The UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) was founded in 1969 as a hub for

multidisciplinary An academic discipline or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, ...

research at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA). It is one of four

ethnic studies Ethnic studies, in the United States, is the interdisciplinary study of difference—chiefly race, ethnicity, and nation, but also sexuality, gender, and other such markings—and power, as expressed by the state, by civil society, and by indivi ...

centers established at UCLA that year. The center focuses on

ethnic An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

and

racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

communities.

Organization

The CSRC serves the entire campus and supports faculty and students in the

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

life science Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, organisation, metabolism, growth, adaptation, respon ...

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

, and the professional schools. Its research focuses on the

Chicano Chicano (masculine form) or Chicana (feminine form) is an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans that emerged from the Chicano Movement. In the 1960s, ''Chicano'' was widely reclaimed among Hispanics in the building of a movement toward politic ...

and Latino populations, historically faced limited access to

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

. The CSRC is one of four ethnic studies centers established at UCLA in 1969 that are now part of the Institute of American Cultures (IAC), which reports to the Office of the Chancellor at UCLA. The CSRC is also a founding member of the national Inter-University Program for Latino Research (IUPLR, established in 1983), a consortium of Latino research centers that has twenty-five institutions in the United States.

Facilities

The CSRC houses a library, research programs, and two competitive grant/fellowship programs organized through the IAC. Each year, the CSRC is able to augment grants and fellowships through funds created specifically for research at the CSRC. These include the Los Tigres del Norte Fund, the Tamar Diana Wilson Fund, and the Carlos M. Haro Scholarship Fund. Since the 1970s, the CSRC has held six “institutional FTE” (full-time equivalent) faculty positions, which are assigned to academic departments on a loan basis.

Press

The UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press publishes research by and about

Mexican American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexico, Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the Unite ...

s. The press has published a leading journal in the field, ''Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies'', for over 53 years. Four books published by the CSRC in 2012 won 10 awards in eight different categories at Latino Literacy Now's 15th annual International Latino Book Awards. As of 2013, the Press has received a total of 24 book awards. In 2020, the Press received three first-place awards in Latino Literacy Now's 22nd Awards Ceremony. The ''A Ver: Revisioning Art History'' book series documents the work of prominent Latino artists. The ''Chicano Archives'' book series includes reference guides to UCLA library special collections on Chicanos. The ''Chicano Cinema & Media Arts'' series is an effort to preserve Chicano films and videos. The first DVD is about the two earliest Chicano art documentaries.

Library

Established in 1969, the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Library is a non-circulating library, though most materials may be photocopied within the premises. The Library has entered partnerships to provide online digital collections of music, photography, and the visual arts.

Former names

*Mexican American Cultural Center, UCLA *Chicano Cultural Center, UCLA *Chicano Studies Center, UCLA *Chicano Studies Research Center, UCLA

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Chicano Studies Research Center Mexican-American organizations UCLA research institutes