¿Quién Soy? Finding My Place in History
Personalizing
Information Literacy
through Faculty-Librarian
Collaboration
A Poster Session presented by
Bárbara A. Miller
Chicano Resource Center Librarian,
Pollak Library, California State University,
Fullerton since 1998, earned a B.A. in
Latin American Studies from San Diego
State University, and an MLIS from the
University of California, Los Angeles. Ms.
Miller is the President of the Orange
County Chapter of REFORMA, the
National Association to Promote Library
and Information Services to Latinos and
the Spanish-Speaking. As a PhD
Candidate in Information Studies at
UCLA, her dissertation is entitled:
“Information Border Crossing: Scholarly
Communication and Information Seeking
across the U.S.-Mexico Border.”
and
Nancy Porras Hein
Assistant Professor, Chicana & Chicano
Studies Department, California State
University at Fullerton. She earned a B.A.
in Spanish at California State University
Fullerton and her Ph.D. from University of
California at Riverside. Her dissertation
explored the relationship between
Chicano parents and public schools. She
has published articles on parent
participation in schools and family. She
presented papers in La Paz, Mexico,
Phoenix, Chicago, Albuquerque, Florida
and California on the Chicano family and
on parent participation and the schools.
Dr. Porras Hein has worked extensively
with community agencies in Orange
County, California.
Abstract
This poster session describes a long-term, library instruction
collaboration between a Chicana/Chicano Studies faculty member
and the Chicano Resource Center Librarian at the Pollak Library at
California State University Fullerton. Library instruction sessions and
a web site have been developed to support a unique family history
assignment created by the Faculty member to build student’s selfesteem while allowing them to place their family history into the
larger historical context. The problem for the collaborators was to
create library sessions and a web site that would provide students
with a common set of information literacy skills while offering a
specialized set of practical skills needed to successfully complete the
genealogical research assignment. We discuss the challenges,
solutions, and outcomes associated with personalizing information
literacy standards. We conclude with our own self-assessment
including suggestions for future improvements.
Faculty-Librarian Collaboration
In the Fall of 1998, Dr. Porras Hein was among the first
Chicana/Chicano Studies professors to take advantage of Ms.
Miller’s offer to conduct library instruction sessions for CHIC 305,
the Chicano Family.
At the time, Ms Miller knew nothing about the practice of
genealogical research. She offered library instruction sessions
on how to access resources on the historical background.
Soon we discovered the world of Internet genealogy.
By Spring 1999, we were scheduling two sessions: one to get
students started searching the genealogy web portals such as
Family Search and another to introduce them to historical
research methods.
CHIC 305: The Chicano Family
Class Syllabus
– In Chicana/Chicano Studies 305, students study the Chicano
family as an American social institution. The class explores the
historical development of “la familia” as well as cross-cultural
perspectives on the socio-psychodynamics of the family. The
class includes background information on the history of Mexican
Americans in the United States and their Mexican heritage.
– Student involvement is vital to learning; therefore the class
incorporates cooperative learning groups, weekly writing
assignments, individual reports, oral presentations, and
community involvement.
CHIC 305 Spring 2003 Syllabus
CHIC-305-02 CHICANO FAMILY-Schedule 11218
Tuesday and Thursday 2:30-3:45 H 521
Dr. Porras Hein
(714 278-3733)Email: nporras-hein@fullerton.edu
Office Hours: Mondays10-12 a.m.; Tuesdays 1-2 p.m. and Thursdays
8-9 a.m., Humanities 312 G
Spring 2003
Course Description:
The Chicano family development as an American social
institution. Historical and cross-cultural perspectives. The sociopsychodynamics of the Chicano family. A focus on the Chicano
family organization and its bearing upon population growth and
industrialization. Attention is drawn to the extended family and
the nuclear family, their linkages to indigenous family structures.
Family typology, roles, cultural values from the perspective of
socio-cultural psychology. Data to emphasize variations,
migration, urbanization, rural, colonia and barrio life patterns.
The goal of the class is to familiarize you with the Chicano Family.
Questions pertinent to the objectives to meet this goal include:
Why is it important to know the history of the Chicano family in
the United States? Why should we have an understanding of the
Chicano family economic, social and demographic data? How
can knowledge of geographic differences and experiences, with
the resulting cultural values, roles and expectations of the
Chicano family expand our understanding? How do theoretical
frameworks aid us in studying Chicano families? The meeting of
the objectives are measured by tests, presentations, class
discussions and a paper.
