Remembering Migrant Life: Family Collective Memory and Critical Consciousness in the Midcentury Migrant Stream

Abstract

This article uses collective memory to examine the gendered experiences of a Mexican American family who were migrant farm workers in the 1950s and 1960s. It demonstrates how the sisters in this family forged collective memory in the context of their broader, nuclear family and its experience with labor both in and outside of the home. As the women in this study grappled with collective memories about poverty and gender discrimination, their narratives revealed how collective memory can be intersectional, reflecting multiple mnemonic groups at once. This article also demonstrates how collective memory can lead to collective consciousness, whereby women begin to critique exploitative practices and dominant ideologies.