Mexican American Studies
Many of us grew up learning a version of American history that centered certain voices while leaving others out entirely. For Mexican Americans, that exclusion isn't just an oversight — it's a pattern that sends a quiet but powerful message: your story doesn't count here.
When students don't see their families, their language, or their communities reflected in what they're taught, it becomes harder to feel like they truly belong in academic spaces. Belonging isn't just a feeling — it's connected to whether or not the institution acknowledges that you exist.
We've all heard the idea that if you just work hard enough, you can achieve anything. And while effort absolutely matters, that story leaves out a lot. Mexican American Studies asks us to look honestly at the systems and structures that have historically made the playing field uneven — things like school funding disparities, language discrimination, and policies that have limited access to opportunity for entire communities.
It's not about making excuses; it's about telling the full truth. Understanding those barriers is actually the first step toward creating, implementing, and maintaining a level playing field.
There's something powerful that happens when you finally have words for your experience. For students who grew up navigating two languages, two cultures, or two sides of a border, that in-between space can feel isolating — like you don't fully belong anywhere.
Mexican American Studies gives that experience a name and a framework, drawing on thinkers like Gloria Anzaldúa who argued that having or identifying multiple cultures isn't a disadvantage — it's a unique and generative way of seeing the world. When students recognize that their complexity is a strength rather than a problem, it changes how they show up in the classroom and beyond.
When your history is missing from the curriculum, it doesn't just feel like a gap in the textbook — it can feel like a gap in yourself. Research and lived experience both point to the same reality: students who don't see themselves reflected in what they learn are more likely to struggle with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and a sense of not truly belonging in academic spaces.
This isn't abstract — it affects grades, persistence, and mental health. Erasure has consequences, and acknowledging that is part of understanding why representation in education isn't just a nice idea, but a matter of educational equity.
Imagine a classroom where the history of the US-Mexico border was taught as central to American history, not as a footnote.
"'Using texts as mirrors' harnesses children's identities to build community, engagement, literacy, and family connection (Heineke et al., 2022)." https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2139
Where bilingualism was treated as an intellectual asset rather than something to be corrected. Where students from all backgrounds learned that Mexican American thinkers, artists, activists, and communities have shaped this country in profound ways. That kind of education wouldn't just benefit Mexican American students — it would give every student a more honest, complete, and ultimately more useful understanding of the world they live in. That's the vision Mexican American Studies is working toward.
There's a particular kind of knowing that comes from living inside the very questions you're studying. For me, Mexican American Studies isn't just an academic field I've chosen to research — it's a lens through which I understand my own life, my own history, and my own place in American society.
I am both the person asking the questions and, in many ways, one of the answers. That dual position doesn't compromise the research — it deepens it. It means the stakes are never abstract.
Nevertheless, good credible scholarship does not exist in a vacuum.
Mexican American Studies incorporates or, at the least, considers scholarship from various communities to better understand the complexities and nuances of the human experience, while also highlighting the convergences and divergences among these perspectives. The human experience is not a monolith and does not occur in isolation. By understanding how different communities view their diasporas, we can gain valuable insights into our own past, present, and future.
For example, duality points to something larger about the Mexican American experience itself. W.E.B. Du Bois described the experience of Black Americans as navigating a "double consciousness" — the awareness of seeing yourself through your own eyes while simultaneously being seen through the eyes of a society that diminishes you.
Frantz Fanon took DuBois’ idea a step further, arguing that colonized people don't just experience that tension — they are shaped by it, psychologically and socially, in ways that demand not just recognition but transformation.
Edward Soja reminds us that identity isn't just psychological — it's spatial. We occupy real places, institutions, and communities that either affirm or deny our presence. Together, these frameworks help explain something I've observed in research and lived personally: Mexican Americans don't simply exist between spaces — we occupy multiple spaces fully and simultaneously, as if to defy physics. That's not a contradiction to be resolved.
It's a strength to be understood. And it's precisely why Mexican American Studies matters — because it's one of the few academic spaces that takes that multiplicity seriously, on its own terms.
All this is not to sound smart, but to see more clearly.
Kiddos and the Classroom
Q-vole! /kee-u-vo-le/ What’s up!
Christina and I are sitting in the park having a nice conversation. We are talking about our Abuelos, parents, Tios/Tias, the primos, where we grew up, things we like, favorite memories. If you like, please join us. Tell us about you! Quien eres!
Hechando un cotorreo / Having a fun conversation
Food for thought!
Familia/Family: "If you could ask your grandparent or an elder in your family ONE question about where your family comes from, what would you ask — and why do you think their answer would matter to you?"
Words that belong to you: "Is there a word, saying, or song from your family or culture that you love? What does it mean to you, and why do you think it's important to keep it alive?"
Superhero: "Think of someone from your culture or community — maybe someone famous, or maybe just someone you know — who makes you feel proud. What did they do, and how does knowing their story make YOU feel stronger?"
When you feel like you belong: "Think of a place, a celebration, or a moment when you felt completely like yourself — like you truly belonged. What was happening around you? What made it feel that way?"
Passing it on: "Imagine you are now a grandparent, and your grandchild asks you: 'What's the most important thing about our culture I should know?' What would you tell them — and why does it matter that they know it?"
The Profe Podcast
Mexican & Mexican American Histories - from the Borderlands and Beyond!
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