Occupied America: A History of Chicanos (4th Edition) [Paperback]

Rodolfo Acuna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 22, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0321044851 | ISBN-13: 978-0321044853 | Edition: 4

Occupied America was the first textbook to be published for the growing number of Chicano History courses developing across the country and remains the bestseller. The Fourth Edition has been completely updated, containing a significant amount of new material on Mexican American history. In addition, the Fourth Edition contains a new introductory chapter, Not Just pyramids, Explorers, and Heroes, that includes the period before 1821. The Fourth Edition also looks at the question of gender and includes the role of gender throughout. Finally, a vast amount of new and updated sources have been added. Acuna's reputation as a radical and important voice of Chicano History has only increased since the first edition was published. The changes in the Fourth Edition make this edition of Occupied America the most comprehensive one yet.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An excellent job explaining the role of race, class divisions, and gender in the developing political, social, and cultural interactions between Anglos and Mexicans in Texas and New Mexico."

    - Ashley Sousa, West Valley College

 

"I sincerely think that Dr. Acuña does provides an excellent analysis throughout his book because he is constantly making connections with Mexico and this inclusion help the student understand immigration, social movements and ideology."

    - Laura Larque, Santa Rosa Junior College

 

"I consider Rodolfo Acuña’s Occupied America: A History of Chicanos as one of the few books that offers a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the major historical experiences of Chicanos that invokes critical thinking and intellectual discussion."

    - James Barrera, South Texas College

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

Occupied America: A History of Chicanos, Sixth Edition
Rodolfo Acuña

Authored by Rodolfo Acuña, one of the most influential and highly-regarded scholars of Chicano history and Ethnic Studies, Occupied America is the leading textbook for Chicano history courses. Beginning with the Mesoamerican civilizations before the 1519 Spanish invitation, continuing through Mexico’s conquests as a developing nation, and ending with an examination of issues of immigration, labor, education, and equality during the last 100 years, this text serves as an ideal foundation for understanding and analyzing Chicano history. This extensively researched and passionately written text not only covers the major developments and incidents in Mexican history, but also explores the complicating factors of race, gender and class in forming Chicano identity.

New to the sixth edition

• The entire text has been streamlined, to make it more concise, contextualized, and student-orientated, while still preserving its passionate voice.
• Timelines at the beginning of chapters 8 through 15 help plot cause and effect and lend context to important events and eras in Chicano history.
• “The Map Room” section at the end of the text gives students Web addresses for important maps that trace the migrations of peoples throughout the Americas.
• Up-to-date references and new sources throughout the text encourage students and professors to engage in further scholarship.

Visit us at www.ablongman.com

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 554 pages
• Publisher: Pearson Education; 4 edition (December 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321044851
• ISBN-13: 978-0321044853
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #605,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Chicano Studies Cornerstone, Brilliant, Ardous, August 31, 2011

By 

E. Serna "pete sanchez" (cal. u.s.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Occupied America: A History of Chicanos (7th Edition) (Paperback)

I read the 2nd edition as an undergraduate: it hardened my fledgling Chicano identity and motivated me to be an activist and complete higher education. I read the 5th edition (the longest, most thorough) cover to cover as a Chicano Studies instructor, to teach "History of the Americas." Students badly needed a Chicano intellectual perspective and exposure to the Chicano Studies discipline, especially since most texts (even Zinn's A People History of the US) marginalize or exclude Chican@s. I am currently re-reading it for my English PhD studies on Chicano Rhetoric and Epistemology at UC Riverside.

To view history as chiefly a "military" experience (as one "know-it-all-Anglo" reviewer claims is most important) is twisted, distorting and narrow; such a simplistic stance on knowledge will always lead to (a contested) "white supremacy." The real writing of history, and a more humane one, is a more arduous task, and more complex work. That is what Acuna does.

One key cornerstone of establishing Chicano Studies and formalizing a Chicano identity in this country was the writing of Chicano History; anyone who studies the seminal period of Chicano/Ethnic Studies in the late 60's understands that it was the historians and other social scientists that carved out intellectual space (along with the participation of militant student activism) at universities across the nation. In the act, they also toppled the one-sided triumphalist romanticism that was called "US history" at that time. The Revisionist movement and a global Cultural Studies tradition owe a great deal to Chicano Historians/Studies - Acuna prominent among them - who were at the trenches of this activity. Chican@ historians were also Renaissance men/women: teaching, researching, writing, mentoring, raising families, being activists at the campus and in the community (all while constantly under microscopes, defending programs from constant institutional/racist attacks). Privileged Anglo men typically and conveniently ignore Chican@ scholar realities like these. Acuna's texts, especially the 5th edition (the 1st is one of the most radical versions ideologically) is a wealth of research, interpretation and rich themes (indigenous world systems, racial identity, internal colonization, Chicano labor versus imperialistic capitalism, historically constant resistance and organizing against oppression, leadership, educational struggles); the 60's chapters are rich, exciting and detailed; the final chapters bring students up to date with modern struggles, new demographics, militarization, assimilationist movements, and future struggles. I love the philosophical ending, which calls on the reader to meditate on their own social location, on one's place in the Chicano/human struggle. For these reasons, among others, it's been called affectionately, "the Chicano bible."

44 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Occupied America, September 17, 2001

By 

D. Gallegos "Dewey Gallegos" (University of Wyoming) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Occupied America: A History of Chicanos (4th Edition) (Paperback)

Every view that we will ever see about history is a view that is skewed by personal feelings. As historians, it is our job to figure out what is fact and what is feeling. This book may not be the most objective book about the history of the Xicano people, but it spoke to me in the same way that the Anglo child finds solace in the played out text books found in school. I relate to the stories that Acuna tells, and I enjoy his point of view. He is a wonderful historian, and worthy of being put in the same class as Zinn (A people's history of the U.S.) I hope you enjoy this book, and listen to the frustration in the writing. It is the key to the Chicano's history in a society where Anglo paradigms edit the truth.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tell it like it is, February 10, 2011

By 

Gerardo Diaz (Urbana, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Occupied America: A History of Chicanos (7th Edition) (Paperback)

Critical Scholarship that offers a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the major historical experiences of Chicanos that actually invokes critical thinking and discussion. I highly recommend this book to anyone aiming to understand how history might look from the point of view of the oppressed and not the oppressor.