COURSE DESCRIPTION
Latino Studies is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Puerto Rican, Mexican, Cuban, Caribbean, Central American, and Latin American communities in the US. Latina/o Studies offers a rubric for understanding not only the interconnections between diverse Latina/o communities but also the differences that sometimes divide them. This course will introduce students to the many practices of Latina/o Studies by giving them the opportunity to meet and learn more about scholars engaged in this field of study. The class will consist of a series of lectures/projects designed in conjunction with scholars, activists and cultural practitioners working in different areas of Latino Studies at the University of Michigan and beyond.
Online Resources:
CTools: http://www.ctools.umich.edu/portal
AC213 Website: http://www.umich.edu/~ac213
REQUIRED TEXTS
AC213 Course Reader: (Available at AccuCopy)
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
Attendance (10%): Regular attendance is required from all registered students. At the beginning of every class, you will sign our class roster to indicate that you were present for that class session, tardiness is unacceptable. You are allowed up to two (2) excused absences during the semester, but you must show documentation in order for an absence to be counted as excused. Absences are excused for personal illness, family emergencies, jury duty and religious holidays. More than one unexcused absence will lower your overall attendance grade so please make sure you talk to me in advance if you know you'll have to miss a class.
Participation/Discussion (20%): Constructive class participation and consistent and engaged reading of assigned texts are required from all registered students. You will receive a daily grade for your participation in discussion section, which will be averaged over the course of the semester, so please prepare for your discussion section. Preparation for discussion includes identifying puzzling aspects in the readings or lectures, highlighting specific passages in your readings for analysis, and raising questions for debate. We recognize that people have very different styles of participation and different levels of comfort with speaking in section. Your participation/discussion grade will reflect not how many times you speak in section, but how you share in developing a lively and respectful conversation. If you miss a discussion section you will receive no Participation/Discussion grade for that day.
Unit Quizzes (30%): We will have three unit quizzes over the course of the semester. Each quiz will cover material (reading and lectures) from the previous Unit. In other words, Unit Quiz I will cover material from Unit One: Histories; Unit Quiz II will cover material from Unit 2: Migrations, and Unit Quiz III will cover material from Unit 3: The Latino Condition. Please refer to the class schedule for Quiz dates.
Final Project (40%): You have three options for your final project. Each of these projects involves a series of short preparatory assignments (3 total) spaced at regular intervals throughout the semester. The short assignments will help you to get an early start on your final project so that you aren't scrambling to finish at the end of the semester. You must decide which final project you want to undertake by the third week of class and submit your decision to Ctools by Sunday, September 30.The descriptions below are brief overviews of your final project options. For more detailed information please consult the AC213 Website: http://www.umich.edu/~ac213.
Option #1: Web-based Project (collaborative project): Form a work group of 3 students. Create a website that addresses some aspect of the Latina/o experience (your web content should be comparable to a 10-12 page paper). See the Web Project Resources page on our class website for more detailed information on project guidelines and resources.
Option #2: Advocacy Project (group project): Form a study group of 3 students within your discussion section. Each study group will then work together to identify a specific social problem or issue that affects and/or disadvantages Latina/os in the U.S. Over the course of the semester, study groups will research the issue, conduct an interview with a local activist and/or scholar involved in advocacy on the issue, develop a specific plan of action to address the issue, and write a final report (10-12 pgs) summarizing your experiences. See the Advocacy Project Guidelines page on our class website for more detailed information on project guidelines and resources.
Option #3: Community Service Learning Project (individual experiential project): Volunteer with PALMA, the Real Media Literacy Project, The Washtenaw County Worker Center, or an organization of your choice (it must be an organization that serves Latina/os and you must obtain prior permission from instructor). Write a final paper (8-10 pgs.) that reflects on your experience and draws from class readings & lectures. See the Community Service Project Guidelines page for more detailed information on project guidelines and resources. Remember that in order to complete this project, you will have to spend at least 2 hours per week working on-site at the community service organization.
Class Activities: There are two class-related events for which attendance is mandatory. On Saturday, October 20, the class will take a field trip to Southwest Detroit (lunch provided). On Thursday, December 6, (7:00 pm) there will be a film screening of the feature length film, A Day Without a Mexican. Attendance at both of these events is required. Should you miss either of these events, one point will be deducted from your overall attendance grade.
