Annotated Bibliography for Final Research Paper

Yannis Noel Murari

RWS 1301, Rhetoric and Writing Studies

October 27, 2017

 Annotated Bibliography and Research Questions for Final Research Paper

Research questions: How are Colonias portrayed by mainstream and modern media?

How have Colonias changed over time? Do Colonias affect the state of El Paso (or UTEP)? Does

media have an impact of the evolution of Colonias?

Clawson, Rosalee A. and Rakuya Trice. "Poverty as we Know it: Media Portrayals of the Poor."
The Public Opinion Quarterly 64, no. 1 (2000): 53-64.

According to the authors of the journal article, Clawson and Trice, media produced
stereotypical and inaccurate claims about the poor during the welfare reform. This forced
the population to receive and believe bias and inaccurate information. Both writers of the
article research, review and contrast these situations by comparing different news-
outlets and surveying affected people, proving examples of media sources
manipulating their audience in many ways. The authors argue that throughout the
different races, media provides differently portrayed information about their poverty
range and financial issues. Some of them even stating wrong or bias information by
forming opinions for the reading recipient.

Esparza, Adrian X. and Angela J. Donelson. Colonias in Arizona and New Mexico: Border
Poverty and Community Development Solutions. Tucson: University of Arizona Press,
2008, http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ ecip0719/2007021538.html </p>.

According to Exparza and Donelson, Colonias suffer from many problems such as the
lack of medical support and proper housing and the shortage of living supplies. This leads
residents to live in harsh and terrible conditions. The authors found that Colonias make
up a large amount of the entirety of poverty in the United States of America, making it a
major national issue. This poverty comes due to the lack of proper water systems and the
lack of financial resources. Although many improvements, such as some enhancements in
housing and the implantation of water transportation systems had already been done,
there is a long way ahead, till the state of these Colonias can be compared to those of
other residential areas in America.

Gilens, Martin. "Race and Poverty in America Public Misperceptions and the American News
Media." Public Opinion Quarterly 60, no. 4 (1996): 515-41.

According to Gillens, media dramatizes the amount of existing poverty in individual

races, especially within the African American community. He states that the amount of
poverty is exaggerated in the modern media, exceeding the true amount of poverty
actually existing. Opposingly, he also states that other societies like the elderly are
portrayed less, even though their ratio of poverty is greater. Gillens found that many
media sources and hubs use fake or inaccurate news in order to have relevance. This is
also used as a type of manipulation to create stereotypes and leads the audience of the
specific news media to become prejudice or even racist towards the presented
community.
Kendall, Diana Elizabeth. Framing Class: Media Representations of Wealth and Poverty in
America. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2005.

According to Kendall, media has a large impact in the construction and framing of
different class types in the United States of America, creating them with their supply of
information. Media has a big influence in the peoples belief and knowledge of the
conditions, wealth and/or poverty, their country is in, and use this to create and deploy
beliefs of a class system. Kendall found that media separates society into four classes,
the poor and homeless, the working class and working poor, the middle class and
the rich and famous. This are all individually represented differently among media
companies, with the use of exaggerations, understatements and fake information.

Ramshaw, Emily. "Major Health Problems Linked to Poverty." The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/us/10tthealth.html (accessed 10/6, 2017).

In the authors article, she claims that in Colonias, which are residential areas alongside
the border of America and Mexico, health complications seem to exceed the national
average because of large poverty issues and are an extensive problem in these cities. She
states that nearly half of a million adults and children are settled in the estimated 2300
Colonias along the Texas-Mexico border making the lone star state, the state with the
largest count of these residential areas. There, at least 10 percent of the population lives
at the highest health risk due to a shortage of clean water, with the other 90 percent also
being strongly affected. Health issues such as waterborne diseases and many others can
therefore be found more in Colonias than other regions across the country. In the article
the author applies the rhetorical appeals, ethos, pathos and logos to write and improve her
editorial.

Seplveda, Csar, Albert E. Utton, and Instituto Matas Romero de Estudios Diplomticos. The
U.S.-Mexico Border Region: Anticipating Resource Needs and Issues to the Year 2000.
El Paso: Texas Western Press, 1984; 1982.

According to the editors Seplveda and Utton, issues in Colonias should be anticipated
and researched before they present themselves. Colonias show large issues that concern
whole communities such as the lack of medical care, financial resources and proper water
systems to support and supply the residents. The editors find that, having proper
knowledge and information about upcoming issues before they exist, can prevent them
from accruing from the beginning. Compiling many different articles and resources, the
editors provide information on the state and issues Colonias are struck with and will be
affected with in the future and provide ways to avoid these possibilities.

Towers, George William. Colonia Formation and Economic Restructuring in El Paso, Texas.
University of Arizona Press, 1991

According to Towers, Colonias have a significant formation and impact on the restoration
of El Paso and its economical state. Colonias state of low living standards and low
financial income had relevance in the evolution of El Pasos standards in the past. Towers
found that the city evolved from a natural recourse dependent workplace to a metropole
of labor demanding stations, due to the increase in size and involvement of their colonia
residents. Towers also found that the acknowledgement of the Colonias has increased
across the country and believes that the existence of these residential areas had a big
impact on El Pasos modern state.