Resources

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Chicano Studies Institute

The Chicano Studies Institute is an organized research unit founded in 1969 to develop and support research on the history and contemporary socio-cultural, political, artistic, and economic conditions of Chican@s, Mexican@s, and Latin@s. The Institute brings together faculty who engage in Chican@ Studies through work groups, collaborative research and creative projects, publications, conferences, seminars, and exhibits.

The Institute supports the Luis Leal Endowed Chair in conjunction with the department. The Institute is also developing initiatives to strengthen the recruitment and retention of faculty who specialize in Chican@ Studies. The Institute prioritizes research initiatives and training activities for graduate and undergraduate students.

Public service forms an integral part of the Institute's mission. As one of only two organized research units devoted to the study of Chican@ and Latin@ populations in the University of California system, the Institute is often called upon to provide information to local community agencies, community leaders, and state and national entities, as well as to the local campus community. Each year the Institute co-sponsors numerous community events designed to enhance an understanding and appreciation of Chican@ and Latin@ society and culture.

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Colección Tloque Nahuaque at the UCSB Library

Established in 1971, the Colección specializes in the multidisciplinary field of Chican@ and Latin@ Studies. It is the only such collection in the U.S. operated as a discrete library unit within a major university library. As one of only several leading collections of its kind, the Colección serves as the university's major source of information on the cultural heritage and history of Chican@s and Mexicans in the United States. Its holdings of approximately 20,000 volumes and close to 500 journals and newspapers distinguish it as a national bibliographic resource on Chican@s and Latin@s.

The Colección seeks to be a library of record and therefore actively collects popular literature as well as academic materials. The popular literature and media materials offer students of the recently established PhD in Chicana/o Studies rich primary source material. Media materials (dvds and music cds) pertaining to the Colección are housed in the Media Collection on the first floor of Davidson Library. Influencing the Colección's development and use are the activities of the UCSB Chicana and Chicano Studies Department and the Chicano Studies Institute, the curriculum of the Bilingual Cross Cultural Education Program and those working on borderland studies. The support of the Colección is especially important to the ongoing work of the Chicano Studies Institute and the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies.

As a nationally and internationally recognized research collection, the Colección has attracted scholars and researchers from throughout the U.S. and abroad, as well as functioning as a public community resource for information on the Chican@, Mexican, and US Latin@ experiences. The existence of such a research collection at Santa Barbara that is conveniently located within the University Library has proven to be an invaluable and unique resource to aid researchers in these fields.

California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives at the UCSB Library

The California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives, also known as CEMA, is a division of the Special Research Collections at the University Library at the University of California, Santa Barbara. CEMA is a permanent program that advances scholarship in ethnic studies through its varied collections of primary research materials. These unique collections document the lives and activities of African Americans, Asian/Pacific Americans, Chican@s/Latin@s, and Native Americans in California. The collections represent the cultural, artistic, ethnic, and racial diversity that characterizes the state's population. Its materials are widely used not only by scholars, but also in K-12 classrooms and museum exhibitions. Many organizations and individuals have committed to establishing their personal papers and archival materials.
 

Chican@/Latin@ art on Calisphere

CEMA is recognized as a major repository for Chican@/Latin@ visual arts collections, representing the archives of prominent Chican@/Latin@ art cultural centers and the collections of individual artists based in California. These visual arts materials have been described as a national and international resource. CEMA has digitized many of these and they are online at the California Digital Library’s Calisphere website.