Ethnic Student Radicalism and Activism: The Chicana/o Studies Movement at the University of Washington, 1968–1980

Abstract

This article examines the historical and political rise and decline of the University of Washington (UW) Chicana/o Studies Movement (CSM) between the years of 1968 and 1980. It argues that the CSM emerged in part due to the growth of local Chicana / o community radicalism and activism throughout the Pacific Northwest. Section one investigates student activism and radicalism on the UW campus. The second section critically analyzes the political struggles and academic landscape of the CSM on the Seattle campus. Finally, it examines the political and ideological struggles that forced UW's Chicana/o studies and other ethnic studies disciplines to merge into a single American ethnic studies department.