IRENE ISABEL BLEA is the chairperson of the Department of Chicano Studies at California State University in Los Angeles. Blea received her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado and has been affiliated with the University of New Mexico, University of Texas at Austin, and Metropolitan State College of Denver. Her previous books include La Chicana and the Intersection of Race, Class and Gender(Praeger, 1991), Bessemer: A Sociological Perspective of a Chicano Barrio(1991), and Toward A Chicano Social Science (Praeger, 1988).

• Introduction Defining Community Reviewing the Literature Methodology and the Study of Racial and Ethnic Communities Entering the Field and Gathering Data Analyzing and Creating Social Space Chicana Feminist Studies Liberation of the Chicano Community Linking Theory to Practice Contemporary Issues Healing a Nation Bibliography Index

IRENE ISABEL BLEA is the chairperson of the Department of Chicano Studies at California State University in Los Angeles. Blea received her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado and has been affiliated with the University of New Mexico, University of Texas at Austin, and Metropolitan State College of Denver. Her previous books include La Chicana and the Intersection of Race, Class and Gender(Praeger, 1991), Bessemer: A Sociological Perspective of a Chicano Barrio(1991), and Toward A Chicano Social Science (Praeger, 1988).

• Introduction Defining Community Reviewing the Literature Methodology and the Study of Racial and Ethnic Communities Entering the Field and Gathering Data Analyzing and Creating Social Space Chicana Feminist Studies Liberation of the Chicano Community Linking Theory to Practice Contemporary Issues Healing a Nation Bibliography Index

IRENE ISABEL BLEA is the chairperson of the Department of Chicano Studies at California State University in Los Angeles. Blea received her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado and has been affiliated with the University of New Mexico, University of Texas at Austin, and Metropolitan State College of Denver. Her previous books include La Chicana and the Intersection of Race, Class and Gender(Praeger, 1991), Bessemer: A Sociological Perspective of a Chicano Barrio(1991), and Toward A Chicano Social Science (Praeger, 1988).

• Introduction Defining Community Reviewing the Literature Methodology and the Study of Racial and Ethnic Communities Entering the Field and Gathering Data Analyzing and Creating Social Space Chicana Feminist Studies Liberation of the Chicano Community Linking Theory to Practice Contemporary Issues Healing a Nation Bibliography Index