Decolonial voices : Chicana and Chicano cultural studies in the 21st Century /

Aldama (Arizona State Univ.) and Qui^D nones (California State Univ., Fullerton) have assembled a remarkable range of essays on topics ranging from dresses and body art, film, popular music (including Chicano rap), and literary works to race, nationalism, and gender. The situation of undocumented workers gets full attention. The collection is especially strong on Chicana issues, redressing the male-centered atmosphere of the early Chicano movement. The level of the writing is high, though a few of the essays are sodden with jargon. The editors provide no overall bibliography, but most of the essays have lengthy bibliographies of their own. The index is unusually detailed, which is very helpful with a wide-ranging collection like this one. The use of illustrations where needed, as in the treatment of film and body art, is a bonus. This essential work cuts across disciplinary boundaries and illuminates many aspects of contemporary Chicana/o life. The work closest to it in spirit is Criticism in the Borderlands, ed. by Hector Calderon and Jose David Saldivar (CH, Jun'92), though Decolonial Voices gives more attention to popular culture. All collections. B. Almon University of Alberta