaign to remove Frito-Lay’s Frito Bandito from television. In his book Professor Noriega notes that the struggle over the cartoon character “masked a more profound demand for access and control over the means of representation and communication.” The article is available on the CSRC website.
New Publications by CSRC Visiting Scholar
Alvaro Huerta, CSRC visiting scholar and PhD student in city and regional planning at UC Berkeley, recently authored several publications, including “Immigration Bill Adds Little to Reform,” which appeared in the Sacramento Bee on January 13. Mr. Huerta’s “The Ramona Gardens Sluggers,” a children’s short story, will appear in The Los AngelesTimes, and "El Robo: In Memory of My Mexican Mother” will be published in the winter issue of La Gente.
Events
Book Signing
Co-editors Patricia Gandara, professor of education, co-director of The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles, and CSRC faculty affiliate, and Megan Hopkins, PhD candidate in education, will discuss Forbidden Language: English Learners and Restrictive Language Policies on Wednesday, February 3, at 12:00 noon in Moore Hall 3340. Forbidden Language examines the effects of restrictive language policies for students and teachers in California, Arizona, and Massachusetts. The discussion will be followed by a Q&A session and book signing. Lunch will be served; seating is limited. Please RSVP to crp@ucla.edu. The event is sponsored by the CSRC and the Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles.
Thinking Gender Conference 2010
The UCLA Center for the Study of Women will hold its 2010 “Thinking Gender” conference on Friday, February 5, 7:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m., at the UCLA Faculty Center. “Thinking Gender” highlights graduate student research on women, sexuality, and gender across disciplines and historical periods. Ana Guajardo, CSRC project coordinator, will present her essay “Crafting Sustainability: Latina Indie Crafters and Public Institutions” in the plenary session. The essay explores the shifting relationship between Latina independent crafters and the cultural institutions that have historically supported their work. “Thinking Gender” is co-sponsored by the CSRC and the other UCLA ethnic studies research centers, as well as the UCLA Department of Women’s Studies. The conference panels and the plenary session are free and open to the public. Breakfast will be provided.
Symposium on English Learners
The UCLA Lab School will present “English Learners in California,” a symposium that will explore the advantages and challenges that educators encounter in working with English learners, on Saturday, February 6, 8:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Javier Iribarren, CSRC assistant director, Carlos Haro, former CSRC assistant director, and Lindsay Perez-Huber, CSRC IAC grant recipient, will participate. For more information and to register for the symposium, visit the UCLA Lab School website.
Sex y Corazón Symposium
The CSRC and the UCLA César E. Chávez Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies will present “Sex y Corazón: Queer and Feminist Theory at the Vanguard of the New Chicana/o Studies” on Friday, February 12, 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m., at the UCLA James West Alumni Center Conference Room. Speakers will investigate how queer and feminist scholarship and Chicana/o scholarship have influenced each other. The symposium celebrates the fifteenth anniversary—the quinceañera—of the department and the fortieth anniversary of the CSRC. Admission is free, but registration is required. To register, visit the Sex y Corazon website.
Film Screening
Frontierland/Fronterilandia, a film by Jesse Lerner and Rubén Ortiz Torres, will be screened on Thursday, February 18, 4:00 p.m., in the CSRC Library (144 Haines). Admission is free. The film is volume 4 of the CSRC’s Chicano Cinema and Media Arts Series.
Book Presentation
Karen Brodkin, professor of anthropology, will discuss her recent publication, Power Politics: Environmental Activism in South Los Angeles, on Wednesday, February 24, 4:00 p.m., in the CSRC Library (144 Haines Hall). Dr. Brodkin’s book is a study of a strategic grassroots campaign in South Los Angeles. The discussion will be followed by a Q&A session, a book signing, and a reception. The event is sponsored by the CSRC in conjunction with the Department of Anthropology, the Center for the Study of Women, and the Department of Women’s Studies.
