| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 106.4

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to the AHR online. About 205 words from this article are provided below; about 530 words remain.

If you are a individual member of the American Historical Association, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time. AHA members can go to the AHA individual membership section to locate their member numbers.
If you are not a member of the American Historical Association, you can:: • Join the AHA and receive many member benefits including print and electronic issues of the American Historical Review.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the American Historical Review (104.3-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the American Historical Review.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 106.4 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Methods/Theory

Emma Pérez. The Decolonial Imaginary: Writing Chicanas into History. (Theories of Representation and Difference.) Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 1999. Pp. xix, 181. Cloth $35.00, paper $16.95.

This book is a challenging, fresh new interpretation of Chicano and Chicana history, one that uses postmodern theory and develops a creative new synthesis, one that moves our understanding of history beyond traditional boundaries. Emma Pérez wants to rescue Mexican and Chicana voices from historical oblivion using insights from Michel Foucault and other postcolonial critics to illuminate primary documents on topics ranging from Yucatan women during the Mexican Revolution to the movie Selena (1997). Her argument is that Mexican and Chicana women's lives can best be interpreted as incomplete struggles to escape colonialism: inevitably they employ the very colonialist and masculine structures to which they are opposed in order to create a third space, which she calls the decolonial imaginary. This new space is not fully one of liberation but is in transition. It is only a possibility, not yet a reality. Pérez provides us with a new paradigm which she calls a theory of Chicano/a historical consciousness. It is a complex and challenging approach, one that deserves close study by professional historians. . . .

There are about 530 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.