Cultural Influences
How important were official Americanization and Mexicanization efforts from both governments relative to informal cultural influences in shaping the emerging Mexican American community in Los Angeles? Explain your position. Also, to what degree did negative social limits, such as segregation or repatriation efforts shape Mexican American identity formation? Do you consider the story of Mexican American Los Angeles in the first half of the twentieth century more of a triumph or tragedy? Explain your position. This paper should be four pages in length, not including the cover page. You may have a cover page, but it is not required. You must have a title for your essay. In addition, the essay should contain an introduction with a clear thesis statement. As you may have noticed in the question, I am asking you to use the chapters from this book to make an argument about the complex formation of Mexican American culture and identity. That is, how did ethnic Mexicans view themselves, and how did they participate in the larger society around them? Do not merely restate what I have already stated in the prompt, that these formations were not linear or unidirectional. You must show how and why, and make an argument for what you think were the most powerful forces affecting Mexican American community development. Were they political forces or cultural forces?
