Latino/a Transnationalisms
ENGL 279
Fall 2005
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
AMST 278, LAST 279 |
In a world increasingly characterized by global communications, transnational economic relations, and multicultural realities, the literatures produced by (im)migrants and diasporic subjects ¿ rich and poor ¿ acquire a central importance. These texts often lead us to critically rethink notions of cultural difference, citizenship, racial identity, and nationalism. This course demonstrates that the questions raised by transnationalism are not a historically new phenomenon for Latino/as. We will examine the changing ways in which, since the 19th century, various U.S. Latino groups have addressed these concerns in their literatures. We will give special emphasis to the historical contexts that condition the writing of each text. How do these writers critically question the difference between the American ideal of democratic equality and its historical reality? How do they respond to the nationalist ideologies of Manifest Destiny or U.S. expansionism into Latin America, or interrogate the idea of a unified ¿American¿ culture, language, or historical truth? Do these texts extend our understanding of American literature as encompassing a hemispheric literary tradition? The course will examine the constant back-and-forth flows of migrants, money, and culture which historically link Latin America and the United States, specifically with regard to the diasporic communities of Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Dominicans in the U.S. We will explore theories of transnationalism both as a way of broadening our understanding of the historical dynamics of American identity, and also as a way of critiquing the development of increasingly unified structures of political, economic, and cultural control. |
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Essential Capabilities:
Writing, Writing |
| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Lecture/Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AMST)(ENGL)(ENGL-Literature) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
María Amparo Ruiz de Burton, THE SQUATTER AND THE DON (1885)
Américo Paredes, WITH HIS PISTOL IN HIS HAND (1958)
José Antonio Villarreal, POCHO (1959)
Jesus Colon, A PUERTO RICAN IN NEW YORK (1961)
Piri Thomas, DOWN THESE MEAN STREETS (1967)
Tomás Rivera, ¿Y NO SE LO TRAGO LA TIERRA/¿AND THE EARTH DID NOT DEVOUR HIM (1971)
Julia Álvarez, HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENTS (1991)
Cristina García, DREAMING IN CUBAN (1992)
Guillermo Gómez-Peña, DANGEROUS BORDER CROSSERS (1996)
A course reader will include a selection of historical overviews, theoretical essays (Ernest Renan, Stuart Hall, Homi Bhabha, José Limón), poems, and short stories (including Mario Suárez, Luis Rafael Sánchez, Abraham Rodriguez, Sandra Cisneros, Ana Lydia Vega, et al.). The course will also screen the films The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez, El Norte, Alambrista, Crossover Dreams, Mixed Feelings, and Maria Full of Grace.
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Examinations and Assignments:
One short paper (6-7 pp.) and one longer final paper (10-13 pp.); class presentation. |
| Instructor(s): González,Bill Johnson Times: ..T.R.. 02:40PM-04:00PM; Location: BTFDA413; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 35 | | SR major: 1 | JR major: 15 | | |
| Seats Available: 10 | GRAD: 9 | SR non-major: 0 | JR non-major: 5 | SO: 5 | FR: 0 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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