Making the MexiRican City
To commemorate National Hispanic Heritage Month, this week's review analyzes the community-building and activist practices Mexican and Puerto Rican migrants employed in 20th-century Michigan.
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Posted on July 6, 2020 in Review of the Week
Upton, Dell. Yale, 2015
265p index afp, 9780300211757 $45.00
In this thoroughly researched, well illustrated, brilliantly analyzed examination of contemporary public monuments dedicated to the history of the Black experience in the American South, Upton (UCLA) provides in-depth analysis of the complex political and social threads that recent monuments have both engaged and exposed. In considering a wide range of examples of visual culture—from billboards to long-standing public monuments—this study deftly reveals the many layers of potential meaning that should be considered in navigating the complex social and political context in which they exist. Furthermore, with recent political debates focusing on the presence of the Confederate flag in many southern states and a national discourse on race and power having dramatically taken center stage in contemporary American politics, questions regarding such symbols have become principal subjects of American political and cultural discourse, which makes Upton’s analysis extremely timely and relevant. As such, researchers and students, as well as political observers, will find this study thorough, insightful, and of great use in comprehending the vital role that monumental art can and does play in American culture.
Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.
Reviewer: M.R. Freeman, Western Oregon University
Subject: Social & Behavioral Sciences – Political Science – U.S. Politics
Choice Issue: Feb 2017
To commemorate National Hispanic Heritage Month, this week's review analyzes the community-building and activist practices Mexican and Puerto Rican migrants employed in 20th-century Michigan.
Posted on in Review of the Week
This week's review offers a roadmap for teaching contemporary US history, providing instructors with tips to tackle recent divisive topics and engage students with primary sources.
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Researching the experiences of day laborers in Denver, Colorado, this week's review examines wage theft and nefarious labor practices that reflect broader systemic labor issues in the US.
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This week's review showcases the work of international women photographers dating back to the 19th century, disrupting stereotypes over what constitutes women's work.
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