Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States »

Suzanne Oboler is Associate Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago and founding Editor of the international academic journal Latino Studies. Her publications include: Ethnic Labels, Latino Lives: Identity and the Politics of Representation in the United States (University of Minnesota Press, 1995); Neither Enemies nor Friends: Latinos, Blacks, Afro-Latinos (co-edited with Anani Dzidzienyo, Palgrave Press, 2005), and numerous book chapters and articles documenting the experience of Latino/as in the United States.

Deena J. González teaches at Loyola Marymount University where she is Professor and Chair of the Department of Chicana/o Studies. An historian of the nineteenth-century southwestern United States, and the first Chicana to receive a Ph.D. from Berkeley's history department, she credits her lineage and her mentors for her book, Refusing the Favor: The Spanish-Mexican Women of Santa Fe, 1820-1880 (Oxford Univ. Press, 1999) In addition, she has written numerous articles on race, colonization, representation, identity, and sexuality.

A landmark scholarly work, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States offers comprehensive, reliable, and accessible information about the fastest growing minority population in the nation. With an unprecedented scope and cutting-edge scholarship, the Encyclopedia draws together the diverse historical and contemporary experiences in the United States of Latinos and Latinas from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Over 900 A to Z articles ranging in length from 500 words to 7,500 words written by academics, scholars, writers, artists, and journalists, address such broad topics as identity, art, politics, religion, education, health, and history. Each entry has its own bibliography and cross-references and is signed by its author.
Essential for scholarly and professional researchers as well as the classroom and library, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States will fill a void in the historical scholarship of an under-served population.

Library Journal

Many current reference works depict important historical, intellectual, social, artistic, and political developments of Latinos, the largest minority in the United States. This four-volume set, developed by scholars Oboler (Latin American & Latino studies, Univ. of Illinois) and Gonzalez (Chicano studies, Loyola Marymount Univ.), aims to provide a general yet intensive overview while dispelling the myths and stereotypes of Latino peoples and cultures. At first glance, it appears to duplicate entries in Grolier's recent Encyclopedia Latina: History, Culture, and Society in the United States (LJ 6/15/05), but a close inspection reveals that the two complement rather than repeat each other. The Grolier set features social commentaries on everyday issues of particular importance to Latino culture. In comparison, the Oxford set offers lengthier entries and more of them-over 750 articles and 280 biographies. The Grolier set presents the full text of historical treaties affecting Latino culture. The Oxford set does not contain these treaties but does provide summaries of most. In addition, it contains over 400 illustrations, charts, and maps. Bibliographies at the end of each article facilitate additional research, as does a useful "Topical Outline of Entries" divided into 14 subject areas. A list of contributors and institutions precedes a lengthy index of almost 200 pages. Bottom Line This is one of the most thorough sets on the topic to date. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries, whether or not they have already purchased the Grolier set.-Nedra Crowe-Evers, Sonoma Cty. Lib. Syst., CA. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.