Mexico: An Annotated Bibliography

Basic Resources can be ordered from the Service Center, General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church, PO Box 691328, Cincinnati, OH 45222-1328. Toll free: 1-800-305-9857; Fax Number: 513-761-3722. Click here for more information. Other resources in this bibliography should be ordered from the publisher or a bookstore.

Basic Resources

Mexico: Labyrinth of Faith by Jose Luis Valazco with Leader's Guide by Vergilio Vazquez Garza Service Center English #3181 Spanish #3182 $7.50

The history of Mexico contains a spiritual history which is complex and largely unknown outside of Mexico. Despite the long border between the two countries, most U.S. citizens know only the Mexico of today's headlines. This book gives a brief political and cultural history of Mexico and gives a portrait of Mexico's history of religion.

What are the contemporary issues that the church should be addressing in Mexico and between Mexico and the U.S.? What are the mission opportunities in Mexico and how is the United Methodist Church engaged in mission?

The Leader's Guide by Vergilio Vazquez Garza offers a varied program of group activities designed for four two-hour sessions. Worship and Bible study are included in all sessions.

Map 'n' Facts Mexico Service Center Stock #3187 $8.95

A full color map of Mexico (2 feet by 3 feet) with places of interest and geographic features. The reverse side includes political, economic and cultural data as well as interesting stories about contemporary Mexicans.

Children's Resources

Pyramids and Pig Tails by Faye Wilson. Service Center Stock #3184. Comic book text. Single copy $4.00; 5 for $15.00; 10 for $25.00

Jenifa and her mother, Ana, are from a church in Texas, near the border with Mexico. They are going on a mission trip to help build an addition to a church outside of Mexico City. Their experience is a series on mishaps and adventures as Jenifa learns what it means for church people in two countries to work together in mission. Each comic includes a sheet of trading cards with information on Mexican land, people and churches.

Teacher's Guide by Faye Wilson. Service Center Stock #3185. $6.00

Using a wide varieties of activities aimed at children 6 through 10, this teacher's guide is based on the Children's Comic Book on Pyramids and Pig Tails. This teacher's guide helps prepare four sessions on the people, land and churches of Mexico while giving suggestions for other time frames. Each session begins with worship and Bible study and includes class activities and local church response to the call to be in mission.

CD ROM Service Center Stock #3186 Single $6.00; 5 for $25.00.

The CD-ROM includes a narrated version of the comic book plus maps, recipes, songs and many other resources. Using contemporary media to enhance this study, a CD-ROM is useful to young people age six through youth as well as their teachers. This CD-ROM can be used by a child or teenager at home and can be used within a classroom. In addition to its own games and expanded information, the CD-ROM points the user to additional resources on the World Wide Web.

History, Politics, Culture

Hart, John Mason. Border Crossings: Mexican and Mexican-American Workers. Scholarly Resources, 1998.

Essays comparing and contrasting the experiences of ethnic Mexican workers on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Explores the emergence and evolution of working class consciousness among Mexican workers, from its cultural beginnings and the rise of industrialism to the late 20^th century, gender and class issues in labor, worker mobilization, labor formation, community and politics, and immigration.

Krauze, Enrique. Mexico : Biography of Power : A History of Modern Mexico, 1810-1996. Harperperennial Library, 1998. $22

Weaves the biographies of a number of consequential nineteenth and twentieth century leaders into a historical overview of the Mexican nation. Rooted in both Indian and Spanish cultures, the notion of the audilloa leader granted an inordinate measure of respect and control--is one of the most pervasive elements and formative themes in Mexican custom and tradition. Arguing that these leaders have both reflected and influenced the shape and the direction of Mexican history, the author provides detailed accounts of the personal and professional lives of a variety of individual caudillos. An examination of how this unbroken cycle of power has played a decisive role in the political and social history of Mexico.

Martinez, Oscar J. U.S.-Mexico Borderlands: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. Scholarly Resources, 1996.

