CLHUMHI007 - Mexican American History: 1850 to Today

The histories of Mexico and the United States have long been intertwined. Today, more than 36 million people—or 11 percent of all Americans—are Hispanics of Mexican origin. This course explores the economic, social, political, intellectual and cultural history of Mexican Americans or “Chicanx” from 1850 to today. Beginning with the U.S.-Mexico War, we consider the incorporation of northern Mexico into the United States, the 1910 Mexican Revolution, the Great Depression and New Deal, World War II and the Cold War, the civil rights era, the conservative ascendancy, the impact of NAFTA and more. Themes include borders and borderlands, migration and national identities, citizenship and expulsion, gender and power, activism and displacement, the creation of a transnational Mexican working class, urbanization and community formation, the emergence of a Mexican American generation, war and citizenship, organized advocacy and activism, the Chicano movement, trade and terrorism, and changing identifications and identities.