INVITATION: Anniversary Symposium at UT-Austin to Honor Dr. David Montejano's Landmark Book, 'Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas'

INVITATION: Anniversary Symposium at UT-Austin to Honor Dr. David Montejano's Landmark Book, 'Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas'

We gather soon to honor our dear friend and colleague, David Montejano, whose landmark book, Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836–1986, celebrates forty years in print with the University of Texas Press. Hailed as “the most important race-class analysis of the Chicano experience,” Montejano’s work transformed the writing of Texas history. Generations of scholars continue to cite it not only as an influence, but as a model—rigorous, humane, and unflinching in its examination of power, race, and belonging.

At a moment when eliminating the Department of Mexican American and Latino Studies would be nothing short of ill-advised and mean-spirited—as conveyed by Alfonso Ayala III in a guest blog on Latinopia.com posted yesterday to this blog. UT-Austin seeks to diminish, if not erase for current and future generations the very histories and communities that make Texas, "Texas," if you will. 

Montejano’s scholarship stands as a reminder of what is at stake. His work teaches us that Texas has always been shaped through struggle and dialogue, through contestation and collaboration. To diminish the spaces where that history is studied and debated is to narrow our collective understanding of who we are.

In celebration of this enduring legacy, graduate students in the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies (MALS), under the guidance of Associate Professor C. J. Alvarez, invite you to a two-day symposium: Anglos and Mexicans: Still Making Texas.

-Angela Valenzuela

ANNOUNCEMENT

The seminal book Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836-1986 by David Montejano is celebrating 40 years in print by the University of Texas Press, and it remains one of the most insightful analyses of Texas history to date. Hailed as “the most important race-class analysis of the Chicano experience,” a generation of scholars continue to cite Montejano’s work as an influence on their careers and a model for revisionist historical sociology.

Please join us for a two-day symposium Anglos and Mexicans: Still Making Texas, organized by graduate students in the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies (MALS) under the guidance of Associate Professor C. J. Alvarez. The symposium provides an opportunity for inter-generational dialogue that reflects on the book’s legacy and future contributions to Latino Studies and Texas history.


Friday & Saturday February 20-21 • UT Austin, Gordon-White Building, 2.102 • 9:30am - 6pm

The symposium includes two full days of panel presentations and keynotes, including a keynote plenary by author David Montejano on February 20th, along with Texas historians Emilio Zamora and Neil Foley, and moderated by MALS Department Chair Karma Chavez. Additional sessions include a Saturday plenary on the future of Texas history, a graduate student panel highlighting emerging scholarship, and discussions with prominent scholars from across Texas and the United States. Visit our website for a full schedule of speakers.

Email stillmakingtexas@gmail.com with questions or for more information.
Please feel free to share the attached flyer with your networks. This event is open to all and no rsvp is required. Anglos and Mexicans: Still Making Texas is co-sponsored by Latino Studies at UT Austin, Texas State University and the Humanities Institute.

Latino Studies, The University of Texas at Austin | GWB 2.102 | 512-471-4557 | liberalarts.utexas.edu/latinostudies