CSRC Newsletter - January 2006

CSRC Newsletter Volume 4, Number 4

Director's Message

Living in Los Angeles, one sees a lot of Hollywood stars. We live in the same city, even if in different worlds. My favorite sighting was Mary Woronov, who was standing outside a Starbucks in Beverly Hills. As sightings go, it was much more interesting and pleasant than when I found myself at a restaurant table next to Sean Penn. What can I say? I am a big Woronov fan. Television stars are a bit different. I have run into several of the stars from Friends , and each time I have the same response: I start to approach them because I think they are friends. After all, you can see them every night in syndication. Of course, most of my friends who actually live in New York City are Puerto Rican or Cuban American. Still, you don't see too many Latinos in the Manhattan depicted on Friends or Seinfeld or.... Well, you get the point. In any case, we are guided by the stars. Looking to the stars for some predictions about the coming year, I see the following: Edward James Olmos will defeat the Cylons and save the human race. I just wonder when his fellow characters will say his name correctly. Instead of Commander Adama, shouldn't it be Aldama? I know, I saw the 1970s original, but certainly the future can change in thirty years, can't it? My last prediction for 2006 is that we will have the first Latino president of the United States... on television's The West Wing. If the Cylons attack Earth, the new commander-in-chief (Jimmy Smits) will know whom to call, and he will know how to pronounce his name.
 
Chon A. Noriega, Professor and Director
 

CSRC Events

Guest Lecture on Mexican American Lawyering
Professor Michael A. Olivas from the University of Houston will present a lecture titled "Colored Men and Hombres Aqui: Hernandez v. Texas and the Emergence of Mexican American Lawyering." Tried in 1954, Hernandez v. Texas was the first case argued by Mexican American lawyers before the U.S. Supreme Court; it is a counterpart to Brown v. Board of Education , which was decided two weeks later. The lecture will be given on Friday, January 13, 2006, at 12:00 noon in 144 Haines Hall. Refreshments will be served. For questions or more information, please email the the front office.
 
Student Research Grants Workshop
CSRC will host an information session for students interested in learning about IAC research grants, which are available to UCLA graduate students as well as faculty and research staff. The workshop will be held on Thursday, February 2, 2006, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. in 179 Haines Hall. Refreshments will be served. The deadline for IAC grant applications is Friday, April 28, 2006. For questions about the session, please email Sagrario Hernández. To obtain information about IAC research grants and applications, visit their website. For CSRC research grants, email Carlos M. Haro or call 310-267-5290
 

CSRC Library and Archive

Artwork Among New Acquisitions
The CSRC Library has obtained a collection of prints and posters from artist Julio Martinez and some of the papers of photographer Oscar Castillo. The CSRC Library has also acquired a Zines collection, about fifty small-format magazines on Chicano-related subjects, which were were created by students in Maylei Blackwell 's Chicano Studies Critical Issues class. Preservation is nearly complete for three archival collections: The Elaine K. Miller oral history archive of Latin American Folklore; the Ruben Guévara collection of Latino pop and rock records and tapes, papers, and ephemera; and the Mexican Museum of San Francisco Papers. For information on the collections, contact the center archivist.
 
Cyclona Collection
The CSRC Library is launching a new effort to provide online access to digital images from its special collections. The first set includes photos from "The Fire of Life: The Robert Legorreta / Cyclona Collection, 1962-2002." The collection contains papers, photos, LP records whose covers depict how the recording industry saw Latinos c.1950-1990, and three-dimensional items from performance artist Robert Legorreta, also known as Cyclona. Look for additional images from this and other collections in the future.
 

CSRC Press

Check out these recent reviews of our books and DVDs!
I Am Aztlán: The Personal Essay in Chicano Studies. Scholars, writers, and artists reflect on the role of the "I" in Chicano and Latino culture and the diverse ways in which personal voice and experience inform their research.
 
Choice (September 2005): "Highly recommended. All levels/libraries."
 
