Realizing a Developing Identity

Hola mis amigos! Or for my English speaking friends, "Hello my friends!". I have created this blog as a part of my final project which is entitled "Literacy & Identity: Exploring the Chicano Vernacular" for the course ENG 442 : Studies in Literacy with Dr. Donna Qualley. Before I dive into the rich and wonderful world of how literacy and identity are connected to the development of the Chicano culture as a whole, I'll give a little bit of background info as to why I decided to pursue this topic for further development:

1.  Why I chose "Un Blog" as a medium for my project

First off, the way to say blog is in Spanish is "blog". Amazing huh? Hows that first cultural hybridity and borrowing! The main reason I chose to use a blog is because it is the most personal and interactive way to share any type of information on the internet. Along with Facebook and Youtube it is one of the easiest way to share information between a diverse group of people. Its use has transcended cultural barriers and is used by Chicanos and other groups of people nationwide. An example of this seen in the immense popularity of the FUA Man video amongst Latinos in America this past summer, which was a trend started amongst blog users sharing the video in the blogosphere in Mexico. So its my hope that my experiences and further research will be stumbled upon by others who will be enriched by the wonderful information provided, much like other blogs do everyday.

 

2. A broader look into literacy

"Literacy is knowing how to read and write proper English". --- Unnamed WWU Student

This is the kind of answer you can hope to expect if you ask someone to define literacy. As can be seen its not very broad and it definitely lacks any substance other than that of the dominant Anglo American discourse. So in my project I'm going to try to broaden the horizons to give a much more accurate look into what literacy actually means. These horizons are ones that will hopefully present a definition of literacy that bypasses cultural boundaries and includes all systems of interaction. I wholeheartedly believe this is important, because this will promote an understand and respect for alternate discourses outside of the dominant discourse. Maybe with a little more respect for alternate ways of interaction, there can be an avoiding of some society's sins of the past...

 3.  Why does this matter? Personally and on a larger scale 

Cultural Hybridity

Well to start off, I was born in the great state of Texas! So I grew up around a whole lot of this and this! The joint Anglo-American and Tejano cultural influences were pretty impactful in the person I have become today. This impact is something that I have only begun to realize, because like most children I wasn't interested in the cultural forces that were in motion around me. Now that I'm in college, I've been able to reflect a little more deeply on these forces in how they relate to me and on a larger scale. This project is both an attempt to understand and reconcile my own hybrid identity and also the effect of cultural forces on the Chicano identity as a whole. This will be looked at in a sort of historical timeline fashion. It will begin with the assimilation period of the early migrant workers, next it will move on to conservation period with the rise of Chicano nationalism and finally it will conclude with the post-modern period of hybrid Chicano identities through transculturation. Hope y'all find the information intriguing and entertaining as well.
Enjoy!

Begin the Chicano Literacy Journey --->