Chicano/a Studies Fall 2005 Course Descriptions

Fall 2005



Ch St 201.002                                               Introduction to Chicano/a studies
Dr. Charles Truxillo                                                                        Call # 11014
This course will serve as an introduction to Chicana/o Studies and include topics such as history, nomenclature, gender, civil rights, activism, and ideology. Chicana/o Studies will prepare students for upper division Chicana/o Studies courses and will serve as an introduction to the minor in Chicana/o Studies. Fulfills A & S Group V Requirement for Humanities.

Ch St 201.617 (FLC)                                     Introduction to Chicano Studies
Dr. Michael Candelaria                                                    Call #  RESTRICED
What does it mean to be a descendant of an Aztec princess and a Spanish conquistador? What do Cesar Chavez and Selena mean for the Chicano/as of today? What do Lowrider art, Chicano murals, and Santo art say about Chicano/a culture? And, do Chicano/as have rights to bi-lingual education, affirmative action, and land grants? In short, what does it mean to "Born in East L.A.” but with a New Mexico twist? We will explore these and other questions through small group discussions and lectures. We will look at Chicano/a film and art and read Chicano/a poetry and literature. Fulfills A & S Group V Requirement for Humanities.

Ch St 332.021                                                 Introduction to ChicanA Studies    syllabus
MelinaVizcaino                                               Call # 19781
This course is an interdisciplinary approach to Chicana studies that focuses on literature, art, and film. The class begins with a set of critical essays to introduce students to Chicana studies before we turn to early, pre-Chicana literature (including the oral tradition, folktales, short stories, poetry, and autobiography) to understand historically the emergence of Chicana cultural production. The class moves into art and the Chicana novel then follows up with a selection of films to analyze the conflicts and confluences of Chicana studies and the U.S. mainstream. Finally, we return to art and literature to forge an understanding of Chicana studies as a socio-political and intellectual movement, as mainstream art and resistance politics. Fulfills A & S Group V Requirement for Humanities.
                     
Ch St 393.002                                                Recovering US Hispanic Literature
Dr. Enrique Lamadrid                                                                               Call # 16075
exploración del canon emergente de la Herencia Literaria Hispana en EEUU, desde los tiempos coloniales hasta 1940 y los desafíos críticos y escolásticos de recuperación y reconstrucción. Enfasis en el "Suroeste“ hispano / mexicano / chicano, con atención a algunos proyectos cubanos y puertoriqueños. Análisis de textos recuperados y búsqueda e identificación de nuevos textos escritos y orales. Nuevos acercamientos críticos.
   An exploration of the emerging canon of the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage, from colonial times until 1940, and the critical and scholarly challenges of recovery and reconstruction. Emphasis on the Hispano / Mexicano / Chicano “Southwest,” with attention to selected Cuban and Puerto Rican projects. Analysis of recovered texts and identification of new oral and written texts. Survey of new critical appraisals. Fulfills A & S Group V Requirement for Humanities. Course in Spanish.


Ch St 393.003                                              Chicano History of Nuevo Mexico               syllabus                                   
Dr. Charles Truxillo                                                                        Call # 14994
This course will survey the entire history of New Mexico from Anasazi times to the present.  Special emphasis will be placed on Colonial Mestizaje, the territorial period, struggle for land and power, and the 20th Century’s rise of Chicano Nationalism. Fulfills A & S Group V Requirement for Humanities.

Ch St 393.004                                                                  Anthropology of New Mexico
Dr. Sylvia Rodríguez                                                                                   Call # 13914
This course looks at contemporary New Mexico, with focus on the Río Grande Valley, from an anthropological perspective. It draws on New Mexico history to illuminate present social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental issues. Readings emphasize the twentieth century.  Instructional methods include readings, lectures, audiovisual materials, discussion, written assignments, and ethnographic field exercises designed  to explore aspects of life in New Mexico. Fulfills A & S Group IV  Requirement for Humanities.

Ch St 393.005                                         Chicanos & the Mexican Revolution                  syllabus                    
Dr. Charles Truxillo                                                                        Call # 12788    
This course will survey the impact of the Mexican Revolution on Chicanos.  The major events and people of the Revolution will be discussed along with the re-Mexicanization of El Norte/the American Southwest placed in the larger context of 20th Century ideological conflicts. Fulfills A & S Group V Requirement for Humanities.

Ch St 393.006                                                        Identity and Group Rights                                                               
Dr. Michael Candelaria                                                               Call # 11694
This course is meant to be a philosophical examination of some of the most fundamental social problems confronting Hispanics today. Demographic growth rates in the United States indicate that Hispanics cannot be ignored. But Hispanics differ in race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, class and culture. These differences raise questions about identity, group membership and group rights. One key question that will guide our inquiry concerns the relation between identity and ethnicity or race. Another important question deals with the matter of rights. Are Hispanics entitled to special rights as members of sub-altern groups? Consequently, we will explore the meaning of identity and the different ways of relating identity to ethnicity and race—essentialist and relational accounts. Our next focus of attention will be on the relation between ethnic identity and social institutions. We will consider whether questions of ethnic identity can better inform discussions about rights. We will also examine the distinction between collective rights and individual rights. In particular, we will study the ethical issues raised by debates about affirmative action and bilingual education. Fulfills A & S Group V Requirement for Humanities.


