START FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH
FamilySearch.org
in Salt Lake is developing guides for researching in a
specific country. Arturo Cuellar is the Mexico specialist in Salt Lake.
Do not hesitate to contact him. If your roots are in any Spanish
language country, contact Arturo.
cuellararturo@familysearch.org
He
will help.
FamilySearch is maintained by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints. It is the largest genealogical collection in the world. Family
History Centers are located all over the world. They are run and
maintained by church volunteers. Computers and microfilm readers are
available at the centers, and one on one staff assistance. It is a free
resource.
TAKE AN ETHNIC STUDY COLLEGE CLASS:
COLEGIO CHICANO DEL PUEBLO
Group Launches “Virtual Chicano College” FREE OF COST
The Daily Chela
September 8, 2020
The only expense to the student is the time and effort they put into
working through the courses.
MeXicanos 2070, a national organization dedicated to regaining and
enriching Mexican American culture through educational programs and
alliances launches the first classes of the Colegio Chicano del Pueblo
(CCP), with college-level distance learning on September 16, 2020, in
collaboration with Prescott College of Prescott, Arizona.
Dr. Ernesto Todd Mireles, a professor in Xicano Studies and Community
Organizing at Prescott College, chair of the MeXicanos 2070, is the
coordinator of the virtual school.
Mireles, along
with Dr. Jerry Garcia,
Vice President of Educational
Services at Sea Mar
Community Health Centers
in Seattle Washington, will
kick off its first classes
using the online learning
platform Google Classroom.
“Our intent is to bring Xicano studies to the largest assembly of
Mexican American students ever – anyone with access to a computer and
the internet,” Mireles stated. “There is no cost to take the courses.
The only expense to the student is the time and effort they put into
working through the courses.”
Each self-paced course is set for an eight-week period. Course load work
for each class will be the equivalent of a university level four-credit
course.
The three inaugural courses titled, Building MeXicano Political Power I
and II, and Bringing Xicano History to the Present, will focus on
building political power in Xicano communities and understanding their
historical past.
“Regardless of your background or academic interest, it is important to
understand the Xicano community to better address their needs and
issues,” said Garcia. Prior educational experience is not required to
enroll in the CCP courses. Since each course is self-paced, the student
works through the course until they have mastery of the subject.
We believe Xicanos and Xicanas of all ages want access to professionally
developed, undergraduate and graduate level courses specifically about
the Xicano community. The goal of the CCP curriculum is to build a 28-32
credit program equivalent to a minor/specialization in a particular
academic field.
“These free online courses will serve as a resource for professional
development for grassroots community organizations who want to deepen
staff knowledge on the history, literature, and politics of the Xicano
community,” said Professor Armando Rendón, a board member for MeXicanos
2070 and author of the Xicano movement classic, Chicano Manifesto.
Anyone interested in applying can send an inquiry email Subject: Chicano
Colegio, to
2020mexicano2070@gmail.com.
Listen to audio interview : Dr. Ernesto Mireles of Prescott Colleges
discusses Chicano studies and accessible education. By Angela Gervasi,
Oct 19, 2020
https://www.knau.org/post/northern-arizona-scholars-reimagine-chicano-studies-covid-19-era
audio interview
Just over 50 years ago, California State University in Los Angeles
launched the nation’s first Chicano studies program. It was designed to
focus on Mexican American history and culture in the United States — and
to empower Chicano students, faculty and communities everywhere. It also
paved the way for ethnic studies as an academic discipline.
Now, a new program will offer Chicano studies online and
completely
tuition-free. The courses will be available for college credit through
Prescott College. Dr. Ernesto Mireles is a professor at Prescott College
and part of MeXicanos 2070, a group of scholars throughout the country
who created the program. Mireles said within days of the program's
launch, hundreds registered for the classes.
He spoke with KNAU’s Angela Gervasi about reaching people who might not
be able to afford or attend college:
ANGELA: Could you start by telling me a little bit about the Colegio
Chicano del Pueblo and how that group started?
ERNESTO: We started working on it about a year ago. Although, to be
honest ... what really pushed us to the digital platform is COVID-19,
because we realized we weren't going to be able to go out, go around the
country talking to people, the way we had originally planned.
ANGELA: What are some of the ideas you have as this course rolls out?
ERNESTO: One of the things about Prescott College, I think, that's
really cool, is that it's based entirely in what is called an
"experiential pedagogy." You do, you reflect, you apply. ... So what
that means is that in every part of these courses, students have to do,
and then they have to reflect, and then they have to apply. And that
could look like a lot of different things.
So the history course that we're offering, there's a week that talks
about colonialism. One of the assignments is to go out into their
community and take some photos of things that support these ideas of
colonialism.
In the course that I'm doing — Building Mexicano Political Power I and
II — what students are doing is they're doing community asset mapping,
but they're doing it specifically towards Chicano organizations in their
community. So they're building a power map of Chicano organizations in
their local area.
ANGELA: How do you see online learning as something that can reach
different people?
ERMESTO: When you think about how expensive school is — right? Even
though everybody, in a way, has access to loans or to scholarships or
different things like that, there's a real choice that has to be made.
When you think about the young single mom or single father who is you
know trying to raise little kids, doesn't necessarily feel like they can
take college courses ... but wants to learn. All of that's available. If
they can have access to this Wi-Fi, then they can have access to this
information.
And I think the thing that's really the important part here is that
we're really reaching out across the country to Chicano studies scholars
to have them create these courses. These are the same courses that you
would take if you enrolled in school.
We can continue to think of education as something that you only have
access to if you can pay for it, or if you've made, quote unquote, the
right decisions in your life. ... Or we can think of education as a
right that every human being has.
This interview was condensed for clarity and brevity. Dr. Ernesto
Mireles is a professor at Prescott College and co-founder of the Colegio
Chicano del Pueblo, which translates to "school of the people."
https://shoutout.wix.com/so/f1NJnSySa#/main
VIDEO that explains how
to enroll, etc.
Plans are underway for a class specifically to help students get started
on researching and preparing a four- generation family history:
Chicano Family Studies: An Integrated World Connection.
