The mexican texan americo paredes biography
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In 1957, Paredes joined the faculty in English and Anthropology at the University of Texas—becoming one of a handful of faculty of color on that campus—and mentored many students. After the war, Paredes resumed his education at UT-Austin, where he became active in the Chicano movement. Paredes was elected a Fellow of AFS and received numerous other honors including the Charles Frankel Prize from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1989.
He taught there until his retirement more than 30 years later.
Growing up along the Texas-Mexico border, Dr. Paredes came to perceive the border as a site of cultural convergence, conflict, and creativity. Among Dr. Paredes’ contributions is the concept of “greater Mexico” referring to the Mexican diaspora, allowing the Southwest US and other areas to view themselves as a substantial, legitimate, and growing, part of the mexicanidad.
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Helpful links in machine-readable formats. It has been viewed 494 times. More information about this book can be viewed below. He returned to the United States in 1950 to pursue his education and within six years, Paredes earned three degrees from the University of Texas at Austin: a BA in English and Philosophy and an MA and PhD in English (Folklore) and Spanish.
Paredes received an upbringing that positioned him as a fully bicultural, bilingual, and well-educated individual, “bien educado,” learning an English curriculum in school and being taught Spanish at home. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc271346/: accessed December 31, 2025), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.
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Medrano, Manuel F.Américo Paredes: in His Own Words, an Authorized Biography, book, April 15, 2010; Denton, Texas. He was drafted into the US Army during WWII and served as a reporter for Stars and Stripes.
He was the first Mexican-American to receive a doctorate from the University of Texas. In 1991, he was awarded the Orden del Aguila Azteca, the highest honor awarded by Mexico to recognize foreigners for their humanitarian services and for their efforts to preserve Mexican culture. The guide features related books, photographs, newspaper clippings, and external resources.
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Upon graduating from Brownsville Junior College in 1936 he worked as a journalist for fourteen years, including on special assignment in Japan.
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He underscored the value of folklore as a record of Mexican Americans’ long struggles to preserve their identities and affirm their human rights as a form of cultural memories.
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Américo Paredes (1915 - 1999) was born and raised in Brownsville.
Equally important, Paredes helped establish the performance approach to folklore studies, stressing the importance of the need to interpret folklore within the contexts in which it was performed. His constant engagement with borders allowed him to develop a critical double vision that generated copious innovative theoretical insights, many of which are foundational to current critiques of, and innovations in, anthropological and folkloristic theory and practice.