40th Anniversary Exhibition
Art, Activism, Access: Forty Years of Ethnic Studies at UCLA is an exhibition that explores the contributions of the CSRC, the American Indian Studies Center, the Asian American Studies Center, and the Bunche Center for African American Studies to the university and to local, national, and international communities. The exhibition, which opens at UCLA's Fowler Museum on Sunday, February 28, features murals, graphic art, photographs, films, and objects that document the history of the four centers. The centers were founded in 1969 to support research and community partnerships and to address the disparities in access to higher education that students of these ethnicities experience.
Save the Date
The CSRC and the UC All Campus Consortium on Research for Diversity (UC/ACCORD) are pleased to announce this year’s Latina/o Education Summit: “Funding K12 and Higher Education: Impact on Latinos.” The summit will take place on Thursday, March 18, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., at the UCLA Faculty Center. Each year this conference brings together scholars, educators, community representatives, policy makers, and students to discuss critical education issues that affect each segment of the education pipeline. This year’s conference will focus on the funding of public education and the impact it has on Latino students, programs, and departments at every level, from Kindergarten through graduate school. To learn more about the summit, visit the CSRC website.
Co-editors Patricia Gandara, professor of education, co-director of The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles, and CSRC faculty affiliate, and Megan Hopkins, PhD candidate in education, will discuss Forbidden Language: English Learners and Restrictive Language Policies on Wednesday, February 3, at 12:00 noon in Moore Hall 3340. Forbidden Language examines the effects of restrictive language policies for students and teachers in California, Arizona, and Massachusetts. The discussion will be followed by a Q&A session and book signing. Lunch will be served; seating is limited. Please RSVP to crp@ucla.edu. The event is sponsored by the CSRC and the Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles.
Thinking Gender Conference 2010
The UCLA Center for the Study of Women will hold its 2010 “Thinking Gender” conference on Friday, February 5, 7:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m., at the UCLA Faculty Center. “Thinking Gender” highlights graduate student research on women, sexuality, and gender across disciplines and historical periods. Ana Guajardo, CSRC project coordinator, will present her essay “Crafting Sustainability: Latina Indie Crafters and Public Institutions” in the plenary session. The essay explores the shifting relationship between Latina independent crafters and the cultural institutions that have historically supported their work. “Thinking Gender” is co-sponsored by the CSRC and the other UCLA ethnic studies research centers, as well as the UCLA Department of Women’s Studies. The conference panels and the plenary session are free and open to the public. Breakfast will be provided.
Symposium on English Learners
The UCLA Lab School will present “English Learners in California,” a symposium that will explore the advantages and challenges that educators encounter in working with English learners, on Saturday, February 6, 8:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Javier Iribarren, CSRC assistant director, Carlos Haro, former CSRC assistant director, and Lindsay Perez-Huber, CSRC IAC grant recipient, will participate. For more information and to register for the symposium, visit the UCLA Lab School website.
Sex y Corazón Symposium
The CSRC and the UCLA César E. Chávez Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies will present “Sex y Corazón: Queer and Feminist Theory at the Vanguard of the New Chicana/o Studies” on Friday, February 12, 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m., at the UCLA James West Alumni Center Conference Room. Speakers will investigate how queer and feminist scholarship and Chicana/o scholarship have influenced each other. The symposium celebrates the fifteenth anniversary—the quinceañera—of the department and the fortieth anniversary of the CSRC. Admission is free, but registration is required. To register, visit the Sex y Corazon website.
Film Screening
Frontierland/Fronterilandia, a film by Jesse Lerner and Rubén Ortiz Torres, will be screened on Thursday, February 18, 4:00 p.m., in the CSRC Library (144 Haines). Admission is free. The film is volume 4 of the CSRC’s Chicano Cinema and Media Arts Series.
Book Presentation
Karen Brodkin, professor of anthropology, will discuss her recent publication, Power Politics: Environmental Activism in South Los Angeles, on Wednesday, February 24, 4:00 p.m., in the CSRC Library (144 Haines Hall). Dr. Brodkin’s book is a study of a strategic grassroots campaign in South Los Angeles. The discussion will be followed by a Q&A session, a book signing, and a reception. The event is sponsored by the CSRC in conjunction with the Department of Anthropology, the Center for the Study of Women, and the Department of Women’s Studies.
