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Américo Paredes (1915-1999) was a folklorist, scholar, and professor at the University of Texas at Austin who is widely acknowledged as one of the founding scholars of Chicano Studies. He was a brilliant teacher and prolific writer who championed the preservation of border culture and history. With the publication of "
With His Pistol in His Hand" A Border Ballad and Its Hero in 1958, Paredes soon emerged as a challenger to the status quo. He was a co-founder in 1970 of the Center for Mexican American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin and is credited with introducing the concept of Greater Mexico. Paredes became a scholar of scholars, guiding many students to become academic leaders.
"Medrano's biography offers an inspiring and necessary must-read for anyone claiming to have more than just a passing interest in studying the history and cultures of the American Southwest where Mexican Americans have a continuing and growing, important presence."--
Texas Books in Review
About the author
MANUEL F. MEDRANO is professor emeritus of history at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and the coauthor of
Medieval Culture and the Mexican American Borderlands and
Charro Days in Brownsville.
Summary
Americo Paredes (1915-1999) was a folklorist, scholar, and professor at the University of Texas at Austin who is widely acknowledged as one of the founding scholars of Chicano Studies. He was a brilliant teacher and prolific writer who championed the preservation of border culture and history.