Established in 1970, the Center for Mexican American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin is a national leader in teaching, research, and publications in Chicano studies. Reflexiones, its annual review, highlights work in progress by scholars affiliated with the center. It may also include work by other authors and artists who have offered presentations sponsored by the center. Reflexiones 1999, the third volume in the series, invites us to consider the complex relationship between cultural identity, racial and ethnic politics, and the production of knowledge.


Consistent with the rich tradition of Mexican American studies, the contributors to Reflexiones 1999 hail from a variety of disciplines. Almeida Jacqueline Toribio (linguistics) offers an analysis of Spanish-English code switching among U.S. Latinos. Douglas Foley (anthropology) reflects upon the political pressures of researching and writing an ethnography about the Raza Unida Party. Lisa J. Montoya (political science) examines the media's depiction of Latinos as a "sleeping giant" in U.S. electoral politics. Barbara J. Robles (public affairs) analyzes the status of Latina scholars and graduate students in the academy. Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez (journalism) discusses the accomplishments and legacy of the pioneering Latino journalist Ruben Salazar. Other contributions include an evocative short story, "Es el agua," by Rolando Hinojosa and reproductions of a recent series of Liliana Wilson Grez's drawings and paintings.