Christopher González

In a nation that still struggles to see beyond harmful stereotypes, Christopher Gonz lez is the embodiment of the Big Scary Brown Guy. As a Latino intellectual who speaks truth to power, he navigates the pitfalls of a society designed to keep people like him on the fringes. In this powerful memoir, Gonz lez reveals the painful and humorous moments that shaped his life and offers a nuanced understanding of the Latinx experience in the United States. Through a blend of elegant and sardonic prose, Gonz lez interrogates the racist and inequitable underpinnings of the U. S., as they manifest in his own embodied experiences within a troubled family in Texas. From pop cultural allusions to literary references, he weaves a rich tapestry of stories that illuminate the Gen X Latinx experience with keen precision and heartbreaking wit. Big Scary Brown Guy is a testament to the enduring resilience of the Latinx community, especially those who have been in the U. S. for many generations yet are often marginalized in the public discourse. Gonz lez's voice is a vital addition to the ongoing conversation around race, identity, and belonging in America.

Long nights, empty stomachs, and impulsive cravings haunt the stories of I’m Not Hungry But I Could Eat. A college grad reunites with a high school crush when invited to his bachelor party, a lonely cat-sitter wreaks havoc on his friends’ apartment, happy hour French fries leave more than grease on lips and fingers, and, squeezed into a diner booth, one man eats past his limit for the sake of friendship. Exploring the lives of bisexual and gay Puerto Rican men, these fifteen stories show a vulnerable, intimate world of yearning and desire. The stars of these narratives linger between living their truest selves and remaining in the wings, embarking on a journey of self-discovery to satisfy their hunger for companionship and belonging.

Latinx representation in the popular imagination has infuriated and befuddled the Latinx community for decades. These misrepresentations and stereotypes soon became as American as apple pie. But these cardboard cutouts and examples of lazy storytelling could never embody the rich traditions and histories of Latinx peoples. Not seeing real Latinxs on TV and film reels as kids inspired the authors to dive deep into the world of mainstream television and film to uncover examples of representation, good and bad. The result: a riveting ride through televisual and celluloid reels that make up mainstream culture. As pop culture experts Frederick Luis Aldama and Christopher González show, the way Latinx peoples have appeared and are still represented in mainstream TV and film narratives is as frustrating as it is illuminating. Stereotypes such as drug lords, petty criminals, buffoons, and sexed-up lovers have filled both small and silver screens-and the minds of the public. Aldama and González blaze new paths through Latinx cultural phenomena that disrupt stereotypes, breathing complexity into reel Latinx subjectivities and experiences. In this grand sleuthing sweep of Latinx representation in mainstream TV and film that continues to shape the imagination of U. S. society, these two Latinx pop culture authorities call us all to scholarly action.

Latinx Studies: The Key Concepts is an accessible guide to the central concepts and issues that inform Latinx Studies globally. It summarizes, explains, contextualizes, and assesses key critical concepts, perspectives, developments, and debates in Latinx Studies. At once comprehensive in coverage and detailed and specific in examples analyzed, it provides over 25 key concepts to the field of Latinx Studies as shaped within historical, social, cultural, regional, and global contexts, including:• Body• Border Theory• Digital Era• Familia• Immigration• Intersectionality• Language• Latinidad/es• Latinofuturism• Narco Cultura• Popular Culture• SportsFully cross-referenced and complete with suggestions for further reading, Latinx Studies: The Key Concepts is an essential guide for anyone studying race, ethnicity, gender, class, education, culture, and globalism.

Latinx Studies: The Key Concepts is an accessible guide to the central concepts and issues that inform Latinx Studies globally. It summarizes, explains, contextualizes, and assesses key critical concepts, perspectives, developments, and debates in Latinx Studies. At once comprehensive in coverage and detailed and specific in examples analyzed, it provides over 25 key concepts to the field of Latinx Studies as shaped within historical, social, cultural, regional, and global contexts, including:• Body• Border Theory• Digital Era• Familia• Immigration• Intersectionality• Language• Latinidad/es• Latinofuturism• Narco Cultura• Popular Culture• SportsFully cross-referenced and complete with suggestions for further reading, Latinx Studies: The Key Concepts is an essential guide for anyone studying race, ethnicity, gender, class, education, culture, and globalism.

In his groundbreaking new study, Permissible Narratives: The Promise of Latino/a Literature, Christopher Gonzalez examines the difficulties Latina/o writers face in writing beyond the narrow expectations of U. S. readership in the stories they tell. Gonzalez argues that a constrained conception of the possibilities of storytelling by and about Latinos diminishes the development and progression of narrative form. Through an examination of Latina/o writers against the a priori mode of engaging with nonethnic literature in the United States, Gonzalez explores the limitations and challenges Latina/o authors have confronted via the shaping power of their narratives to reach a sustainable audience. Bringing together cultural critique, memory, narratology, cognition, and comprehension, Gonzalez examines Latina/o authors-such as Oscar "Zeta" Acosta, Gloria Anzaldua, Piri Thomas, Giannina Braschi, Gilbert Hernandez, Sandra Cisneros, and Junot Diaz-investigating how they successfully, and sometimes unsuccessfully, use the expansive canvas of narrative form to capture the imaginations of an open-minded readership. Permissible Narratives highlights both the inequitable accessibility of narrative devices and, crucially, the daring of Latina/o authors to nurture a readership to afford the same literary deference to them that is so often afforded to white, male, straight authors.

In his groundbreaking new study, Permissible Narratives: The Promise of Latino/a Literature, Christopher Gonzalez examines the difficulties Latina/o writers face in writing beyond the narrow expectations of U. S. readership in the stories they tell. Gonzalez argues that a constrained conception of the possibilities of storytelling by and about Latinos diminishes the development and progression of narrative form. Through an examination of Latina/o writers against the a priori mode of engaging with nonethnic literature in the United States, Gonzalez explores the limitations and challenges Latina/o authors have confronted via the shaping power of their narratives to reach a sustainable audience. Bringing together cultural critique, memory, narratology, cognition, and comprehension, Gonzalez examines Latina/o authors--such as Oscar "Zeta" Acosta, Gloria Anzaldua, Piri Thomas, Giannina Braschi, Gilbert Hernandez, Sandra Cisneros, and Junot Diaz--investigating how they successfully, and sometimes unsuccessfully, use the expansive canvas of narrative form to capture the imaginations of an open-minded readership. Permissible Narratives highlights both the inequitable accessibility of narrative devices and, crucially, the daring of Latina/o authors to nurture a readership to afford the same literary deference to them that is so often afforded to white, male, straight authors.