A book talk by Prof. Lloyd Barba.

In the early twentieth century, Pentecostalism was often seen as a distasteful new sect rife with fanatical tendencies; U.S. growers thought of Mexicans as no more than a mere workforce not fit for citizenship; and industrial agriculture was celebrated for feeding American families while its exploitation of workers went largely ignored. Farmworkers were made out to be culturally vacuous and lacking creative genius, faceless and nameless silhouettes laboring in the crop-combed fields. In this lecture, Professor Barba demonstrates that Mexican Pentecostal farmworkers carved out a robust socio-religious existence despite these harsh conditions, and in doing so produced a vast record of cultural vibrancy. This talk is based on Barba's new book, Sowing the Sacred: Mexican Pentecostal Farmworkers in California, published with Oxford University Press.

Refreshments will be served.