UC Press Blog

American guns have entangled the lives of people on both sides of the US-Mexico border in a vicious circle of violence. After treating wounded migrants and refugees seeking safety in the United States, anthropologist Ieva Jusionyte boldly embarked on a journey in the opposite direction—following the

Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos (MSEM) issue 39.2 features a special thematic section on "The New Left in Mexico." To enhance discussion around the issue, the journal's editor asked renowned Mexican sociologist and anthropologist Roger Bartra to share his thoughts on the issue based on his person

By Víctor Zúñiga, co-author of The 0.5 Generation: Children Moving from the United States to MexicoOur research on children migrating from the United States to Mexico began 25 years ago in the state of Georgia. There, we were observing the integration of Mexican-origin families and their childre

Through a rigorous ethnographic inquiry into the material foundations of sexual identity, The Struggle to Be Gay—in Mexico, for Example makes a compelling argument for the centrality of social class in gay life. Known for his writings on the construction of sexual identities, anthropologist and cult

Alberto García is Assistant Professor of History at San José State University. Abandoning Their Beloved Land offers an essential new history of the Bracero Program, a bilateral initiative that allowed Mexican men to work in the United States as seasonal contract farmworkers from 1942 to 1964. Us

Tracing the paths of figures like Black American artist Elizabeth Catlett, Indian anti-colonial activist M.N. Roy, Mexican revolutionary leader Ricardo Flores Magón, Okinawan migrant organizer Paul Shinsei Kōchi, and Soviet feminist Alexandra Kollontai, Arise! reveals how activists around the world

By Michael Dear, author of Border Witness: Reimagining the US-Mexico Borderlands through FilmOver the past two decades, there has been an explosion of film releases about the US-Mexico borderlands. Not surprisingly, many have addressed issues of drug trafficking and cartels as well as immigr

By Yu Tokunaga, author of Transborder Los Angeles: An Unknown Transpacific History of Japanese-Mexican Relations“Lo voy a comprar 👏 Felicidades!!!” I recently received this comment from my Costa Rican friend after posting on Facebook about my new book, Transborder Los Angeles: An Unknown Transpa

The editorial committee of Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos is pleased to announce the award for best article by an early-career scholar published in 2020-2021. The award aims to recognize contributions of the highest academic quality in the multidisciplinary field of Mexican studies for the origi

By Ana Muñiz, author of Borderland Circuitry: Immigration Surveillance in the United States and BeyondThe passage below is an adapted excerpt from Borderland Circuitry.I’ve loved the land for as long as I can remember. I grew up in the Sonoran Desert of Southern Arizona, a stunning place kni