Extra Credit Opportunities: You will have a number of opportunities to increase your final grade throughout the semester.Here's how it works: 1) attend any lecture, performance, or event having to do with the U.S. Latina/o experience (you must get approval from the course instructor first); 2) write a 1-2 page reflection paper about the event and/or your experiences; 3) submit your paper to the GSI. You must submit your reflection paper to the GSI within two weeks of the event and no later than the last class meeting in order to receive extra credit. For each event attended/reflection paper you will receive an extra .5 points added to your final grade. You are limited to five (5) extra credit opportunities.
INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS LATINA/O STUDIES?
Wednesday, Sept. 5—Introduction to the Course
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Monday, Sept. 10—Latinos: What's in a name?
Professor Maria Cotera
Readings:
Demography and the Shifting Boundaries of Community,” David Gutierrez
UNIT ONE: HISTORIES
Wednesday , Sept. 12—Legacy of Conquest
Professor Maria Cotera
Readings:
* Conquerors and Victims, Harvest of Empire, Juan Gonzalez
* Review Casta Paintings Website:http://hemi.nyu.edu/archive/studentwork/colony/olson/Casta1.htm
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Monday, Sept. 17—1848 and the Creation of the Borderlands
Professor Anthony Mora , History Department
Readings:
* The Spanish Borderlands and the Making of an Empire (1810-1898), Harvest of Empire, Juan Gonzalez
* Selections from the Treaty of Guadalupe
* We Called Them Greasers, Gloria Anzaldua
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Wednesday, Sept. 19—1898 and the Formation of a Caribbean Diaspora
Professor Maria Cotera
Readings:
* Migrations Before World War II, Puerto Ricans in the U.S., Edna Acosta-Belen & Carlos E. Santiago
* To Tell it is to Weep: Papa Esteban's Puerto Rico, Luce Lopez-Baralt
* A Vindication of Cuba, Jose Marti
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Monday, Sept. 24—A New People: Mexican Americans in the 19th Century
Professor Maria Sanchez, English Department
Readings:
* Selections from Who Would Have Thought It? Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton
* Selections from We Fed Them Cactus, Fabiola Cabeza de Vaca
* The Old South in the Southwest Westward Expansion of Cotton Culture, 1820-1900 in The White Scourge, Neil Foley
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Wednesday , Sept. 26—Gaining a Voice: Latina/o Politics in the Early 20th Century
Sunday, September 30: submit Final Project Proposal to CTools by 5:00pm
Professor Maria Cotera
Readings:
* The Politics of Race and Assimilation The League of United Latin American Citizens 1929-1940, Benjamin Marquez
* The Growth of the Puerto Rican Community in New York, Puerto Ricans in the U.S., Edna Acosta-Belen & Carlos E. Santiago
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Monday, Oct. 1—The Sixties and the Growth of Nationalism I: The Young Lords
Professor Maria Cotera, Film Screening Palante, Siempre Palante (in class)
Readings:
* Establishing an Identity in the 60s,Suzanne Oboler
* Young Lords Party 13-Point Platform
* Puerto Rican Obituary, Pedro Pietri
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Wednesday, Oct. 3—The Sixties and the Growth of Nationalism II: Chicano Power
Professor Maria Cotera
Readings:
* El Grito del Norte Newspaper (only on Ctools)
* El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan
* Yo Soy Joaquin, Corky Gonzalez
* Chicanas Speak Out! Mirta Vidal
* Notes From a Chicana Co-ed, Bernice Zamora
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Monday, Oct. 8—UNIT ONE QUIZ
UNIT TWO: LATINA/OS ON THE MOVE—MIGRATION AND INVISIBILITY
Wednesday, Oct. 10—Alien-nation: Fear of an Immigrant Plane
Assignment #1 Due in Class
Maria Cotera, Film Screening Animaquiladora and Dia de La Independencia(in class)
Readings:
* The Founding Immigrants, Kenneth Davis (New York Times Op-Ed)
* Rethinking the Last 200 Years of Immigration Policy, Aristide Zolberg
* Immigration, Economic Report of the President
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MONDAY, OCT. 15: FALL STUDY BREAK
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Wednesday, Oct. 17—Latinos in Michigan
Professor Jesse Hoffnung-Garskof, History
Readings:
* Michigan, Jesse Hoffnung-Garskoff (in Latinos in America State by State)
* Selections from the President's Commission on Migratory Labor
