Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945, written by George J. Sánchez and published in 1993 by Oxford University Press, explores the experiences of Mexican Americans in Los Angeles during the early 20th century. Sánchez provides a detailed look at Mexican Americans' lives, examining how they navigated living in a new country, including discrimination, poverty, and cultural displacement, and how they created a distinct Mexican American identity.[1][2]
One of the book's key themes is the concept of "transculturation," which refers to the process of adapting to a new culture while also maintaining elements of one's own culture. Sanchez argues that Mexican-Americans were able to create a unique identity influenced by Mexican and American cultures, which was shaped by the experience of immigration and discrimination.[3]
The book is divided into chapters, organized chronologically, each dealing with a different aspect of the Mexican-American experience.[3] Sánchez draws on a wide range of sources, including oral histories, government documents, and newspapers, to provide a detailed picture of the lives of Mexican Americans during this period.[4]
Academic journal reviews
Chávez, E. (1998). "Culture, Identity, and Community: Musings on Chicano Historiography at the End of the Millennium". Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos. 14 (1): 213–235. doi:10.2307/1051894. JSTOR1051894.
Escobar, E. J. (1995). "Review of Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945". The Journal of American History. 81 (4): 1772–1773. doi:10.2307/2081782. JSTOR2081782.
García, A. M. (1995). "Review of Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945, by G. J. Sanchez". California History. 74 (3): 340–341. doi:10.2307/25177516. JSTOR25177516.
Lipsitz, G. (2013). "How History Happens and Why Culture Counts: Twenty Years after "Becoming Mexican American."". American Quarterly. 65 (2): 405–411. doi:10.1353/aq.2013.0030. JSTOR43823101. S2CID144901953.
Martínez, O. J. (1995). "Review of Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945, by G. J. Sánchez". The Western Historical Quarterly. 26 (2): 211–212. doi:10.2307/970191. JSTOR970191.
Murguia, E. (1994). "Review of Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945, by G. J. Sanchez". Contemporary Sociology. 23 (5): 649–650. doi:10.2307/2074261. JSTOR2074261.
Pitti, S. J. (1994). "Review of Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900–1945, by G. J. Sànchez". The Historian. 57 (1): 146–147. JSTOR24449192.
Romo, R. (1995). "Review of Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945, by G. J. Sánchez". The American Historical Review. 100 (2): 604. doi:10.2307/2169184. JSTOR2169184.
San Miguel, G. (1995). "Review of Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945, by G. J. Sánchez". History of Education Quarterly. 35 (1): 80–81. doi:10.2307/369703. JSTOR369703.
Valdés, D. N. (1997). "Review of Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945; Walls and Mirrors: Mexican Americans, Mexican Immigrants, and the Politics of Ethnicity., by G. J. Sánchez". The Hispanic American Historical Review. 77 (1): 92–93. doi:10.2307/2517070. JSTOR2517070.
Vargas, Z. (1996). "Review of Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945, by G. J. Sánchez". International Labor and Working-Class History. 49: 214–217. doi:10.1017/S0147547900001897. JSTOR27672297. S2CID143752175.
Vigil, J. D. (1997). "Review of Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945, by G. J. Sánchez". Pacific Historical Review. 66 (2): 281–282. doi:10.2307/3640650. JSTOR3640650.
George J. Sánchez is a historian and author; their research focuses on the experiences of Mexican Americans in the United States. He is currently a professor of American Studies and Ethnicity and History at the University of Southern California. In 1989 he received a Ph.D. in history from Stanford University; he previously earned his B.A. in History and Sociology from Harvard University.[5]