40th Anniversary Exhibition
Art, Activism, Access: Forty Years of Ethnic Studies at UCLA is an exhibition that explores the contributions of the CSRC, the American Indian Studies Center, the Asian American Studies Center, and the Bunche Center for African American Studies to the university and to local, national, and international communities. The exhibition, which opens at UCLA's Fowler Museum on Sunday, February 28, features murals, graphic art, photographs, films, and objects that document the history of the four centers. The centers were founded in 1969 to support research and community partnerships and to address the disparities in access to higher education that students of these ethnicities experience.
Save the Date
The CSRC and the UC All Campus Consortium on Research for Diversity (UC/ACCORD) are pleased to announce this year’s Latina/o Education Summit: “Funding K12 and Higher Education: Impact on Latinos.” The summit will take place on Thursday, March 18, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., at the UCLA Faculty Center. Each year this conference brings together scholars, educators, community representatives, policy makers, and students to discuss critical education issues that affect each segment of the education pipeline. This year’s conference will focus on the funding of public education and the impact it has on Latino students, programs, and departments at every level, from Kindergarten through graduate school. To learn more about the summit, visit the CSRC website.
Opportunities
Grants and Internship
The Tamar Diana Wilson Fund promotes the study of urban poverty and poverty alleviation as they relate to Latinos and Mexican and Central American indigenous populations and supports the collaborative efforts of the CSRC and the Center for the Study of Urban Poverty (CSUP). The fund provides research stipends, internships, and work-study awards to graduate and undergraduate students. Two students will be selected to receive awards of $2,500 to conduct original research projects related to the fund's mission. In addition, a stipend of $2,250 is available for an internship with either the CSRC Library or the CSRC Policy Brief series. Appointments may start as early as the Spring 2010 quarter. Submit applications to CSRC Assistant Director Javier Iribarren. Questions may be sent to Dr. Iribarren at jiribarren@chicano.ucla.edu.
The Tamar Diana Wilson Fund promotes the study of urban poverty and poverty alleviation as they relate to Latinos and Mexican and Central American indigenous populations and supports the collaborative efforts of the CSRC and the Center for the Study of Urban Poverty (CSUP). The fund provides research stipends, internships, and work-study awards to graduate and undergraduate students. Two students will be selected to receive awards of $2,500 to conduct original research projects related to the fund's mission. In addition, a stipend of $2,250 is available for an internship with either the CSRC Library or the CSRC Policy Brief series. Appointments may start as early as the Spring 2010 quarter. Submit applications to CSRC Assistant Director Javier Iribarren. Questions may be sent to Dr. Iribarren at jiribarren@chicano.ucla.edu.
CSRC Library and Archive
Recent Archival Acquisitions
We are delighted to announce the addition of the SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) Collection to the CSRC Archive. SACNAS is a national organization dedicated to promoting opportunities in the sciences for Latinos and Native Americans. This collection documents the organization’s history, from its founding in 1973 to the present. It will be a valuable resource and a wonderful addition to our collection.
Library Collection Expands
The holdings of the CSRC Library continue to grow thanks to the contributions of Carlos Haro, Chon Noriega, Pilar Castaneda, Diana Mendez, and Leslie Stampler. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their continued support. Newly cataloged titles are listed on the Library’s webpage.
New Finding Aid
The finding aid for The Anthony Beltramo Collection of Cancioneros and Papers (1940s–1960s) will be published this month. Anthony Beltramo (PhD, Stanford 1972) was part of the Spanish faculty at the University of Montana until retiring in 2005. He taught Spanish applied linguistics and second-language pedagogy; his research focused on language retention in U.S. Latino communities and English-language influences on the Spanish spoken there. Since the 1960s, when he studied and taught in Mexico, he has maintained a strong personal interest in Mexican and Mexican American music and folklore. An amateur clarinetist and guitarist, he participated, for example, in the Banda Municipal de Torreón and in conjuntos with colleagues and students, and he often used music in his teaching. Activities over the years (aside from his academic work) included forming a mariachi band, tracking down and recording the performance of corridos as well as other Latino musical styles, and documenting these in Montana as part of the state’s oral history program. The collection (one linear foot) contains song sheets and instruction books that he collected over several decades.
