Dialogue

Cesar Chavez : Immigration and A Culture of Peace

Date: July 31, 2011
Time: 5:30pm to 7:00pm
Location: Cal Poly Pomona, Bronco Student Center, Centaurus

Many politicians and pundits today claim that Latino/a immigration to the United States poses a threat to the well-being of the nation. In this talk, Professor Orosco argues that Cesar Chavez (1927-1993), a pioneer-leader of farm workers movement and civil rights activist, came to a different understanding of the impact of immigration on our public life. Chavez maintained that the presence of Mexican immigrants in the United States was not a threat to American democracy, but rather, a resource. For Chavez, a growing Latino/a community was an opportunity to reexamine the public values of American society dedicated mostly, in his view, to military and corporate dominance. Chavez worked to develop a broad based social movement grounded in Mexican folk culture and history to initiate this reexamination and help the nation further in its journey toward a culture of peace.

Event Flyer

Joseph Orosco

Joseph Orosco is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of Peace Studies Program at Oregon State University in Corvallis. He is the author of Cesar Chavez: The Commonsense of Nonviolence. His course offerings include political philosophy with an emphasis on democratic theory and Latin American thought, the history of Chicano/a Civil Rights Movement, and a seminar on the philosophical foundations for conflict resolution, social justice, and peace.

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