Latino Experience Flashcards
What does master status mean?
Master status is a sociological term used to denote the social position, which is the primary identifying characteristic of an individual. It is defined as “a status that has exceptional importance for social identity, often shaping a person’s entire life”
Problems with the term Hispanic
- coined by the government, widely used to designate persons of Mexican, Puerto Ricans, Dominican, Cubans, & Central & South American heritage
- emphasizes the spanish heritage of these groups while ignoring other backgrounds
- masks diversity
Mexican American cultural characteristics
- Language
- Religion
- Machismo
- Family Relations
five different types of latino immigrants
Individuals with official visas (legals)
Undocumented immigrants (illegals)
Braceros (seasonal farm workers on contract)
Commuters (individuals with official visas who live in Mexico but work in the US)
Border crossers (individuals with short-term permits, many of who become domestics)
Maquiladoras
- manufacturing operations exempt from paying in Mexican money
- Mexican taxes/not required to pay tax insurance
Unlike African Americans, why were Mexican Americans able to maintain their culture?
Unlike African Americans, Hispanic Americans were not stripped of their native cultures on entering society
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo-
residents had the choice of remaining or moving to Mexico (assured their legal rights and their language and cultural heritage would be protected)
War of 1848
The Mexican government was forced to cede the Southwest area for $15 million dollars.
Which model is appropriate to use when explaining the Mexican American experience (Cycle of Race Relations versus Internal Colonialism (aka Blauner Hypothesis) / Make sure to know the assumptions behind each model
Blauner’s Hypothesis- Internal colonialism: involuntary entry, intense and immediate prejudice and discrimination, perpetual disadvantaged status
This is a better model to describe the Mexican American experience because the contact was conflict→ although they have been here for a long time (which is like the race relation) the initial contact was in conflict
Be familiar with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Residents had choice of remaining in southwestern states or moving to Mexico where their rights, cultural heritage, and language would be protected
Mexican immigration in relation to the Minority Group Threat Model
Immigrants entered into social system in which colonized status for Mexicans had already been established
US policy changed as the dominant group’s sense of threat changed
Came voluntarily but were not wanted
The pattern of Mexican immigration: know the events and the order in which they occurred and the consequences of these events (e.g., increased immigration, deportation, etc.)
WWI (Increased)→ Great Depression (Decreased)→ WWII (both increased and deported) → 1965 Immigration Act (Increased)
Pattern of Immigration: WWI
- Movement across border was informal and unrestricted, earlier restriction on immigration reduced flow from Asia and Europe, US employers recruited workers from Mexico→ for farming, machinist, merchants, painters and plumbers, 1924 US boarder patrol created (illegal aliens increase)
- Increased immigration
Pattern of Immigration: Great Depression
- Decreased demand for labor, recruiting of Mexican American labor workers stopped, US gov instituted a reparation campaign (deportation), Mexican population decreased by 40%
- Repatriation campaign→ deportation of Mexican Americans
- Decrease of immigration
Pattern of Immigration: WWII
Employers recruit Mexican workers again (increase immigration), bracero program→contract laborers;
workers to take the labor that the Japanese American were doing but couldn’t continue to do because of internment (gave Mexican Americans place to stay, decent food, insurance and free transportation), split labor market→contract laborers vs. undocumented laborers,