Includes scholarly essays and documents organized into seven sections, each exploring a key issue in borderlands studies--the making of the boundary, border strife, the rise in transborder interaction, the Mexican Revolution, economic problems, U.S.-Mexico interdependence, and the border as an area unique from other geographic areas. Each section includes one or two essays followed by related documents including treaties, government reports, newspaper articles, and interviews. Writings by both U.S. and Mexican scholars are included.

Meyer, Michael C. and William H. Beezley, Eds. The Oxford History of Mexico. Oxford University Press, 2000. $45

21 scholars unravel Mexico's long history of Indian extermination, slavery, colonialism, and U.S. expansion with new information outlining environmental, gender, and pop culture studies, particularly comic books and telenova soap.

Meyer, Michael C., William L. Sherman, and Susan M. Deeds. The Course of Mexican History. Oxford, 1998. $45

A survey text on Mexican history from the pre-Columbian period to present which features an emphasis on social and cultural history. It offers an understanding of indigenous culture, including revised discussions of pre-Columbian central Mexico and the Spanish conquest of Mexico, as well as an examination of new trends in the fast-changing field of Mayan studies. Using recent scholarship and discoveries, the authors have also expanded the sections on the historical background of Spanish conquistadors, and the social, religious, and cultural history of Mexico's colonial period, with a particular emphasis on its impact on women and indigenous cultures. New research on the events and social grievances which led up to the independence movement are examined as well.

Noble, John, Michele Matter, Nancy, Keller, Daniel C. Schechter. And James Lyon. Lonely Planet Mexico. Lonely Planet, 2000. $24.99

Contains historical, cultural, travel information about all parts of the country.

Ruiz, Octavio, Amy Sanders, and Meredith Sommers. Many Faces of Mexico http://www.americas.org 1998 .$40, $65 with a Spanish supplement. 800-452-8382

For grade 6 through adults help us learn what we need to know to be better neighbors. Contains lesson plans, maps, handouts, Expands understanding and develops capacity to make decisions and take action

Issues

Baron, Dennis. The English-Only Question: An Official Language for Americans? Yale, 1992. $18

Examines the history of agitation for English-only legislation in the U.S. and argues against such laws.

Bowen, Kurt Derek. Evangelism and Apostasy : The Evolution and Impact of Evangelicals in Modern Mexico. McGill-Queens University Press., 1996. $45

A sociological survey of Evangelicals in present-day Mexico, evaluating the appeal, character, and future growth of the Evangelical community. That community has grown from almost 900,000 in 1970 to nearly 4,000,000 in 1990; if Evangelical converts all remained faithful it could become Mexico's dominant religion by 2006, though the author asserts that projection is improbable due to high drop-out rates.

Choices Education Project. Caught Between Two Worlds: Mexico ant the Crossroads, $15. Availabe from Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, Box 1948, Providence, RI 029, http://www.choices.edu, 401-863-3155, Click here for Order Form.

Choices Education Project. Global Environmental Problems: Implications for U.S. Policy, $15. Availabe from Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, Box 1948, Providence, RI 029, http://www.choices.edu, 401-863-3155, Click here for Order Form.

Choices Education Project. U.S. Immigration Policy in an Unsettled World., $15. Availabe from Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, Box 1948, Providence, RI 029, http://www.choices.edu, 401-863-3155, Click here for Order Form.

Choices Education Project. U.S. Trade Policy: Competing in a Global Economy, $15. Availabe from Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, Box 1948, Providence, RI 029, http://www.choices.edu, 401-863-3155, Click here for Order Form.

Films for the Humanities. Mexico: Back Door to the Promised Land, video 44 min. http://www.films.com

Since NAFTA, goods flow more freely from Mexico--but not people, although a million try to slip across the U.S. border each year. In this program, children of desperately poor families share the stories of their hardship and the choices they have made. For some childhood means heavy labor as migrant workers in northern Mexico, while for others it means gang life on the streets. $129 or rent $75

Gonzalez, Juan. Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America. Penguin USA, 2001 Service Center #3430 $14.00

Traces the triumphs and tragedies of Hispanic experience in the United States. Portraits of immigrant pioneers from South and Central America help us better understand the conditions that force many to seek a new life in this country.

