The U.S. media features Latina stars such as Jennifer Lopez and Eva Longoria, but that same media often reinforces the image of Latinos as eternal foreigners, always having to prove they belong.
Angharad Valdivia sought to explore that contradiction and other themes in her book "Latina/os and the Media" (Polity Press). She also sought to bring the fields of media studies and Latina/Latino studies together into a "coherent whole," she said.
"There are many Latina/Latino studies scholars who try to write about media but do not know the history, approaches and findings in that field," said Valdivia, a professor of Latina/Latino studies and head of the department of media and cinema studies. "Similarly many media studies scholars try to engage Latina/Latino issues without proper attention to that area of study. I sought to combine them."
The book examines the participation of Latinos in media production, looks at the forms in which they are represented in the media, and the ways Latinos interpret media, among other topics. Each chapter is followed by case studies that illustrate the key points.
The book should be a useful resource for scholars, students and the general public, Valdivia said.