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SATURDAY, OCT. 20—DETROIT FIELD TRIP
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Monday, Oct. 22—Cuban Immigrants: Revolution and Return
Professor Silvia Pedraza, Sociology
Readings:
* Cuba’s Refugees: Manifold Migrations, Silvia Pedraza
* Pedraza’s Cuba: Past but Ever Present, Carla Howery
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Wednesday, Oct. 24—Central Americans: Changing Communities
Maria Cotera
Readings:
* Central American Immigrants: Diverse Populations, Changing Communities, Norma Stoltz Chinchilla and Nora Hamilton
* The Writers Izote Vos, Salvadoran American Writing (only on Ctools)
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Monday, Oct. 29—Immigration Wrap-up and Film Screening: Fear and Learning at Hoover Elementary
Maria Cotera
Readings:
* The Continuing Latino Quest for Full Membership and Equal Citizenship, Kevin R. Johnson
* The Battle for the Border: Notes on Autonomous Migration, Transnational Communities, and the State, Nestor Rodriguez
* Review Website: Journey to The Border
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WEDNESDAY, OCT. 31 UNIT TWO QUIZ
UNIT THREE: THE LATINA/O CONDITION
Monday, Nov. 5—The Politics of Language
Assignment #2 Due in Class
Professor Teresa Satterfield, Romance Languages & Linguistics
Readings:
* Is Spanglish the Third language of the South?:Truth and Fantasy about U.S. Spanish, John Lipski
* Jose Can You See?:Latina/o Responses to Racist Discourse, Ana Celia Zentella
* Optional Reading: The Future of Spanish in the United States, Max Castro
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Wednesday, Nov. 7—Latino Sexuality
Professor Larry La Fountain Stokes, Romance Languages & Latina/o Studies
Readings:
* Chicano Men: A Cartography of Homosexual Identity and Behavior, Tomas Almaguer
* Playing with Fire: The Gendered Construction of Chicana/Mexicana Sexuality, Patricia Zavella
* Sylvia Rivera's talk At LGMNY
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Monday, Nov. 12—Latina/o Children
Professor Robert Ortega, School of Social Work
Readings:
* Latinos and Child Well-being, Robert Ortega
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Wednesday, Nov. 14—Latina/o Youth Literacy, Culture, and Identity
Professor Elizabeth Moje, School of Education
Readings:
* Powerful Spaces, Elizabeth Moje
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Monday, Nov. 19—Mobilizing Latina/o Youth Through Community Activism
Professor Lorraine Gutierrez, School of Social Work
Readings:
* Latino Leadership Development: Beginning on Campus, Marco A. Davis
* Young People as Competent Citizens, Barry Checkoway, et al.
* Please take a look at the following websites before Dr. Gutierrez's lecture: http://www.swop.net/ and http://www.youthec.org/youthforce/ (on ctools)
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WEDNESDAY, NOV. 21: THANKSGIVING BREAK
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Monday and Wednesday, Nov. 26 & Nov. 28—Latina/o Health: Stereotypes and Struggles for Equity
Professor Alexandra M. Stern, History Department & Center for the History of Medicine
Readings (for Monday):
* Natalia Molina, We Can No Longer Ignore the Problem of the Mexican, in Fit to be Citizens: Public Health and Race in Los Angeles, 1879-1939
Laura Pulido, The Pesticide Campaign of the UFW Organizing Committee, 1965-1971, in Environmentalism and Economic Justice: Two Chicano Struggles in the Southwest
CDC Fact Sheet on HIV/AIDS among Hispanics
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Monday, Dec. 3—Artifacts of Latin@ America
Assignment #3 Due in Class
Sarah Gould, GSI
Readings:
* Barbie's Hair: Selling Out Puerto Rican Identity in the Global Market, Frances Negron Muntaner
* Velvet Malinche: Fantasies of the Aztec Princess in the Chicano Imagination, Catriona Rueda Esquibel
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Wednesday, Dec. 5—Latina/o Media
Professor Catherine Benamou, Screen Arts and Cultures
Readings:
* Moving From Margin to Center, Lillian Jimenez
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THURSDAY, DEC. 6, 7:00
SPECIAL FILM SCREENING: A DAY WITHOUT A MEXICAN
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Monday, Dec. 10—A Day Without a Mexica: Performing Latinidad as Loss
Professor Amy Carroll, English
Readings:
* Rasquachismo: A Chicano Sensibility, Tomas Ybarra-Frausto
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Final Assignment Submission: Friday, December 14, 5:00pm
UNIT THREE QUIZ Thursday, December 20