Courses in American Studies

Schools have often become the focal point for debates over the relationship between cultural identity, intellectual abilities, and the production of knowledge. What should be taught, who should be taught, and how they should be taught frame the politics of schooling. Language has often taken center stage in these debates. This course examines the effects of educational policies and practices on the development of Latina/o students and communities. We will also consider how these students and communities have resourcefully carved out spaces and made demands to meet their educational needs. Topics include school desegregation, bilingual education, student walk-outs and sit-ins, as well as the origins and advancement of Chicano Studies, Puerto Rican Studies, and more recently Latino Studies programs on college campuses. Students will critically engage the major themes of the course in two essays as they also engage each other in the form of peer-reviews and other in-class writing workshop exercises. This course explores the experiences and expressions of racially and culturally diverse Latinas and Latinos, focusing on the myriad ways in which they confront, negotiate, and at times challenge dominant U.S. hierarchies of race, culture, gender and class.

Format: discussion. Evaluation will be based on class participation, writing workshop participation (and related assignments), group presentations, and two essays (12-15 pages).

No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 19 (expected: 12). Preference given to Latina/o Studies concentrators.

Hour: 9:55-11:10 TR