Editorial Fundamentos, 1995, 1996 & 2006

RESEARCH PROJECTS

In my 2003 book, Life in Search of Readers: Reading (in) Chicano/a Literature, I advocated for a history of Chicano/a literature that included not only what Chicanos/as have written but also what they have read. I further explored that approach in several other published pieces, but soon it became clear to me that new instruments to collect and analyze data on Chicanas/os as readers were needed. To that end, I have developed and launched three complementary research projects, for which I serve as director and principal investigator:

alternative publications, the first of these projects to be made public, is a virtual press that publishes works by Chicano/a writers on an impermanent basis. In addition, a forum and an archive are provided to collect comments by readers.

The Chicano/a Literature Intertextual Database traces references to literature, authors, and the world of print culture in general, in works written by Chicanas/os. With the help of several associated researchers, I have collected thousands of quotes and hundreds of references to individual authors and titles. The database will be accessible to researchers in the near future.

Books with a History/Libros con historia is a repository of stories written or told by Chicano/a readers about their experiences with literature. The database will be accessible to researchers in the near future.