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ERIC Number: EJ962080
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 34
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0005-2604
EISSN: N/A
Mestiza Consciousness in Relation to Sustained Political Solidarity: A Chicana Feminist Interpretation of the Farmworker Movement
Barvosa, Edwina
Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies, v36 n2 p121-154 Fall 2011
Two of the most significant themes in Chicana feminist thought are the character of mestiza consciousness and the view that political solidarity--that is, the uniting of diverse people in common cause--should build upon diversity among peoples rather than on a single shared identity. Numerous Chicana and Latina feminists have connected these two themes by emphasizing the role that inner diversity can play in political solidarity. However, questions remain as to the exact relationship between identity, the multiple identities within mestiza consciousness, and the everyday tasks of building political solidarity. This essay asks how the multiple identities within subjectivity can play a role in creating diverse yet cohesive political coalitions or movements. I first survey the concepts of mestiza consciousness and solidarity as Chicana feminists have articulated them in recent decades. Next, I employ these concepts in a case study analysis of the organizing strategies of the farmworkers' movement led by Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and others between 1962 and 1976. I conclude by specifying how the formation of a movement-specific identity along with four other practices that incorporate the benefits of diversity reveal the role that multiple identities can play in uniting diverse people in common cause.
UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center. 193 Haines Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1544. Tel: 310-794-9380; Tel: 310-825-2642; Fax: 310-206-1784; e-mail: press@chicano.ucla.edu; Web site: http://www.chicano.ucla.edu/press
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A