Students will learn about Chicano Studies pioneer Américo Paredes through his literature and activism. Students will learn about ethnography as a research method and form of analysis. Students will come away with a historical perspective of the value of oral transmission of heritage such as the corrido, oral histories, and poetry. Students will compose a poem or song and combine it with images to create a digital video or interview a family member or community elder to document local history. The primary sources presented here are from the Américo Paredes Papers, 1886-1999.

Date Range: 1886-1999
Grade Levels: 9-12
Countries: Mexico & the United States
Course Subjects: Borderland studies; linguistic & language studies; literary studies; Mexican American and U.S. Latinx studies; U.S. history: 1877-present
Topics: Chicano literature; poetry; Texas history; oral history; digital technology as a form of activism; ethnography
Teaching Time Frame: 8, 60 minute lessons

Guiding Questions

  • How can we use oral histories and digital technology to challenge the mainstream versions of history?
  • Why is it important to learn about and produce alternative narratives?
  • Who was Américo Paredes and how does his work contribute to Mexican American Studies today?
  • What is ethnographic observation and analysis and how can we use it to understand society?

Summative Activities

  1. Students will produce a poetry video, digital cuento, or oral history interview.
  2. Students will share their project with the class and post to project website.

Relevant Teaching Standards

Lesson 1

TEKS Guidelines

  • Ethnic Studies: Mexican American Studies
    • (c)-(4) – The student understands the causes and impact of the Mexican American civil rights movement from the 1930s to 1975. 
    • (c)-(8)-(C) – Analyze the Mexican American struggle for civil rights as manifested in the Chicano movement.
    • (c)-(12) – Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. 

Lesson 2

TEKS Guidelines

  • Ethnic Studies: Mexican American Studies
    • (c)-(6) –  The student understands the impact of geographic factors on major events related to Mexican Americans.
    • (c)-(10)-(A) – The student understands the relationship between Mexican American artistic expression and the times during which the art was created. ) and can describe how the characteristics and issues of Mexican American history have been reflected in various genres of art, music, film, and literature.

C3 Framework

  • History
    • D2.His.1.9-12. Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.
    • D2.His.2.9-12. Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.
    • D2.His.6.9-12. Analyze the ways in which the perspectives of those writing history shaped the history that they produced.

Lesson 3

TEKS Guidelines

  • Ethnic Studies: Mexican American Studies
    • (c)-(9)-(D) – Analyze the connotations and histories of identity nomenclature relevant to Mexican Americans such as Mexican, Spanish, Hispanic, Latina/o, Chicana/o, illegal, undocumented, Mexican American, American Mexican, or simply American.
    • (c)-(10)-(A) – The student understands the relationship between Mexican American artistic expression and the times during which the art was created. The student is expected to describe how the characteristics and issues of Mexican American history have been reflected in various genres of art, music, film, and literature.
    • (c)-(10)-(B) – Analyze the significance of selected works of Mexican American literature such as “I am Joaquín” (1967) by Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales and “Pensamiento Serpentino” (1971) by Luis Valdez.
    • (c)-(10)-(C) – Describe the role of artistic expression in mobilizing Mexican Americans and others toward civic participation and action such as the role of “Teatro Campesino” during the farmworkers movement.

C3 Framework

  • History
    • D2.His.1.9-12. Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.
    • D2.His.2.9-12. Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.
    • D2.His.4.9-12. Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.
    • D2.His.6.9-12. Analyze the ways in which the perspectives of those writing history shaped the history that they produced.

Lesson 4

TEKS Guidelines

  • Ethnic Studies: Mexican American Studies
    • (c)-(9)-(D) – Analyze the connotations and histories of identity nomenclature relevant to Mexican Americans such as Mexican, Spanish, Hispanic, Latina/o, Chicana/o, illegal, undocumented, Mexican American, American Mexican, or simply American.
    • (c)-(10)-(A) – The student understands the relationship between Mexican American artistic expression and the times during which the art was created. The student is expected to describe how the characteristics and issues of Mexican American history have been reflected in various genres of art, music, film, and literature.
    • (c)-(10)-(C) – Describe the role of artistic expression in mobilizing Mexican Americans and others toward civic participation and action such as the role of “Teatro Campesino” during the farmworkers movement.

C3 Framework

  • Geography
    • D2.Geo.4.9-12. Analyze relationships and interactions within and between human and physical systems to explain reciprocal influences that occur among them.
    • D2.Geo.6.9-12. Evaluate the impact of human settlement activities on the environmental and cultural characteristics of specific places and regions.
    • D2.Geo.10.9-12. Evaluate how changes in the environmental and cultural characteristics of a place or region influence spatial patterns of trade and land use.
  • History
    • D2.His.6.9-12. Analyze the ways in which the perspectives of those writing history shaped the history that they produced.

Lesson 5

TEKS Guidelines

  • Ethnic Studies: Mexican American Studies
    • (c)-(9)-(D) – Analyze the connotations and histories of identity nomenclature relevant to Mexican Americans such as Mexican, Spanish, Hispanic, Latina/o, Chicana/o, illegal, undocumented, Mexican American, American Mexican, or simply American.
    • (c)-(10)-(A) – The student understands the relationship between Mexican American artistic expression and the times during which the art was created. The student is expected to describe how the characteristics and issues of Mexican American history have been reflected in various genres of art, music, film, and literature.
    • (c)-(10)-(B) – Analyze the significance of selected works of Mexican American literature such as “I am Joaquín” (1967) by Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales and “Pensamiento Serpentino” (1971) by Luis Valdez.
    • (c)-(10)-(C) – Describe the role of artistic expression in mobilizing Mexican Americans and others toward civic participation and action such as the role of “Teatro Campesino” during the farmworkers movement.

C3 Framework

  • History
    • D2.His.1.9-12. Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.
    • D2.His.2.9-12. Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.
    • D2.His.4.9-12. Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.
    • D2.His.6.9-12. Analyze the ways in which the perspectives of those writing history shaped the history that they produced.

Lesson 6-8

TEKS Guidelines

  • Ethnic Studies: Mexican American Studies
    • (c)-(12)-(B) – The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. The student is expected to analyze diverse points of view related to contemporary Mexican American issues.
    • (c)-(12)-(C) – Create a written and/or oral presentation on a contemporary issue or topic relevant to Mexican Americans using critical methods of inquiry.
    • (c)-(12)-(D) – Analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions.

C3 Framework

  • History
    • D2.His.12.9-12. Use questions generated about multiple historical sources to pursue further inquiry and investigate additional sources.
    • D2.His.14.9-12. Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.
    • D2.His.16.9-12. Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources and interpretations into a reasoned argument about the past.

Downloads

PDF – Unit and lesson plans

PDF – Primary materials

Rights Statement

Creator: Cassie Smith, Doctoral Candidate, Anthropology, University of New Mexico (Fall 2018)
Date: 2019-04-18

This unit is under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Public License (“Public License”). This license lets others share, remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as they credit the creators and license their new creations under the identical terms.

Dr. Américo Paredes: Chicano Studies, Ethnographic Analysis, and Poetic Activism (Unit)