English R1B

Reading and Composition: U.S. Latina/o Literature and Culture

Book List

Alvarez, Julia: In the Time of the Butterflies ; Davalos, Karen Mary: Yolanda M López; Diaz, Junot: The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao; Thomas, Piri: Down These Mean Streets

Other Readings and Media

Required Viewing:
Luis Valdez. Zoot Suit. (1981)
Lourdes Portillo. The Devil Never Sleeps. (1994)
Iris Moralis. Palante, siempre palante! The Young Lords (1996)
Peter Bratt. La Mission. (2009)

Course Reader: M. Jacqui Alexander, alurista, Gloria Anzaldúa, Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzáles, Audre Lorde, Cherríe Moraga, selections from The Afro-Latin@Reader (Miriam Jiménez Roman and Juan Flores, eds.)

Description

This course will move toward a collaborative writing practice through in-class presentations designed to create a shared responsibility for understanding the reading, peer-editing, and group office hours. We will also learn the various stages of the research process and conclude with a mini-conference where students will present their work to the class before submitting the final research paper. Our assigned reading will begin with an introduction to queer of color and feminist theories of intersectionality. In this way, we will situate our study of Chican@/Latin@ Literature and Culture through the interlocked and contested terrains of race, labor, sexuality, and nation. In particular, we will consider representations of indigeneity and Afro-Latinidad in relation to spirituality, discourses of social justice, and the (post)colonial history of the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.