The Chicano Database: Re-imagining Data Management as (Un)disciplinarity

The concept of the archive has become an area of general theoretical interest and is especially important to Chicano/Latino studies (My use of the term “archive” here refers to traditional repositories as well as new... [ view full abstract ]

The concept of the archive has become an area of general theoretical interest and is especially important to Chicano/Latino studies (My use of the term “archive” here refers to traditional repositories as well as new formations that try to present counter-memory or alternate visions of the past). For the most part, the archive in Chicano/Latino studies has served the purpose of recovering lost histories – and in particular, restoring a sense of cultural heritage effaced by Spanish colonialism, US imperialism, post-revolutionary Mexican nation-building, and civil rights era male heteronormative ethnic nationalisms. However, the concept of the archive can also be used to examine the politics of counter-archives and research databases. This paper explores the risks involved with transferring data from imperial and social justice archives for the production and sale of “ethnic” research databases. I am especially interested in how such databases re-inscribe the politics of source-archives. Whereas many seek to digitize the historical record, I am interested in historicizing digitization. To this end, I develop a history of the Chicano Database, a specialized bibliographic resource created by the Chicano/Latino Studies Library at UC Berkeley. This involves analyzing the production of a Chicano Thesaurus (a lexicon specific to Chicano Studies) and its integration into the Database as a basis for subject area searches. If as Chicano Studies Librarian Lillian Castillo-Speed argues “Libraries are not neutral,” then it stands to reason that the Chicano Database too is a site of political activity. My aim is to consider how the Chicano Studies Library, a library started by student activists in the late 1960s, has been transferred from Index to CD-ROM to electronic resource.

The Chicano Database is an exemplary model of (un)disciplinarity. It presupposes a new language for data collection and management that runs counter to conventional archival projects. In its creation, the Chicano Database not only reimagined the organization of data for research purposes but also challenged the cultural and historical imaginary implicit in its rival mainstream libraries; namely, UC Berkeley’s Bancroft Library. Whereas 19th century US imperialism played a central role in the foundational principles of the Bancroft Library, student activism geared toward social justice – and in particular, UC Berkeley’s 1969 Third World Strike – played a major role in the creation and production of the Chicano Database. As an extension of social justice aspirations, the Chicano Database stands as a challenge to ongoing attempts to keep data about Chicanos and Latinos “in line” vis-à-vis de-politicizing discourses, including neo-conservatism, colorblindness, and neoliberalism, among others.

This paper outlines the foundational principles of the Chicano Database based on original research at the UC Berkeley Ethnic Studies Library. It also examines what is at stake for the future of the Chicano Database, given current trends to “democratize” information systems through open-access platforms. On these grounds, the paper attempts to focus attention on the implications of “unruly” data management systems for scholars who work in Chicano/Latino studies.