English 137B

Book List

Alvarez, Julia: In the Time of the Butterflies; Cantu, Norma: Canicula: Snapshots of a Girlhood en la frontera; Castillo, Ana: Give It To Me; Cruz, Angie: Let it Rain Coffee; Gilb, Dagoberto: The Last Known Residence of Mickey Acuna; Gonzalez, Rigoberto: Crossing Vines; Hijuelos, Oscar: The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love; Islas, Arturo: The Rain God

Other Readings and Media

Course Reader

Description

In this course, we’ll read a cluster of post-1970 Chicanx/Latinx novels.  We’ll explore a variety of issues and experiences—race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, political activism, revolution, philosophy, art, storytelling, and writing—represented in these works; all of these experiences have influenced the form and content of Chicanx/Latinx novels.  We'll discuss the manner in which the literature contributes to the formation of complex and sometimes contradictory identities, but we’ll also pay close attention to the literary features of these novels, including form, style, point of view, characterization, dialogue, and figurative language.  We’ll read several works of history and literary criticism to contextualize the literature and to help us understand how Chicanx/Latinx literature enriches the American literary tradition generally.