Linda Heidenreich compiles leading Chicana historian Antonia I. Castañeda’s essays into one book featuring four thematic segments, each closed by a platica or discussion by Luz María Gordillo, in an effort to pass Chicana history and literature from one generation of scholars to the next. At the start of each section, Heidenreich includes an introduction that explains why she grouped certain essays together. The first pairs Castañeda’s essays on “The Political Economy of 19th Century Stereotypes of Californians” and “Malinche, Califa y Toypurina” to show how Mestiza and native women have been portrayed in California. Part two includes “Women of Color and the Rewriting of Western History” and “Gender, Race, and Culture”, two widely used historiographical discussions of the historical debate over and critique of Chicana history. In her third part, Heidenreich includes “Sexual Violence in the Policies of Conquest” and “Engendering the History of Alta California 1769–1848.” Both essays examine sexual structure among Alta California women
