Various literary views of the Mexican American woman have been presented over the past 150 years. Anglo treatment of Mexican American women in literature has varied from blatant prejudice or vague mystical eroticism in early portrayals to more realistic views of the Chicano in modern writing. The current identity crisis of Mexican Americans is…

Of the bilinguals in the United States, 22 million are Spanish-English speakers. Spanish-English bilinguals have been producing literature in Spanish, in English, and gradually in mixtures of both languages from the earliest days of contact in the U.S. This paper explores manifestations and meanings of Spanish-English bilingualism in Latino…

This opening address at the annual conference of the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States (MELUS) introduces a community of ethnic scholars who make a considerable contribution to American Literature. The focus of the conference and the organization is to show that American literature does not have to be…

Literature has perpetuated through the centuries the cultural and traditional roles and stereotypes of woman, particularly the Hispanic woman. Two main categories or images of woman, with variations and generalizations, have been: (1) the "good woman", symbolized by a woman who can think or do no evil, is pure, understanding, kind, weak,…

In order to acquaint teachers with the range of children's literature about Latino culture, this paper describes works of writers from both the United States and Latin America. The materials described, written in English or Spanish, range from fiction and nonfiction to filmstrips and magazines. A list of 50 books, magazines, and nonprint materials…

Works of three Chicana authors focus on the individual Chicana's response to tradition and restraint and, taken as a whole, illustrate three essential steps in breaking away from the myth of the Chicana as submissive, suffering, passive, and powerless. "El ser mujer..." by poet Ana Castillo calls for the Chicana to speak out regarding…

According to a footnote in the 1990 book "The Noble Savage,""The Spanish Black Legend is the view of Spain's genocide in The New World, as accounted for by Bartolome de las Casas and the European historians who, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, denounced this genocide, often utilizing it as an anti-Spanish propaganda…

Because of its complex history, Puerto Rico's legend and myth surpass the literature of other regions and present special characteristics and problems pertaining to its population. Bibliographic control of Puerto Rican publications is often insufficient and there is a need for an organized and extensive bibliography which covers all disciplines…

Over 200 participants from 10 states and 17 universities attended "The First National Symposium on Chicano Literature and Critical Analysis." Five of the papers presented at the symposium are given in this publication. The papers cover Chicano poetry, novel, drama, and popular folklore humor. "National Character vs Universality in…

This collection of selected conference papers includes experiences of specific minority groups: the native Americans, the Chicanos, and the Puerto Ricans. The papers represent the work of folklorists, historians, musicians, literary critics, and minority and ethnic studies experts. The section on native American oral tradition includes papers on…

This study examines several genres of Nuyorican literature (works by and about Puerto Ricans in New York) in an effort to demonstrate how authors interpret the political and social contexts of their environment. Works analyzed are the dramas "Short Eyes" and "The Sun Always Shines for the Cool" by Miguel Pinero and "Noo…

This article provides data and discussion of multicultural theme-related issues arising from analysis of a detailed database of commercial software products targeted to reading and literacy education. The database consisted of 1152 titles, representing the offerings of 104 publishers and distributors. Of the titles, 62 were identified as having…

Awareness of a new and altered method of teaching literature, similar to that described by Adrienne Rich, grew from the experience of teaching a small introductory course in twentieth century Hispanic women writers to students with diverse language, cultural, and economic backgrounds. Although about half the students were native Spanish speakers,…

New Hispanic immigrants to the United States bring with them a different world view and a desire to succeed in a new country. They also find resistance to their presence, prejudice against their language, and ignorance of their customs on the part of many older, more settled Americans. In addition, children quickly learn that their old customs are…

Traditional definitions of American literature generally include only that literature which grew out of the English enterprise in America; few concessions have been made to other ethnic elements in the literary history of this country. But as British literary roots flourished in new American soil, so did their Hispanic counterparts to yield a…