tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933944087880858638.post8065107853314972946..comments2013-02-26T19:49:46.147-08:00Comments on AcademicZ: Where are all the Mexicans? And/On Being ‘ChexMex’Kevin-Khristian Cosgriff-Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08249183442222509646noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933944087880858638.post-83319532374736083302013-02-26T19:49:46.147-08:002013-02-26T19:49:46.147-08:00It is striking how similar our journeys have been/...It is striking how similar our journeys have been/are, though I am not Chex-Mex like you, hehe. Complexities associated with navigating very real border boundaries are often what I rely on when I just resort to telling people --when they ask "what are you?" meaning "what nationality or hyphenated identity are you?"-- that my family is from the U.S. --> "We didn't cross the border. The border crossed us." Most people chuckle. Most of the time, they get it. However, oftentimes I have to give a quick history of the SW U.S. for them to actually "get it" which of course raises other questions about the whitened, sanitized nature of most mainstream American history. I had a pivotal moment in grad school when I took my first Chicana Feminism class (an eye-opener that pushed me to pursue the doc degree). This is still a fine line to navigate even in the ranks of the critical, scholarly, (mostly) consciously aware academic elite. <br /><br />A few months back, I was asked to attend a dinner with a TT job candidate. A colleague and I (he's from Tanzania, educated in the U.S.) quickly realized why we were asked to attend this dinner = the candidate is Latina and we were meant to embody diversity examples of professors in this small liberal arts community of North Carolina. It was really interesting to us (fine, fun, but a little annoying) to then have to up-talk our diverse (and obviously embodied) identities as authentic. In fact, the colleague who invited us along to the dinner (also Latina) kept somewhat putting us on the spot about our heritage, where we're from, how we've adjusted to life in NC, etc. At one point, the candidate herself made a joking comment about the other Latina at the table not being a real Latina because she ordered her food at the Colombian restaurant in a particular way. In a striking manner of pointing out authenticity levels of judgment, I kinda sorta decided in that moment that I would have to be more cautious about embodying diversity (Latinidad) in these types of contexts - not that I can downplay my embodiment or brownness, but I would surely be more aware of these diversity display dinner invites I may surely get in the future... as one of the few brown faces with those magical 3 validating letters after my name in a mostly black/white region of the country. There is good stemming from this embodiment, too. I was recently featured in the OLAS (Organization of Latino American Students) newsletter run by students here (http://davidsonolas.weebly.com/newsletter-latinos-in-full-effect-life.html). I'm happy to be here for the Latino as well as other racial, ethnic, other minority students generally. But that authenticity that is questioned periodically can be an odd opportunity for introspection that I'm not sure I always welcome.<br /><br />Thanks for your blog contribution, Ryan! Amanda R. Martinezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17295674338104809147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933944087880858638.post-27489783103444882752013-02-25T22:14:24.007-08:002013-02-25T22:14:24.007-08:00Ryan, this one line will stick with me for a very ...Ryan, this one line will stick with me for a very long time: "It was in my 11th grade year that I was becoming interested in filling out the branches in my family tree and – in some cases – raking up the dead leaves." <br /><br />~ carlosAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933944087880858638.post-44825125522429285752013-02-24T12:47:11.626-08:002013-02-24T12:47:11.626-08:00Thanks for the read suggestion - I just cracked it...Thanks for the read suggestion - I just cracked it open in fact. There are a few interesting questions Dr. Calafell asks toward the beginning - "What would Chicana/o come to mean to those children born Mexican American in the South - the next generation? What would Aztlan, our physical and symbolic nation mean to those who had never visited it or had no concept of it?" - I think in a lot of ways my post is a response to that. Ryannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8933944087880858638.post-24626521783927994932013-02-23T12:33:18.722-08:002013-02-23T12:33:18.722-08:00Thanks, Ryan, for writing this. I would also draw ...Thanks, Ryan, for writing this. I would also draw your attention to this: Calafell, Bernadette Marie. "Disrupting the Dichotomy: 'Yo Soy Chicana/O?' In the New Latina/o South." Communication Review 7.2 (2004): 175-204. Karmahttp://queermigration.comnoreply@blogger.com