Book News (August 2005): "These twelve essays... approach the subjects of exile and going home, home and work, family, and testifying by sharing memories of first learning English and white culture, what [the authors] thought of their parents' role in culture in the past and how they perceive it now, how family secrets that transcend culture still become involved in it, how life as a Chicano/Latino is confined or liberated by conflicts in culture, how machismo is machismo, sometimes, how finding a kindred spirit in print can save a life, and how professions can be created or broken on perceptions of others. Field reports from the classroom and the U.S. Hispanic market are included, along with a bibliography of autobiography and personal essays in Spanish and English."
Early Chicano Art Documentaries. This DVD combines two pioneering documentaries about Chicano artists of East Los Angeles during the crucial decade of the 1970s.
Library Journal (January 2005) "Highly recommended for Latino and culturally diverse collections."
 
Press Information
If you are interested in buying our books, click here.
If you are interested in buying our DVDs, click here.
If you are interested in subscribing to our journal, email your postal address to press@chicano.ucla.edu.
Information about all our publications is available at the CSRC Press website.
 

CSRC Grants & Fellowships Recipients

Latino Studies Fellowships Deadline Is Upcoming
The Smithsonian is offering fellowships for doctoral candidates and postdocs who are interested in pursuing research in Latino studies at the Smithsonian. The grants can extend to twelve months. Predoctoral stipends are $22,000 per year; postdoctoral stipends are $35,000 per year. The application deadline is Sunday, January 15, 2006. For more information, visit their website.
 
Research Fellow Positions Available
The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) is seeking Ph.D.-level research fellows with expertise in social policy, immigration policy, education policy, political participation, and issues related to the environment or infrastructure. For more information, visit their website.
 
Deadline for CSRC Fellowship Is Approaching
Four postdoctoral fellowships are available for conducting and theorizing oral history research in African American, American Indian, Asian American, or Chicano communities. Fellows' research must rely significantly on oral history or on qualitative interviews that have a comparable social or historical focus. The UCLA Institute of American Cultures, in cooperation with UCLA’s four ethnic studies centers and the UCLA Center for Oral History Research, is offering one fellowship per center. Each fellowship includes a stipend. Applications are due by Friday, January 13, 2006.
 
Graduate and Predoctoral Fellowship Deadline Is This Month
Current UCLA students with a demonstrated interest in ethnic studies are eligible to apply for a graduate/predoctoral fellowship to aid in the completion of a thesis or dissertation. The fellowship consists of a stipend and all in-state fees. Restrictions apply regarding acceptance of supplemental employment and/or other awards during the fellowship year. On occasion, centers have chosen to divide the graduate fellowship between two or among three students. Applications are due by Friday, January 13, 2006.
 
Oral History Research Grants
The UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research is seeking applications for its 2006 Gold Shield Alumnae Oral History Graduate Research Grants. Two grants of up to $2,500 apiece will be awarded to UCLA graduate students in any field of study who, as part of their dissertation research, are conducting oral history or other in-depth qualitative interviews with a comparable social or historical focus. The grants must be used to cover expenses associated with conducting the interviews, such as equipment, transcription, and travel. Preference will be given to projects focusing on Southern California and/or on aspects of UCLA history. Deadline Wednesday, March 1, 2006. For requirements and application process information, contact Teresa Barnett at the Center for Oral History Research.
 
UCSD Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies Visiting Fellows Program
UC San Diego, Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, Visiting Fellows Program
The program invites applicants from the social sciences, history, and related fields to apply for the largest residential fellowship program in the United States for research on Mexico. Applicants may apply for stays of between three and ten months. The majority of research fellows and guest scholars are expected to be at the postdoctoral level. PhD candidates who are ABD and have completed a substantial portion of their dissertations will also be considered. Senior scholars are encouraged to apply. Researchers of any nationality are eligible. Special funds are set aside to support UC students and graduates. Application deadline is Friday, January 13, 2006. For more information contact Graciela Platero, or visit their website.
 

Student Opportunities

Graduate Student Website
The CSRC website publishes a list of UCLA graduate students currently doing Chicana/o-related research. To be added to the CSRC Affiliated Students list, email the center with your information.
 
Interns
The CSRC welcomes undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in Chicano Studies to work as interns and volunteers in various areas of the Center. If interested, send an inquiry to Carlos M. Haro.
 

Contacts

To learn more about us, visit our website or email us. To subscribe to this newsletter, e-mail listproc@weber.sscnet.ucla.edu and include in the body of your message the line (and nothing but the line) SUBSCRIBE CHICANO [first name, last name] (don't enter the brackets, just your name). This automatically subscribes you to the electronic versions of the Latino Policy & Issues Brief and the CSRC Research Report.
 

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