Mi Casa Es Su Casa: A Critical Co-constructed Autoethnography of the Evolution from Assimilation to Acculturation of a Mexican Migrant Farmworker turned Professional
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Authors
Gonzalez, Javier
Issue Date
2021-06-15
Type
Dissertation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Dissertations, Academic--United States , Agricultural laborers , Critical race theory , Ethnology , Mexican Americans , Migrant labor
Alternative Title
Abstract
Situated within critical race theory and Latinx critical theory (LatCrit), the result of this research was a 2-part presentation of a critical co-constructed autoethnography and a qualitative case study. The case study identified factors that promoted intercultural collaboration in support of acculturation efforts among a predominantly White receiving community and a Latinx immigrant community, comprised mostly of migrant farmworkers. Structured interviews with eight community members involved in establishing a community event that would become La Fiesta del Pueblo, a review of La Fiesta historical documents, and electronic and print media were used to explore the festival and discover factors that led to its success. The significant findings of the dynamics that drove the coalition-building process for how La Fiesta del Pueblo became an accepted community and state-sponsored cultural event and how La Fiesta influenced change in perceptions of the receiving community and immigrant population culture were the positive experiences had by those who attended it as well as the organizers and organizational aid provided by all walks of the community. La Fiesta was instrumental in promoting intercultural collaboration through enhanced awareness, which served as a vehicle for both communities to experience changes in perceptions of each other and their associated cultures and allowed for mutual accommodation as part of the integration process for the benefit of both. The co-constructed autoethnography was designed to be a critical reflection of my voice and journey through the acculturation process from the perspective of a Mexican migrant farmworker turned Latino professional. It articulates early, middle, and later phases of my assimilation to the acculturation experience. My exploration of La Fiesta and constant reflection of my own journey from assimilation to acculturation brought about the critical co-constructed autoethnography and helped me emphasize the need to disrupt deficit ideology by engaging in critical reflections on the complexity of cross-race/ethnicity relations within Latinx and predominantly White communities.
Key words: La Fiesta del Pueblo, migrant farmworker, assimilation, acculturation, critical race theory, deficit thinking, Latinx critical theory, LatCrit, Latinx
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This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of the materials for financial gain with the author's expressed written permissions is not allowed.