Synopses & Reviews
In detailed historical analyses of Mexican immigration, economic class struggle, intermarriage, urbanization and industrialization, regional differences, and discrimination and prejudice, La Familia demonstrates how such social and economic factors have contributed to the contemporary diversity of the Mexican-American family. By comparing their family experience with those of European immigrants, he discloses important dimensions of Mexican-American ethnicity.
Review
"Using the combined theoretical perspectives of Mark Poster and Barbara Laslett as an initial framework for this work, Richard Griswold del Castillo recreates the history of Mexican American families in four Southwest communities: Tucson, Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Santa Fe. . . . It can certainly be said that Castillo has added to the understanding of the historical and contemporary Mexican American family." --International Social Science Review
Review
La Familia is an innovative historical study of a social institution vital to Mexican-American culturethe familyin a setting equally crucial to understanding Mexican-American historythe American Southwest. Griswolds study represents an important advance in concept and practice of Chicano social history.” Journal of American Ethnic History
Review
Castillo has written the first important historical examination of the Mexican-American family.” American Historical Review
About the Author
Richard Griswold del Castillo is chair of Chicana and Chicano Studies at San Diego State University. He is author of The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: A Legacy of Conflict , and The Los Angeles Barrio, 18501890: A Social History, and editor of Chicano San Diego: Cultural Space and the Struggle for Justice.