Arts & Humanities Lecture Series Schedule 2008-2009
Featuring Distinguished Alumni
In collaboration with the Department of Chicano and Latin American Studies, College of Social Sciences
Where the Ox Does Not Plow
Dr. Manuel Peña, B.A. Music 1967, M.A. English 1975
Professor Emeritus of Music
California State University Fresno
Wednesday, September 17 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM Alice Peters Auditorium
Dr. Peña’s new book Where the Ox Does Not Plow consists of twenty-six episodes that chronicle his transformative life-journey from an impoverished migrant worker to a career as a university professor. Inspired by his experiences and those of the people around him in Texas and California, Dr. Peña reflects on a wide range of issues arising from the marginalized condition of Mexicans and other latinos in the Southwest. The book engages readers in a broad range of human experiences, from race relations and economic exploitation to the intimacy of familial and romantic love.
Dr. Peña, anhropologist/ethnomusicologist, is recognized as the foremost authority on Mexican American music. He earned his Ph.D., which was nominated for outstanding dissertation, at the University of Texas in Austin. Author of numerous articles on Mexican American folklore and music, Peña has also lectured widely on the subjects at professional conferences, symposia and festivals. His book, The Texas-Mexican Conjunto, was the first ever to explore this popular accordion-based music, and it won third place in the international Chicago Folklore Prize competition. Dr. Peña also wrote Música Tejana, which is a more general study of the various styles that developed in Texas. His other book, The Mexican American Orquesta, is a historical study of the dance-band orchestra in the Hispanic Southwest. It won an award for excellence from the Border Librarians Association.