ABSTRACT
The Handbook of Chicana/o Studies presents a broad spectrum of critical analyses of the past, present, and future on how the discipline tackles various subjects to expand the paradigms that represent the fields. The Handbook of Chicana/o Studies seeks to provide a comprehensive and coherent set of essays that examine key social and cultural processes in each topic area. Chicanas/os have historically been perceived as an almost exclusively American Southwestern social-cultural phenomenon closely tied to the US-Mexico borderlands. Considered geographically, the majority of Chicanas/os and Mexican nationals have migrated and live in proximity with diverse populations, in particular California, Texas, and New Mexico, with a significant presence in Arizona, Colorado, and Michigan. Chicanas/os' deep roots in the US Southwest since the middle of the sixteenth century reflect exploration, conquest, and colonization by Spain followed by Mexico.
