Chicana/o studies

Chicana/o studies, also known as Chican@ studies, originates from the Chicano Movement of the late 1960s and 1970s, and is the study of the Chicana/o and Latina/o experience. Chican@ studies draws upon a variety of fields, including history, sociology, the arts, and Chican@ literature. The area of studies additionally emphasizes the importance of Chican@ educational materials taught by Chican@ educators for Chican@ students. In many universities across the United States, Chicana/o Studies is linked with other ethnic studies, such as Black Studies, Asian American Studies, and Native American Studies. Many students who have studied anthropology have also been involved in varying degrees of Chicana/o studies. Today, most major universities in areas of high Chicana/o concentration have a formal Chicana/o studies department or interdisciplinary program. Providing Chican@ studies to Chican@ students has helped these students find a community which offers a curriculum that is unique to their own heritage. The establishment of Chicanostudies in colleges and universities was in response to fundamental issues in the American educational system and how many Chicanos felt excluded from educational success in the United States. Specifically, one of the issues that led to the establishment of Chicano studies was how Mexican-Americans, and in turn the greater Latino community, were represented negatively in American history. An example where Mexican-Americans were portrayed negatively in American history is during the 19th century, when the territories of New Mexico and Arizona were not allowed to become states until there were more people of European descent living there to balance out the Mexican-Americans, who were thought of as lazy, talentless idlers. It also must be noted that these stereotypes have continued throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.