LATINO/CHICANO STUDIES

Latino/Chicano studies

Latino/Chicano studies

Introduction

In this paper, we will argue racialization that led to the homogenization of the population of Latin American descent in the United States. In fact, we believe that there is a consciousness by which the individual becomes aware of his/her membership to the group and develops an attachment to it. We will discuss that there are several approaches to conceptualize the Latino experience. We deem essential the development of an analytical language and a theoretical apparatus to assist researchers in rendering the unique and diverse Latino social and cultural practices and national identity of Latinos in the United States. The discussion regarding the Latino experience in the United States has been centered on whether and to what extent the subgroups encompass by the Latino category constitutes a consistent homogenous social group. Latino as an analytical category can be treated as a pan ethnic category or a homogeneous category.

Race plays an inseparable part of the American history. Therefore, it is important to focus on the Latino experience along the racialization axis. Furthermore, the agency to assert identity occupies an important place in shaping social spaces of hope, economic opportunity, and social justice. Using the two axes of social processes, we proposed four analytical concepts in the study of Latinos. These heuristic categories are a springboard to start a larger discussion of what does it mean to be Latino in the U.S. It would be intellectually derelict to ignore. Sociological imagination needs to move beyond simple Latino classification and homogenization. Latinos have exerted tremendous pressure on the intensity of demographic and cultural change in many U.S. cities.

Question: 1. (a) Discuss how racialization led to the homogenization of the population of Latin American descent in the United States.

It has to be considered that Latinos have endured significant homogenization from the part of the state. The representation of a homogenous Latino population has created an image of uniformity for outsiders. It is true that Latino subgroups have different histories and relationships to American society. Often, relationships among dissimilar Latino subgroups can be conflictive. Academics claim that the forces of Latino homogenization are strong and that tensions will dissipate over-time. In this respect, it makes sense, politically as well as scholarly, to think of Latinos as a homogenous group, which can be studied with a homogenous Latino analytical category. Cuban and Puerto Ricans were also discriminated through their marital interaction with African descent race.

The racialization of Latinos is not only a theoretical concept, but it is a real social phenomenon. Research has shown that the historical and contemporary treatment and ways of managing Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans is different. Puerto Ricans and Mexicans believe that they face more discrimination than Cubans. This perception leads to different opportunity structures and create an environment that “fosters the development of group consciousness”. Despite the fact that the U.S. Census bureau classifies “Hispanic” as an ethnicity, the general public uses the concept to signify a ...