Latinos in the United States: The Sacred and the Political, Second Edition (Latino Perspectives) - Softcover

Abalos, David T.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0268020256 ISBN 13: 9780268020255

Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press, 2007

Synopsis

When Latinos in the United States was first published in 1986, it was hailed as a “triumph” by the National Catholic Reporter, “inspiring” by the journal American Studies, and was named an Outstanding Academic Book of the Year by Choice. The book was widely adopted in Latino and ethnic studies classes at colleges and universities throughout the country. Now, in the second edition, David Abalos updates his pioneering application of the transformation theory to key aspects of Latino politics, history, and culture. He draws on examples from everyday human encounters to address specific concerns of both Latino individuals and groups. Among the issues addressed are: the need to maintain Latino family heritage while allowing each member to develop the autonomy necessary to interact both within the family and within American society; the importance of avoiding assimilation; the necessity for Latinos to develop the skills and competence that allow them to enter into America's business world without losing their commitment to the community; rediscovery of Latino religious symbols of transformation that renew the life of the sacred; and the need to preserve Latino heritage through a strategy of being both American and Latino.

The second edition contains extensive new material. Abalos includes a new section on archetypal analysis. He has added discussions of the relationship between the sacred and the political in American politics, and of assimilation and its effects on the immigrant. He addresses the new wave of migration and what it means to the future of the United States and la comunidad Latina. Abalos has also added a new chapter on the politics of education, which is, he argues, the most important civil rights issue facing the Latino community. The notes and bibliography reflect recent scholarship, especially that of Latina writers and Chicana feminists.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"Latinos in the United States has become a classic work that has shaped Latino Studies over the past decade. In this revised and expanded edition, David T. Abalos remains our introspective and thoughtful teacher who guides us all toward the deepest source of our being in order for us to become whole people as we actively work to transform our nation into a loving and more compassionate multicultural America." --Alberto Lopez Pulido, University of San Diego

"David T. Abalos's work is an extraordinarily rich meditation on the most pertinent aspects of the Latino reality today that goes beyond a merely competent social science analysis of America's largest minority. Abalos integrates solid sociology, politics, anthropology, and psychology into an inspiring vision demonstrating where Latinos could be going if the right choices are made. He takes the profoundly spiritual/religious, even mystical dynamics of Latino culture seriously and shows how the Latino future has everything to do with the recognition and renewal of that innate spirituality. This drama will define not only tomorrow's Latinos but all Americans as well, as the latinoization of the U.S.A. advances." --Allan Figueroa Deck, S.J., Loyola Institute for Spirituality

"Professor Abalos is able to bring his original analysis into contemporary issues with the same clarity and depth he offered in his first edition of this book. This is an important and original contribution to knowledge in the field of Latino Studies. It is based on an urgently needed synthesis of a growing body of work done on Latinos that needs to be reframed and connected to other mainstream sources in sociology, psychology, theology, and political science." --Victor M. Rodriguez, California State University, Long Beach

"I hope this revised version will find a ready audience so that Abalos's theory of transformation can receive the thorough discussion it deserves in the circles of Hispanic theology and Hispanic theological education. . . . This work should be required reading in courses in Latino/a studies and ethnic studies. It also fits well in certain political science courses." --Paul Barton, Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest

About the Author:

David T. Abalos is professor of religious studies and sociology at Seton Hall University. He is the author of a number of books including The Latino Family and the Politics of Transformation.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0268020256
• ISBN 13: 9780268020255
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 352