Required Texts:
Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street
Richard Griswold del Castillo, La Familia
Robert R. Alvarez, Jr. Familia
Grading policy:
Family origins paper-group work……………………………100
Family Issues Notebook……………………………………..100
Class participation (attend class, read and bring texts,
Blackboard)……………...100
Mid-term Examination……………………………………….…50
Final Examination………………………………………………50
Total……..……400
Syllabus continued
Grading Scale:
350-400=A
300-349=B
250-299=C
200-249=D
Ten points will be deducted for late papers.
Family Issues Notebook:
Each student is required to maintain a Family Issues Notebook
containing five current newspaper, magazine and journal
articles (or four articles and attendance at a Los Amigos
meeting in Anaheim with a short one page report) in Education,
Health, Politics and Community/Social Concerns. Bring articles
as assigned for discussion.
Family History Paper
Written text must be a minimum of seven pages. Citations for data
required. See the family history form for further information.
Attendance & Participation
Class participation points will be deducted for absences. Insure you
sign the attendance sheet. Participation in Blackboard is vital.
Read the assigned text.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Week of Feb. 4th-Introductions-Syllabus-Schedule Overview-review
family history form-Read House pp.3-7 Explain Blackboard
Week of Feb. 11th-Read – La Familia, Preface and Chapters 1 and 2;
Article due, divide into groups, needs assessment, film.
Week of Feb. 18th-Read –La Familia , Chapters 3 and 4; and House
pp.108-109; Article due
Week of Feb. 25th-Read La Familia, Chapter 5 & 6; House pp. 103107, Library
Week of March 4th–Read La Familia, Chapters 7 and 8; and House
pp.94-100-Article due
Week of March 11th-Read Familia, Foreward, Introduction and
Chapter 1; film-Family History Preliminary outline due
Week of March18th-Read Familia, Chapters 2 and 3; and House pp.
88-93, Article due
Week of March 25th-Read Familia, Chapters 4 and 5; Article due
Week of April 8th-Read La Familia, Chapter 9; and House pp. 81-87Midterm preparation
Week of April 15th-Midterm; Family History Rough draft due;
Week of April 22nd–Familia film, Presentations
Week of April 29th-Presentations; Family issues notebook due
Week of May 6th-Presentations-Family History paper due
Week of May 13th-Presentations
Week of May 20th-Presentations-Preparation for Final
Final Thursday, May 29th-2:30-4:20 p.m.
Student Demographics
As a course that meets the cultural diversity requirement for general
education at CSUF, the Chicano Family draws students from a
varied group of departments.
– In Spring 2002, twenty-four different majors were represented. Out of 80 students, 15
students majored in Child Adolescent Studies. The second largest group of students
were Liberal Studies majors. Other majors included Psychology, Business, Spanish,
Sociology, Art, Criminal Justice, Political Science. Less than four percent were
Chicana/Chicano Studies majors.
– For Fall 2002, the 46 students represented twenty-one different departments. Again,
the top two majors remained the same. Majors not represented on the Spring 2002 list
of majors include Theatre, Dance, Finance, Electrical Engineering, Accounting and
Kinesiology. Slightly over four percent were Chicana/Chicano Studies majors.
A cursory look at last names indicates that in Spring 2002, 82.5
percent or 66 students out of 80 appeared to be Chicanos or
Latinos. For Fall 2002, of 46 students, 29 or 63 percent appeared to
be Chicanos/Latinos.
Family History Assignment
Students, from all departmental majors and
ethnic groups, record their individual family
history starting with themselves and going as far
back as possible. Following the “Familia History
form,” students interview family members to
document relevant family history and
background. They also must place their families
within the historical context.
The Family History Assignment is designed to:
1) provide students with a basis for identity creation
2) build student interest and appreciation of Chicana/o
culture
3) make students aware of similarities and differences
within the structure of all families
4) help students begin to preserve a personal archive of
family history, and ultimately
5) assist students in developing important, life-long
information literacy skills.
History of the Assignment
In 1995 when Professor Porras Hein started teaching the Chicano
Family course, she had been doing research on her family in
Mexico for many years. Inspired by the pioneering anthropological
research of Robert A. Alvarez, Jr. chronicling his family’s journey
north from Baja California, [i] she decided that students also would
benefit from researching their own family history. As Renato
Rosaldo notes in his forward to Familia, Alvarez’s study “… also
reveals a research process that transforms the researcher.
Alvarez becomes conscious of how his familial past has shaped
his present.” [ii]
[i] Robert R. Alvarez, Jr., Familia: Migration and Adaptation in Baja and Alta California, 1800-1975
(Berkeley, University of California Press, 1987).
[ii] Ibid, xiv.