Ch St 393.007                                                     Indo-Hispano Art in New Mexico                                                   
Mary Montaño                                                                                 Call# 10567                 
This is a survey course designed to explore the arts, crafts and cultural traditions of the Nuevomexicano people; to examine and understand the influences of Native American, Mexican and Mediterranean cultures that contributed to the shaping of historic and contemporary Nuevomexicano practices and worldviews; and to gain the knowledge necessary to access additional information for study or dissemination. Spanish fluency is not required to complete this course. TW: Fine Arts 329.015. Fulfills A & S Group VII Requirement for Humanities.

Ch St 393.008                                                                        Survey of Chicano Literature
Dr. Miguel López                                                                                              Call # 20595
This is an introductory course to Chicano/a literature which comprehends different periods of cultural production. The primary texts to be analyzed comprehend canonical works such as Tomás Rivera's Y No Se Lo Tragó la Tierra, Rudolfo Anaya's Bless me, Ultima, Sandra Cisneros‘s House On Mango Street, Arturo Islas’s The Rain God, and Josefina López's play and filmic hit Real Women have Curves. Course requirements include active participation in class discussions, short papers, midterm exams and a research paper. Fulfills A & S Group V Requirement for Humanities.

Ch St 393.009                                                                        Intro Chicano/a literature
Staff                                                                                                               Call # 19500
A survey of Chicana/o novels, short stories, essays, poetry, and drama from nineteenth century to the present, with emphasis on major themes such as history, culture, identity, language, and region. Fulfills A & S Group V Requirement for Humanities.
Ch St 393.010                                         Physical Activity, Culture & Academic Success
Dr. Joy Griffin                                                                                                  Call # 18396
This course introduces  educators to three cultures that are so prominent in New Mexico.  In this class we will study different World View dimensions, different cultural values, ethnic identity development, and societal/socioeconomic factors associated with high risk for academic success.  Using this information, we will study and evaluate existing sport/physical activity programs developed to retain students labeled at risk. Not Applicable to A& S Groups.

Ch St 393.011                                                          Women & Transnational Migration
Ire Kerlee                                                                                                          Call # 17291
Women & Transnational Migration: Why do women leave “home” for other places?  Do they choose how they move? Are the choices made for them?  What does it mean to be “in-between” for women?  We will examine these questions and others in this course in order to develop a theory of women’s migration in the global age.  Readings will include theory, ethnography, and literature.  Final project is an undergraduate conference to be held in the spring. Fulfills A & S Group IV Requirement for Social Sciences.

Ch St 393.013                                      Liberation Theology 
Dr. Michael Candelaria                                                 Call # 16199
Liberation theology purports to do theology from the perspective of the poor, the marginalized,  the oppressed, in short, the victims of modernity.  From this perspective, radical views have emerged  challenging traditional interpretations of religious doctrine the Kingdom of God as a socialist society, Christ as Liberator, the social structural causes of sin, the political dimension of faith, the preferential option for the poor.  We will explore these and other themes by means of a close reading and lively discussion of some of the most influential texts by prominent Latin American, U.S. Hispanic, and feminist theologians and philosophers.   We will consider early Marxist thought in the socialist anthropology of Jose Carlos Mariategui, philosophical approaches to the problem of cultural identity in Samuel Ramos and Salazar Bondy, the conceptual relation between freedom, reason, and history in Leopoldo Zea and Arturo Roig, and perspectives of Feminist theory with a particular focus on U.S. Third World Feminism.   We will give special consideration to the theologies of Gustavo Gutiérrez, and Leonardo Boff and the philosophy of Enrique Dussel. Fulfills A & S Group V Requirement for Humanities.

Ch St 393.015                                  Chicana Autobiographies     syllabus
Patricia Perea                                                        Call # 15099
(W)Riting Ourselves: Chicana Autobiography
In this class, we will investigate the politics behind the production of Chicana autobiography. We will look at each autobiographical work from an interdisciplinary perspective. In other words, we will use the theoretical and historical work of Chicana feminists and historians to read and understand this particular kind of cultural production. I use the terms cultural production here because Chicana autobiography is not limited solely to written works. In fact, I believe we can read autobiographical tendencies in art and film as well. Autobiography is an interesting subject because it allows us to ask
questions like the following: Why do you want to write about ourselves? And why do we choose to write what you write or film what we film or paint what we paint? Why do we include some things and leave out others? These kinds of questions help us to understand what Chicana autobiographers are trying to say about Chicana and Chicano culture. What kind of critiques are they offering and exactly how do they accomplish these critiques through autobiographical practice?
    This course will be based in Chicana thought and cultural production. We will read works by Chicana theorists, historians, essayists, poets and novelists. We will also look at work by Chicana artists and filmmakers. Some of these writers and artists may include: Gloria Anzaldúa, Cherrie Moraga, Pat Mora, Norma Cantú, Yolanda López, Lourdes Portillo, Cleofas Jaramillo, Jovita González, etc. By the end of the course, I hope that we will all have a new understanding of this aspect of Chicana/o cultural production. Fulfills A & S Group V Requirement for Humanities.

Ch St 393. 025                             Latino/a Identity & Schools 
Dr. Ruth Galván                                                        Call # 14001
This course focuses on the cultural, linguistic, historical and contemporary identity construction of Latinas and Latinos in the United States through a cross-disciplinary approach that draws from literature, visual arts, music and the fields of sociology, history, and anthropology, in order to understand how Latino identities are constructed, used, dismissed, and/ or appropriated in the school systems.  We will draw from and use various modalities-such as music, poetry, literature, visual arts-and theoretical tools, such as, Chicano/a studies, cultural studies, women’s studies and literary criticism to explore Latino identities.  From our exploration of Latino identities we will also examine a number of ethnographic studies focusing on the Latino/o experience in schooling. Not Applicable to A& S Groups.