The Chicanos' political experience is defined as "their thought, activity, and organization directed toward securing an equitable and meaningful allocation of values from a politico-governmental system controlled by the dominant population, the challenges to that system, as well as alternative forms of action and security taken to offset the denial of political access and governmental output." This book discusses the way that academic colonialism has affected the study of the Chicano political experience and the response that this is occasioning. Other topics include: the manner in which the exclusionary system operates with respect to the Chicano group, the actions being taken by Chicanos to challenge this existing situation, and the research perspective being provided from the standpoint of the subordinate group. Exclusionary practices in the publishing and media outlets are at times examined in the broader context since they impact commonly on the distribution of information about the Chicano experience in general. Likewise, the Chicano responses presented are not limited to those occurring within "political science" but include also the development of Chicano Studies and alternative schools as outgrowths of past insensitivity in all disciplines. (Author/NQ)