Two collections that are in process are nearing completion: The Joan Moore Papers, and The Vista en LA Archive.
We are delighted to announce the addition of the SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) Collection to the CSRC Archive. SACNAS is a national organization dedicated to promoting opportunities in the sciences for Latinos and Native Americans. This collection documents the organization’s history, from its founding in 1973 to the present. It will be a valuable resource and a wonderful addition to our collection.
Library Collection Expands
The holdings of the CSRC Library continue to grow thanks to the contributions of Carlos Haro, Chon Noriega, Pilar Castaneda, Diana Mendez, and Leslie Stampler. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their continued support. Newly cataloged titles are listed on the Library’s webpage.
New Finding Aid
The finding aid for The Anthony Beltramo Collection of Cancioneros and Papers (1940s–1960s) will be published this month. Anthony Beltramo (PhD, Stanford 1972) was part of the Spanish faculty at the University of Montana until retiring in 2005. He taught Spanish applied linguistics and second-language pedagogy; his research focused on language retention in U.S. Latino communities and English-language influences on the Spanish spoken there. Since the 1960s, when he studied and taught in Mexico, he has maintained a strong personal interest in Mexican and Mexican American music and folklore. An amateur clarinetist and guitarist, he participated, for example, in the Banda Municipal de Torreón and in conjuntos with colleagues and students, and he often used music in his teaching. Activities over the years (aside from his academic work) included forming a mariachi band, tracking down and recording the performance of corridos as well as other Latino musical styles, and documenting these in Montana as part of the state’s oral history program. The collection (one linear foot) contains song sheets and instruction books that he collected over several decades.
Two collections that are in process are nearing completion: The Joan Moore Papers, and The Vista en LA Archive.
CSRC Press
Now Available
Stop by the CSRC office (193 Haines) and browse through María Brito, volume 4 of the CSRC’s A Ver: Revisioning Art History series. Author Juan A. Martínez focuses on Brito’s unique interplay of the personal and the universal in his exploration of the artist’s life and her works. Series editor Chon A. Noriega relates his interaction with Brito’s Merely a Player, the artist’s first enclosed installation, in a lyrical foreword. The book features sixty-nine color plates that illustrate the scope of the artist’s work. The A Ver series is distributed by University of Minnesota Press. For more information and to order online, visit the Press’s website.
Coming this Month
The online Teacher’s Guide for Yolanda M. López, volume 2 of the A Ver: Revisioning Art History series, will be available this month. Museum educators Veronica Alvarez and Theresa Sotto present three step-by-step lessons filled with engaging activities that integrate research, writing, and class discussion with drawing, collage making, and other artistic techniques. Students will explore how the artist challenges stereotypes, reinterprets iconic images, and draws on her background to create series of works that reflect her experiences as a an activist and a Chicana artist. Visit the CSRC website to view and download the Teacher’s Guide for Gronk, volume 1 of the A Ver series.
Stop by the CSRC office (193 Haines) and browse through María Brito, volume 4 of the CSRC’s A Ver: Revisioning Art History series. Author Juan A. Martínez focuses on Brito’s unique interplay of the personal and the universal in his exploration of the artist’s life and her works. Series editor Chon A. Noriega relates his interaction with Brito’s Merely a Player, the artist’s first enclosed installation, in a lyrical foreword. The book features sixty-nine color plates that illustrate the scope of the artist’s work. The A Ver series is distributed by University of Minnesota Press. For more information and to order online, visit the Press’s website.
Coming this Month
The online Teacher’s Guide for Yolanda M. López, volume 2 of the A Ver: Revisioning Art History series, will be available this month. Museum educators Veronica Alvarez and Theresa Sotto present three step-by-step lessons filled with engaging activities that integrate research, writing, and class discussion with drawing, collage making, and other artistic techniques. Students will explore how the artist challenges stereotypes, reinterprets iconic images, and draws on her background to create series of works that reflect her experiences as a an activist and a Chicana artist. Visit the CSRC website to view and download the Teacher’s Guide for Gronk, volume 1 of the A Ver series.