Mexican-American History

Catalog description

This course presents an historical overview of the Mexican-American experience in America beginning with Pre-Columbian history to the present. Emphasis will be on addressing the Indigenous contributions to the culture, Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica and colonization, exploitation of land, people and resources, colonial occupation of California, Southwest, and Southeast; Students will analyze the Americanization of Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans in the United States and compare with other cultural groups, and the tensions between Anglo-Americans and Mexican-Americans, and Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants; There will be a focus on Mexican-American's American experience by examining their political, social, and economic conditions, and the fight for Civil Rights by examining the California and U.S. Constitutions.