[Review of] James Diego Vigil, From Indians to Chicanos: A Sociocultural History

Historians are typically satisfied with pinpointing dates and describing associated events while minimizing speculation and interpretations which cannot be directly supported with evidence. There is no question that this is a vital and popular methodological approach, and Chicano studies historians have usually complied with this norm--until now

Critique [of Self-Evaluation of Black and White College Students by Keith D. Parker]

The article by Keith D. Parker raises interesting theoretical and methodological questions, but this review focuses on the latter. The author is correct in his critical assessment of black self-esteem research (BSER) methodology. Projective measures have been used in most cases and questions have been raised regarding the validity of such self-esteem measures and therefore about the believability of BSER findings.[1] In addition, blacks and whites tested have not been representative of the general black or white communities of the United States, yet inferences to and comparisons of the populations have been made. Finally, studies have employed non-multivariate statistical techniques which have prevented the use of controls

[Review of] Martin S. Jankowski. City Bound: Urban Life and Political Attitudes Among Chicano Youth

This work ranks as one of the most significant analyses of urban Chicano political socialization to date. Unlike contemporaries who are either theoreticians or numbers crunchers, Jankowski undertakes a quantitative analysis that is theoretically based. Hypotheses developed from three theories are tested to ascertain which best explains the political assimilation of Chicano adolescents in San Antonio, Albuquerque, and Los Angeles. The theories compared are: the Wirth/Chicago School which argues that the length of urban residence promotes assimilation; the neighborhood solidarity model which proposes that upward socioeconomic mobility and neighborhood integration promote assimilation; and the Marxist theory which argues that the political-economic structure of a socioeconomic system, i.e., society or city, determines modes of assimilation