Chicano Spirit

I like the many facets in this undergraduate essay, “The complexities of the Chicano Spirit,” written in 1997 by sophomore Rebecca Rodriguez at UT, Austin. I found it while looking for any mention of religion in chicano scholarship. I think there was traditionally a general blind spot about religion in Chicano studies and increasingly new scholars are beginning address religion head on. This essay does that.
Of course, David Carrasco has been a leader in this regard, and this article about the way he conducts his courses at Harvard is an insight into the “look and feel” of religion as it is mingled with contemporary culture. Note how in this essay the “religious” is easily blended with other themes. I like that a lot.