Ingram, Helen M. Divided Waters: Bridging the U.S.-Mexico Border. University of Arizona Press, 1995.

Focuses on the spectrum of water problems on the U.S.-Mexico border. Explains the nature of water development and utilization in the twin border cities of Nogales, delineating the social, economic, political, and institutional problems that block effective management of water sources. Provides historical background of these problems, the nature of the conflicts, information on those who are affected, legal and political problems, and the changes necessary for improvement.

Kamel, Rachael and Anya Hoffman, Eds. The Maquiladora Reader: Cross-Border

Organizing Since NAFTA: American Friends Service Committee, 1999. $14.95

Tells how workers in the maquiladoras have organized themselves to change conditions in their workplaces and communities - and how they have forged alliances on both sides of the border. Their grassroots yet transnational movement teaches the lessons we need to start taking on the destructive aspects of globalization everywhere.

Katz, Elizabeth G. and Maria Cecilia Correia, Eds. The Economics of Gender in Mexico Work, Family, State and Market. World Bank, 2001. $22

Lustig, Nora. Mexico : The Remaking of an Economy. Brookings Institute, 1998. $19

Analyzes the possible explanations for Mexico's relative slow growth in the early nineties and the causes of the peso crisis at the end of 1994. In addition to describing the financial rescue package, she examines why the recession in 1995 was so sharp despite sizeable international assistance, the factors behind Mexico's relatively swift recovery, the evolution of poverty and inequality in Mexico, and the relationship between economic openness and inequality. Finally, Lustig highlights Mexico's economic prospects in coming years. Besides contributing to our understanding of a traumatic experience in Mexico's recent history, Lustig's analysis yields helpful insights for other reforming economies around the globe.

Orme, William A. Understanding Nafta : Mexico, Free Trade, and the New North America. Univ of Texas Pr, 1996. $19.95

Accessible for those interested in learning more about the Mexican people and the national economy.

Otero, Gerardo, Ed. Neoliberalism Revisited : Economic Restructuring and Mexico's Political Future Westview Press, 1996. $25

Examines the challenges brought about by the liberalizing of the Mexican economy.

Peña, Devon Gerardo. The Terror of the Machine: Technology, Work, Gender, and Ecology on the U.S.-Mexico B Border. University of Texas Press, 1997. $18.51

Examines the border workplace and community struggles from the perspectives of women who work in maquiladoras, assembly-line factories located along the U.S-Mexico border. Analyzes the political, cultural, and environmental effects of the maquila industry in the U.S.-Mexico border region. Includes personal narratives from women working in maquiladoras, a historical look at the development of factory technology and workplace organization in Western society, maquila workers' struggle and resistance, changes in the industry from 1982 to 1992, and the environmental impacts of the maquila, among other topics.

Ruiz, Octavio, Meredith Sommers. Buen Viaje: Mutually Beneficial Tourism 1999. http://www.americas.org $15

For grades 8-adults, a bilingual curriculum about traveling with care in Mexico examines the impact of tourism on visitors, the host community, the environment. It educates and encourages travelers to make critical decisions that are mutually beneficial for people and our planet.

Spener, David and Kathleen Staudt, Eds. The U.S.-Mexico border: Transcending Divisions, Contesting Identities. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998. $27

Examination of the U.S.-Mexico border relationship and the borderlands as an "ongoing, dialectical process that generates multiple borderland spaces." Contains four thematic sections: varying conception of borders, economic and social organization at different points along the Mexico-U.S. border, identity and symbolic borders, and the nature of the transformation being experienced in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands.

Teachers Video Company. Mexico: Emerging Powers, video 50 minutes.

Meet a new generation of Mexican citizens who compete in the international economy and help their country achieve prosperity. 800-262-8837

Teachers Video Company. Ties that Bind video, 56 minutes.

Examines the issues pertaining to Mexican immigration, including maquiladoras, difficult journeys to the U.S. and more.