Photograph of Dr. Porras Hein’s Family
Justification for the Assignment
The search for identity and the ability to control the creation of one’s
identity is the foundation upon which Chicana/Chicano Studies
courses have historically been built.[i] A review of the literature on
Chicano identity reveals a plethora of references to the problems
Chicanos encounter when faced with negative stereotypes about
Mexicans and other Spanish-speaking people.[ii] [iii] [iv] School is
where students often experience a rejection of their Mexican roots.[v]
[vi]
[i] Carlos Muñoz, Jr., Youth, Identity, Power: the Chicano Movement (London: Verso, 1989).
[ii] Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, eds., The Latino Condition (New York: New York University Press, 1998)
[iii] Rodolfo F. Acuña, Anything but Mexican: Chicanos in Contemporary Los Angeles (London: Verso, 2000).
[iv] F. Arturo Rosales, “Preface,” in Chicano! The History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement, 2nd ed. (Houston:
Arte Publico Press, 1997), viii-xix.
[v] Peter Iadicola, “Schooling and Social Control: Symbolic Violence and Hispanic Students’ Attitudes toward Their own
Ethnic Group,” Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 3, no. 4 (December 1981): 361-383.
[vi] Roland A. Andrade, “Latino Students: Struggle for Identity,” Latino Studies Journal 1, no. 2 (May 1990): 48-59.
Development of the Family History
Assignment
Originally students just did a family history. Now they …
– Use the framework provided by Griswold’s study of Chicano families in the
Southwest, to gather information on their ancestors in terms of exogamy,
endogamy, immigration, languages, religions, and child rearing
– Need to do historical research on their country or countries of origin as well
as on the United States during the time period their families emigrated in
order to explain the reasons for immigration.
– Now (as of Spring 2003) are required to supply a research bibliography of
resources consulted to help evaluate student ability to use information
critically and assess if students understand the ethical use of information.
The class syllabus reflects ongoing assessment by requiring an
outline, rough draft and final copy of the paper.
Each student also prepares an oral presentation.
The Family History assignment requires
that students:
Select, evaluate, and synthesize information and its sources critically.
– Interviews with family members (oral histories)
– Learns to search efficiently for information resources in a variety of formats
found on websites and databases, in books, articles, archives, attics, garages
and basements
– Recognize primary resource documentation.
Use computer literacy skills to accumulate and record information and
to communicate the results.
– Includes equipment such as audio and video recorders.
– Software like PowerPoint and FrontPage
– However Dr. Porras-Hein does not require that these communication technologies be
used for the presentation.
• Students should have the freedom to decide the best way to present their family story.
• While it is important that the decision should be made from a position of understanding and not
ignorance of the available technology, being information literate means able to make an
informed decision when using information technology is inappropriate.
Familia History Form
FAMILIA HISTORY FORM
The learning objective pertaining to understanding economic, social and demographic information gained through historical accounts of
migration and immigration as well as inter-cultural understanding are accomplished through the Family History Papers. The following is a
list of information to guide your research.
You need to get names and dates of births of parents, siblings, grandparents, great grand parents, etc.
Immigration History: When, from where to where, why? Specific information as to how they immigrated. Did one come first, etc.?
Background: For example, are they indigenous, Spanish or any other group?
Work: What type of work did they do? Did female work at home? Entrepreneurs?
Roles: Are there specific roles, like gender roles? Differences between siblings in roles?
Patriarchal or matriarchal? Who is the head of the family?
How does the family identify itself? Chicanos? Mexicanos? Americans? Etc.
Lanuages spoken by members of the family? By generation.
Exogamy, Endogamy: Have members of the family married outside of the group?
Religions
What are the ties to the country of origin?
Cultural behavior: child rearing, etc.
Trace the familia history to the present. Go back as far as you can go. Gather other information. Interesting information on family
member, hobbies (like singing , playing the guitar, etc.).
Interview family members. Be sure to videotape or tape the interviews. Use the internet. Barbara Miller will provide information for
research on the internet. You will need to locate your family within a historical framework and must provide a minimum of three citations.
Need for Library Sessions
Students arrive at the library instruction session with a
wide variety of information technology skills. Some
have used library databases before and some have
attended a library instruction session or sessions with
other Cal State Fullerton librarians. Most have some
experience using a computer and with searching the
Internet, but they have trouble transferring their skills to
this assignment. They seem to have little idea what
they will need to do write a history of their family.
The Family as Primary Information Source
At the beginning of the class, few students understand
importance of their families’ collective memory
– To reinforce this during the library session, we encourage students to start
searching directly in a genealogy web portal where they need to input
ancesters names, important places, dates and events gleaned from
interviews with family members.
– Many students arrive at the session without sufficient input from their
families and experience varying levels of success in the genealogy
websites.
– Without some idea of family immigration dates, it is impossible for them to
use other library resources including online bibliographic and full-text
databases to help them situate their family history within its historical
context.
