Remembering the Alamo: Memory, Modernity, and the Master Symbol (History, Culture, and Society Series) [Paperback]

Richard R. Flores (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 029272540X | ISBN-13: 978-0292725409 | Publication Date: June 15, 2002 | Edition: 1

"Remember the Alamo!" reverberates through Texas history and culture, but what exactly are we remembering? Over nearly two centuries, the Mexican victory over an outnumbered band of Alamo defenders has been transformed into an American victory for the love of liberty. Why did the historical battle of 1836 undergo this metamorphosis in memory and mythology to become such a potent master symbol in Texan and American culture? In this probing book, Richard Flores seeks to answer that question by examining how the Alamo's transformation into an American cultural icon helped to shape social, economic, and political relations between Anglo and Mexican Texans from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. In the first part of the book, he looks at how the attempts of heritage society members and political leaders to define the Alamo as a place have reflected struggles within Texas society over the place and status of Anglos and Mexicans. In the second part, he explores how Alamo movies and the transformation of Davy Crockett into an Alamo hero/martyr have advanced deeply racialized, ambiguous, and even invented understandings of the past.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Drawing on a broad range of theorists in various fields (geography, social history, semiotics, cultural studies, and anthropology), Flores provides a compelling and quite forceful analysis of various historically produced forms of documenting, recalling, and interpreting the Alamo." Olga Najera-Ramirez, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz

Review

Drawing on a broad range of theorists in various fields (geography, social history, semiotics, cultural studies, and anthropology), Flores provides a compelling and quite forceful analysis of various historically produced forms of documenting, recalling, and interpreting the Alamo. (Olga Nájera-Ramírez, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz )

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press; 1 edition (June 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 029272540X
• ISBN-13: 978-0292725409
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #828,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helps balance the Texas rah-rah, October 13, 2003

By 

Ronald T. McCoy "Ron" (In the Middle, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Remembering the Alamo: Memory, Modernity, and the Master Symbol (History, Culture, and Society Series) (Paperback)

Richard Flores has produced a book that should give interested readers cause to pause and engage in some reflection. The syntax is a bit dense, as seems the case with postmodernist writing in general. But once you get past the jargon, he's put together a strong case for how the "sacred space" of the Alamo has been both created and reinforced. As might be expected, the Hispanic population comes out on the short end of the stick. There's a good deal more here than simply postmodernist political correctness. Flores has done his homework, doesn't seek to hide his own biases under the misleading rubic "objective" (there's no such thing in history and anthropology anyway), and provides abundant references to material for interested readers to explore on their own. A provocative and interesting piece of work. It requires paying attention to the detail, but doing so is well worth the effort. Readers who've bought the whole Anglos-wrested-Texas-from-them-Mexicans-in-the-name-of-freedom malarky should steer clear of Flores's book: it'll only get them het up. But students of myth and memory will be amply rewarded.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly and fascinating, August 21, 2008

By 

James R. Francis "Riely" (Honolulu) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Remembering the Alamo: Memory, Modernity, and the Master Symbol (History, Culture, and Society Series) (Paperback)

This is U.of Texas anthropology professor Richard R. Flores's brilliant analysis of the symbolically manufactured cultural resonance of the Alamo across nearly two centuries: first, within 19th century San Antonio's transformation (with much turbulence) from a Mexican villa to an American city, and then later in folklore, film, and television. A fascinating read, especially for those curious Texans who cherish their state's rich Hispanic heritage, and are not afraid to question the quasi-sacred symbolism they were taught in school.

Fav. Quote: "Public history should open the door to curiosity about the past, not render it conclusive and known."

2 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Caution: PostModern Literary Criticism!, August 23, 2003

By 

Texan (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Remembering the Alamo: Memory, Modernity, and the Master Symbol (History, Culture, and Society Series) (Paperback)

Filled with PoMo jargon, gag. There are some interesting FACTUAL segments regarding the development of downtown San Antonio...although the author's politically correct contention that Anglos set out to deliberately wipe out all vestiges of Hispanic culture is patently absurd.

Grab much more than a pinch of salt, and some galoshes to wade through the LitCrit verbiage, for there are a few points of interest. But check it out from the library if possible.