"La Chicana" is the story of a marginal group in society, neither fully Mexican or fully American, who suffer under triple oppression: as women, as members of a colonized culture, and as victims of a cultural heritage dominated by the cult of "machismo." Tracing the role of Chicanas from pre-Columbian society to the present, the authors reveal the antecedents and roots of contemporary cultural expectations in Aztec, colonial, and revolutionary Mexican historical periods. A discussion of the contribution of modern Chicanas to their community and to feminism and a look at literary stereotypes...

Mirande offers a detailed examination of Chicano social history and culture that includes studies of: Chicano labor and the economy; the Mexican immigrant and the U.S.-Mexico border conflict; the evolution of Chicano criminality; the American educational system and its impact on Chicano culture; the tensions between the institutional Church and Chicanos; and the myths and misconceptions of "machismo."

Gringo Justice is a comprehensive analysis and interpretation of the experiences of the Chicano people with the legal and judicial system in the United States. Beginning in 1848 and working to the present, a theory of Gringo justice is developed and applied to specific areas-displacement from the land, vigilantes and social bandits, the border, the police, gangs, and prisons. A basic issue addressed is how the image of Chicanos as bandits or criminals has persisted in various forms.

In the midst of a long and distinguished academic career, Alfredo Mirande left his position as professor of sociology and chair of ethnic studies at the University of California, Riverside, to attend law school at Stanford University. This book is an extraordinary chronicle of the events in his life that led him to make this dramatic change and of the many obstacles he encountered at law school. "The Stanford Law Chronicles" is a comprehensive, first-person account of the law school experience, written by a person of color. Mirande delivers a powerful and moving critique of the rigid...

Although patriarchy, machismo, and excessive masculine displays are assumed to be prevalent among Latinos in general and Mexicans in particular, little is known about Latino men or macho masculinity. Hombres y Machos: Masculinity and Latino Culture fills an important void by providing an integrated view of Latino men, masculinity, and fatherhoodin the process refuting many common myths and misconceptions.Examining how Latino men view themselves, Alfredo Mirande argues that prevailing conceptions of men, masculinity, and gender are inadequate because they are based not on universal...

Alfredo Mirande, a sociology professor, Stanford Law graduate, and part-time pro bono attorney, represents clients who are rascuache a Spanish word for poor or even wretched and on the margins of society. For Mirande, however, rascuache means to be down but not out, an underdog who is still holding its ground. Rascuache Lawyer offers a unique perspective on providing legal services to poor, usually minority, folks who are often just one short step from jail. Not only a passionate argument for rascuache lawyering, it is also a thoughtful, practical attempt to apply and test critical...

In" Jalos, USA," Alfredo Mirande explores migration between the Mexican town of Jalostotitlan, Jalisco, and Turlock, California, and shows how migrants retain a primal identity with their community of origin. The study examines how family, gender, courtship, religion, and culture promote a Mexicanized version of the "American Dream" for "la gente de Jalos." After introducing traditional theories of migration and describing a distinctly circular migration pattern between Jalos and Turlock, Mirande introduces a model of transnationalism. Residents move freely back and forth across the border,...