From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in Twentieth-Century America - Softcover

Ruiz, Vicki L.

3.82

224 ratings by Goodreads

9780195130997: From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in Twentieth-Century America

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195130995 ISBN 13: 9780195130997

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1999

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For centuries, Mexican-American women have been creative, innovative forces shaping the cultural and economic development of what is now the American Southwest. Whether living in a labor camp, a boxcar settlement, or an urban barrio, Mexican women nurtured families, worked for wages, built extended networks, and participated in community associations--efforts that solidified the community and helped Mexican Americans find their own place in America. Now, in From Out of the Shadows, historian Vicki L. Ruiz provides the first full study of Mexican-American women in the 20th century, in a narrative enhanced by interviews and personal stories that capture a vivid sense of the Mexicana experience in the United States.
Beginning with the first wave of women crossing the border early this century, Ruiz reveals the struggles they have faced, the communities they have built, and also highlights the various forms of political protest they have initiated. What emerges from the book is a portrait of a distinctive culture in America that has slowly gathered strength in the last 95 years. From Out of the Shadows is an important addition to the largely undocumented history of Mexican-American women in our century.

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About the Author:

Vicki L. Ruiz is Professor of History and Chicana-Chicano Studies at Arizona State University.

Review:

"Ruiz succeeds in bringing overdue attention to the long ignored or, at best, marginalized history of Mexican women in this country....Ruiz's book is of special value for two groups of readers: historians, who must grapple with gender issues if they are to write more in-depth works on Mexican
Americans, and individuals who are new to the study of Mexican women's lives in the United States. For both, Ruiz has written a well-documented account of women who made history in their communities and thereby in America."--Southwestern Historical Quarterly

"In synthesizing a wealth of information on a relatively neglected topic into a stirring portrayal of women's courage and agency, Ruiz's book epitomizes illuminative scholarship."--Latin American Research Review

"Impressive telling of the often overlooked and important history of Chicana women in the United States."--Marc S. Rodriguez, University of Wisconsin at Madison

"An outstanding contribution to Chicana and Chicano history. Very scholarly and informative."--John E. Valdez, Palomar College

"Beautifully written! Well done. A must for any Chicano history course at any level. Well-researched and well-documented. Important addition to Chicano/a literature."--Gilbert Montemayor, McLennan Community College

"With subtlety and nuance, Vicki Ruiz has written a narrative that, for the first time, illuminates the complexity and richness of the experience of Mexican American women in the 20th century United States. Brilliantly drawing upon interviews as well as more traditional materials, Ruiz vividly
portrays the stress, tensions, and triumphs of generations who sought to endure and prosper in a new land, even as they struggled to maintain a sense of distinctive family and cultural traditions. This is an extraordinary achievement."--William H. Chafe, Professor of History, Duke University

"From Out of the Shadows has much to recommend it. Feminists will find it a rich source book and an excellent overview of Mexican American women's crucial contributions to labor organizing, community formation and social movements in the West and Southwest."--Louise Lamphere,The Women's
Review of Books, Wellesley College

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