Assault on Mexican American Collective Memory, 2010–2015: Swimming with Sharks (Latinos and American Politics)

This book uses a micro-narrative structure to explore the assault on the collective memory of Mexican Americans in the Southwest United States from 2010-2016. These communities' survival depends on their histories and identities, which are being quickly erased by gentrification and dispersal, neoliberalism and privatization. This issue is most apparent in the education system, where Mexican American students receive inferior educations and lack access to higher education. Avoiding the overly-theoretical macro-narrative, this book uses case studies and micro-narratives to suggest possible changes and actions to address this issue. It also explores how the erasure of Mexican Americans' history and identity mirrors society as a whole.--Richard T. Rodrguez, University of California, Riverside "This book uses a micro-narrative structure to explore the assault on the collective memory of Mexican Americans in the Southwest United States from 2010-2016. These communities' survival depends on their histories and identities, which are being quickly erased by gentrification and dispersal, neoliberalism and privatization. This issue is most apparent in the education system, where Mexican American students receive inferior educations and lack access to higher education. Avoiding the overly-theoretical macro-narrative, this book uses case studies and micro-narratives to suggest possible changes and actions to address this issue. It also explores how the erasure of Mexican Americans' history and identity mirrors society as a whole." -- Publisher's description This book puts recent events in the Southwestern United States into historical context, exploring how and why powerful elites are laying an assault on the history and identity of Mexican Americans and Latinos. It argues that neoliberalism and the privatization of schools and higher education drives this phenomenon.