– Students leave the session with a much better idea of what steps they
need to take.
Library Session Format
The format of the library session for CHIC 305 has evolved from
librarian lecture  though librarian resource demos  to
librarian facilitated resource exploration
The current open session structure allows students with greater
information skills to advance on the assignment, to move about
the library, consult reference books, print out materials etc while
others can get the help they need.
For example, normally the use of cellular phones is not allowed
during instruction sessions, but the open session structure allows
students to work independently. No one objected when a
student, who finally realized that she really needed to know the
names of her grandparents to use a web site, called her mother
on her cellular phone during the session.
Students learn from other students
The sessions take place in one of two twenty-workstation
computer instruction rooms available at the Pollak Library.
Students are encouraged to experiment with genealogy web
portals, ask questions and share findings with other class
members. For example, a student discovered that only way to
limit searches to specific Mexican States was through the
international search on the Family Search website.
As problems and questions crop up or as new features are
uncovered, they are discussed on a central screen that can
connect to a librarian-controlled workstation or to any one of the
other twenty computers.
Website Development
In conjunction with the library instruction sessions developed for
CHIC 305, Ms. Miller collected genealogical information resources
including library databases and genealogy websites and developed
a handout. The handout soon grew to be six pages long, making it
too awkward for students to use and too difficult for Ms. Miller to
update and duplicate every semester. Student wasted time typing
in web addresses and following detailed instructions to locate online
databases.
In the Fall 2001 semester, Ms. Miller transferred these handouts to
a website<http://guides.library.fullerton.edu/chic/chic305g.htm>.
This allows the students direct access to live links to genealogy web
sites and pertinent online databases, e-books and other library
resources relevant to the historical context.
CHIC 305 Website
http://guides.library.fullerton.edu/chic/chic305g.htm
Genealogy Portals
Other Useful Resources
Student Assessment
Empirical assessment:
– Students must write a paper.
– Students present their findings to the class.
– Questions about the presentations are included on the class
final
Class goals:
– Stimulate student desire to understand their identity.
– Students from all majors have indicated that learning their
peers' family histories was a vital part of the class.
– Support student efforts to serve their families by preserving
their family histories
My great grandfather
Pedro Perez
Migration: Penjamo, Guanajuato
Mexico. Fled Mexican Revolution
during 1918 to Westminster, CA.
Had gold-bought house in Westminster
Died of influenza epidemic in 1920.
My great grandmother
Petra Castillo Perez
Work: hacienda & housewife
Understood English but preferred Spanish
Collaboration Self-Evaluation
To facilitate class use of information resources, we intend to
incorporate the Family History website into the Dr. Porras-Hein’s
Blackboard site for CHIC 305 as well as to explore the possibilities
for students to communicate with Ms. Miller via the Blackboard site.
We are considering having students maintain information seeking
journals that would track where they looked for information, what
was useful, what was not, and how they felt about the process.
Another area we intend to investigate more thoroughly is the
available specialized technologies for generating and manipulating
genealogical data. These include audio and visual technologies for
conducting oral histories as well as computer programs for creating
family trees such as Family Tree Maker.
¿Quién Soy?: Who am I?
The greatest satisfaction is to watch students, who may start the
assignment complaining that they cannot find anything or
questioning what the assignment has to do with their education,
be transformed by the power of their own families’ stories.
– One student was grateful that he was able to interview his grandfather
shortly before he passed away. Now he has a record of his grandfather to
share with his newborn son.
– Another student, who had never met her father in person and had only
spoken to him on the phone, wrote to her father saying she needed
information for his side of the family. He sent her pictures of her paternal
grandparents, his siblings and his new family. Then he came from Mexico
to visit her and brought more family information. She said that the
assignment gave them a reason to develop a relationship.
– While another student’s mother declared, “At last you are taking a class
that will help “la familia.”
Personalizing Information Literacy
“When people learn
technologies they need to see
themselves in the technologies.
They’ll be able to learn and
figure out how it’s related to
them. If they can see their own
presence it’ll be more
important.”
“Cuando la gente aprenda usar
las tecnologías, se necesita ver
a sí mismo en las tecnologías.
Pueden aprender y imaginarse
como se relaciona consigo. Si
se ven a su propia presencia,
será mas importante.”
- Richard Chabran, Director of the Communities for Virtual
Research (CVR) at UC Riverside (Belcher 2001).
Spreading the word
We believe that it is important to share our
collaborative experience.
Our first effort in this direction took us out of the
country to the Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad
Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, where we joined
Mexican colleagues working on the development
of National Standards for Information Literacy for
Mexico.
Family History Forms filled out at the Encuentro