This timely and important book introduces readers to the largest and
fastest-growing minority group in the United States - Latinos - and
their diverse conditions of departure and reception.
A central theme of the book is the tension between the fact that Latino
categories are most often assigned from above, and how those defined as
Latino seek to make sense of and enliven a shared notion of identity
from below. Providing a sophisticated introduction to emerging
theoretical trends and social formations specific to Latino immigrants,
chapters are structured around the topics of Latinidad or the idea of
a pan-ethnic Latino identity, pathways to citizenship, cultural
citizenship, labor, gender, transnationalism, and globalization.
Specific areas of focus include the 2006 marches of the immigrant rights
movement and the rise in neoliberal nativism (including both
state-sponsored restrictions such as Arizona's SB1070 and the hate
crimes associated with Minutemen vigilantism).
The book is a valuable contribution to immigration courses in sociology,
history, ethnic studies, American Studies, and Latino Studies. It is one
of the first, and certainly the most accessible, to fully take into
account the plurality of experiences, identities, and national origins
constituting the Latino category.