Introduction to Chicanx and Latinx Studies

Catalog description

A survey of intersectional and interdisciplinary approaches to introduce students to the range of issues, experiences, and methodologies that form the foundation of Chicanx and Latinx Studies. By considering the relationship between the creation of "Chicanx", "Latinx" and "American" identities, students will critically reconsider the borders that constitute the U.S. as a political and cultural formation. The course balances depth and breadth in its study of the variety of perspectives and experiences that come to be associated with U.S. Chicanx and Latinx peoples. Thus, we will analyze the histories of migration and colonialism associated with predominant U.S. Latinx sub-groups, such as Mexican Americans/Chicanx people and Puerto Ricans, while also centering considerations of the ways in which broader populations with ties to Central America, South America, and the Caribbean play crucial roles in constituting Latinidad. Topics include the U.S./Mexico border and borderlands; immigration, migration, and diaspora; literary and cultural traditions; music and expressive practices; labor and structural inequality; social movements; Latinx urbanism; gender and sexuality; political and economic shifts; inter- and intra-group relations; and indignity and Blackness in Latinidad. Sources include a range of social science and humanities scholarship. 54.00 hours lecture. (Same as ETS-2) (Letter grade only)