U.S.-Mexican Borderlands
U.S.-Mexican Borderlands
Source: Charles Bowden, "Out Wall," National Geographic, May 2007,
pp.116-139. Read about the proposed 2007 U.S.
immigration law.
| TX: Missions of Texas; San Antonio; El Paso and the border |
Only a couple of topics are explored in this course regarding the U.S.-Mexican borderlands. Select from the following topics in the order YOU prefer, but be sure to examine all the material in preparation for the examination covering this topic. Tejano music is distinctive along the Border. |
| NM:: Las Cruces and environs | |
| AZ: Tucson and its mission and the Anglo-Mexican communities | |
| CA: Santa Barbara Mission and a "working mission" | |
| San Diego-Tijuana border | Maquiladoras on the Mexican border | |
| Economic Migration from Mexico to the USA | |
|
Mexican
American War
and Hispanic Land
Dispossessions Spanish Settlement in St. Augustine, FL | Kansas City barrio |
Examine the spatial expansion of U.S. land hegemony and the retreat of Indian lands and Spanish lands: by states (1790-1920) -- scroll down and click on the start button to see the changing U.S. land claims -- and by counties (1654-present). |
The 2000 U.S. Census counted 35 million Latinos, which makes the United States the 5th largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, after Mexico, Spain, Argentina, and Columbia.
Yet discrimination in the classroom
against teachers and students who study Chicano materials continues. Two teachers in Vaughn, NM,
a town of 700 south of Albuquerque, were suspended for incorporating
Chicano history into their curriculum.
Superintendent Arthur Martinez told the teachers to stop using the textbook
500 Years of Chicano History/500 Anos del Pueblo Chicano and to
stop
talking about Cesar Chavez and the Farm Workers Union. He also withdrew support
for a student group, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, a national
organization.
Anti-Spanish and immigrant attitudes have been expressed by 22 USA states that have declared English their official language. The small town of Norcoss, GA, passed a law penalizing linguistic "infringements." Maria Cobarrubias was fined $115 for the name sign, Supermercado Jalisco, posted outside her supermarket she owns. She had violated Norcross' ordinance banning signs that are less than 75 percent English "as determined by local authorities."
Optional: 1) web sources: U.S.-Mexican Borderlands; 2) read Peter Andreas and Thomas J. Biersteker's The Rebordering of North America. London: Rutledge, 2003.
Photo source: Liam Gumley, Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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Created by Ingolf Vogeler on 11 June 1997; last revised on 26 Mar 2008.