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Close to Home: Oral and Literate Practices in a Transnational Mexicano Community
When teachers are familiar with what adults and children bring with them into the classroom, they are far better prepared to develop appropriate curricula and pedagogical techniques. Close to Home is a unique portrayal and analysis of the language, literacy, and cultural resources of a social network of Mexicano adults living in a rural community in Mexico and Chicago’s inner city. By exploring the ways in which this group’s experiences as immigrants have affected their communicative practices, the author provides a basis for understanding how researchers, policy makers, and educators can provide these adults and their children with a relevant education that effectively embraces their schooling and lived experience. After establishing a historical and sociocultural context for the author’s analysis, this rich ethnographic study presents a variety of oral and written sample texts, including tape recordings of everyday oral language use, personal letters, and autobiographical writing. “ Close to Home offers potentially important links to our understanding of the discourse practices of the children from these transnational communities who make up a large proportion of the student enrollment in our schools. A must-read for educators and researchers working with Mexican-origin and other Latino communities.”
Maria de la Luz Reyes , University of Colorado-Boulder
“Innovative and insightful…. Close to Home makes an important contribution to the interdisciplinary study of oral and written discourse.”
Rene Galindo , University of Colorado at Denver
“I strongly recommend this work….significant and timely for the field of language, literacy, and rhetorical studies.”
Jabari Mahiri , University of California at Berkeley
Maria de la Luz Reyes , University of Colorado-Boulder
“Innovative and insightful…. Close to Home makes an important contribution to the interdisciplinary study of oral and written discourse.”
Rene Galindo , University of Colorado at Denver
“I strongly recommend this work….significant and timely for the field of language, literacy, and rhetorical studies.”
Jabari Mahiri , University of California at Berkeley
208 pages, Paperback
Published October 30, 1998
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October 27, 2023
I'm giving 5 stars to this fascinating academic text about the oral and literate practices of Mexicanos from 2 small "ranchitos" in Guanajuato who move back and forth to a few neighborhoods in Chicago. The author has coined the term "transnational community" for a group of immigrants from one area who all move to another area in a new country: in this case from México to the U.S.
Initially, I found the topic of personal interest to me both as an educator and because I live in Redwood City, California which was initially a transnational community with Aguililla, Michoacan, México.
The beginning chapters were quite beyond my comprehension level. I strongly felt my lack of a PHD in sociolinguistics, Mexican history and/or detailed knowledge of the 3 waves of Mexican immigration to the United States!
However, as soon as Professor Guerra began to use transcripts of actual conversations, letters and autobiographical writing by the study participants: I was hooked!!!
This man spent 9 years penetrating this small community! The Mexicanos, who had very low levels of formal education, had a rich repertoire of spoken and written rhetoric which was transcribed and analyzed. They were adept at using several styles to grab and entertain their audience (family and friends) while "echando plática" (having a chat). The speech devices included "gracia" (wit), "labia" (eloquence), "emoción" (emotion), and "sabor" (flavor).
As a retired Kindergarten teacher, who worked with a similar population of children and their families, I was touched and amazed by how current and empowering this academic work is. It was published in 1998!
Here is an excerpt from one young woman's description of when she and her family moved to Chicago. I'm lucky enough to be able to read it in the original Spanish, but I'll use the English translation here.
P. 137 "When we started to make preparations to come to the United States, everything seemed like a fantasy to me. I never thought that it could become a reality. We were starting to arrange papers and all kinds of requirements that were asked of us and then my father arrived with the summons to go to Ciudad Juárez. From that moment on, although I still wasn't taking it with the seriousness that I should, but from then on, I began to feel a great sadness. When my girlfriends would ask me if I was going to come to Chicago, I didn't know how to respond because not even I myself knew the answer. And when finally the long-awaited and not wished-for day arrived, when I began to feel that in less than 24 hours I would be far from my rancho, the place where I was born and raised, where all my best memories are, my friends-it was as if something inside me was being extinguished."
In short, this is a must-read for teachers and policy-makers working with Mexicanos or for anyone who has empathy for those forced to abandon their cherished homes in search of a better life.
Initially, I found the topic of personal interest to me both as an educator and because I live in Redwood City, California which was initially a transnational community with Aguililla, Michoacan, México.
The beginning chapters were quite beyond my comprehension level. I strongly felt my lack of a PHD in sociolinguistics, Mexican history and/or detailed knowledge of the 3 waves of Mexican immigration to the United States!
However, as soon as Professor Guerra began to use transcripts of actual conversations, letters and autobiographical writing by the study participants: I was hooked!!!
This man spent 9 years penetrating this small community! The Mexicanos, who had very low levels of formal education, had a rich repertoire of spoken and written rhetoric which was transcribed and analyzed. They were adept at using several styles to grab and entertain their audience (family and friends) while "echando plática" (having a chat). The speech devices included "gracia" (wit), "labia" (eloquence), "emoción" (emotion), and "sabor" (flavor).
As a retired Kindergarten teacher, who worked with a similar population of children and their families, I was touched and amazed by how current and empowering this academic work is. It was published in 1998!
Here is an excerpt from one young woman's description of when she and her family moved to Chicago. I'm lucky enough to be able to read it in the original Spanish, but I'll use the English translation here.
P. 137 "When we started to make preparations to come to the United States, everything seemed like a fantasy to me. I never thought that it could become a reality. We were starting to arrange papers and all kinds of requirements that were asked of us and then my father arrived with the summons to go to Ciudad Juárez. From that moment on, although I still wasn't taking it with the seriousness that I should, but from then on, I began to feel a great sadness. When my girlfriends would ask me if I was going to come to Chicago, I didn't know how to respond because not even I myself knew the answer. And when finally the long-awaited and not wished-for day arrived, when I began to feel that in less than 24 hours I would be far from my rancho, the place where I was born and raised, where all my best memories are, my friends-it was as if something inside me was being extinguished."
In short, this is a must-read for teachers and policy-makers working with Mexicanos or for anyone who has empathy for those forced to abandon their cherished homes in search of a better life.
Displaying 1 of 1 review