Latino Lives in America: Making It Home

by Luis Ricardo Fraga, John A. Garcia, Gary M. Segura, Michael Jones-Correa, Rodney Hero

Overview

Latinos are the largest and fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, with increased levels of political mobilization and influence. In the timely and thoroughgoing Latino Lives in America, six prominent Latino scholars explore the profound implications of Latinos’ population growth and geographic dispersion for American politics and society, tracking key changes and continuities in Latinos' attitudes, behavior, and social experiences.

Utilizing a unique set of “narratives” from focus group interviews, supplemented with quantitative findings from the 2006 Latino National Survey, the authors provide a snapshot of Latino life in America. The Latinos interviewed provide their thoughts regarding their sense of belonging and group identification, assimilation and transnationalism, housing, education, civic engagement, and perceptions of discrimination, as well as their experiences in new destinations, where they are trying to realize the “Americano” dream.

Latino Lives in America uses these conversations and the survey data to offer both a micro and macro look at how Latinos are transforming various aspects of American politics, culture, and life and how their experiences in the United States are changing them and their families.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781439900505
Publisher:	Temple University Press
Publication date:	02/23/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Luis R. Fraga is Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement, Director of the Diversity Research Institute, and Russell F. Stark University Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Washington.

John A. Garcia is Professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona.

Rodney E. Hero is the Packey J. Dee Professor American Democracy, in the Department of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame.

Michael Jones-Correa is Professor of Government at Cornell University.

Valerie Martinez-Ebers is Professor of Political Science at the University of North Texas.

Gary Segura is a Professor of Political Science at Stanford University, and Director of Chicano Studies in the Center for Comparative Studies of Race and Ethnicity.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: A Time to Think Broadly
1. The Growing Presence of Latinos in the United States
2. Trying for the Americano Dream: Barriers to Making the United States “Home”
3. Education: Latinos’ Great Hope, America’s Harsh Reality
4. Exploring Discrimination, Intergroup Relations, and Intragroup Relations among Latinos
5. New Homes in New Communities: Living in Rural America
6. Transnationalism and the Language of Belonging
7. The Evolving Latino Community and Pan-ethnicity: Explorations into the Confluence of Interactions, Networks, and Identity
8. Conclusions: Paradoxes along the Way to Making America Home
Notes
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"This book is well written and provides a complementary analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data. Regarding the focus group data, the diversity of the participants is impressive.... Overall, this book would be a great read for anyone concerned with the state of Latino lives in the U.S. today. The voices of the participants express key concerns regarding the future of Latinos in America that need to be addressed not only for the well-being of Latinos, but for the well-being of the country as a whole."
—Nexo

From the Publisher