Social activism as a catalyst for ethnic studies

This essay provides an overview of George Lipsitz’s new book, Ethnic Studies at the Crossroads, from the perspective of a scholar who was part of the formation of ethnic studies and has contributed publications that interrogate inequalities and social activism related to race/class, gender, and sexuality for Mexicans in the United States. I focus on his interrogation of how social movements informed the formation of ethnic studies and are key to those of us who work in this field.