LA-150 Introduction to Latinx Cultures in the US

LASC Categories: TLC, USW

This is an introductory course that discusses the Latinx experience in the US. Students examine issues of language, identity, culture, and immigration among Latinx communities in the US. Students explore the history of Latin American diaspora communities in the US in order to identify cultural traits and identity marks. By discussing these topics, students analyze the particular significance and contribution of Latinx people and their relationship with their countries of origin. In order to achieve that goal, students examine and compare different types of sources including official documents, media releases, films, and podcasts. The class will be conducted in English.

Other or on demand and every year. 3 Credits

LA-350 Immigration, Dreamers, and Latinx Youth Issues

Students explore issues regarding Latinx immigration, citizenship, and the fate of Latinx youth in the US. Students examine US immigration policies and reforms focusing on Latinx populations and the current immigration debate. Through newspaper articles, scholarly articles, and films, students analyze and discuss relevant topics such as constitutional regulations related to documented and undocumented Latinx immigrants; Visa and Green Card issues, and access to education for young Latinx populations, including DREAMers and DACA students. Class discussions include legal, economic, and political issues related to immigration policies and the impact these have on youth. The class will be conducted in English.

Alternating and every 2-3 years. 3 Credits

LA-355 Latin American Fiction

This course is designed to familiarize students with Latin American works of fiction and to provide them with an overview of literature written throughout the region during the twentieth century. The course will focus on narrative and will discuss a variety of literary movements, aesthetics, and techniques such as realism, fantastic literature, magical realism, crime fiction, and postmodernism. Authors include Horacio Quiroga, María Luisa Bombal, Gabriel García Márquez, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Julio Cortázar, Rosario Ferré, Mario Vargas Llosa, among others. The class will be conducted in English.

Alternating and every 2-3 years. 3 Credits

LA-357 Latinx Podcasts

LASC Categories: USW, DIV

Prerequisites: EN-102.

In this seminar we will explore a wide range of topics regarding the Latinx experience in the United States. While listening to curated Latinx podcasts, students will examine issues of language, identity, culture, immigration, generational gaps, healthcare, politics, and economics among Latinx communities in the US. Latinx podcasts have become a tool to being in sync with Latinx and Latin American current issues, providing those who rely on the internet to obtain information with an opportunity to access news rather than traditional media. We will also analyze news articles in order to make connections, criticize, and identify informative trends.

Other or on demand and every 2-3 years. 3 Credits

LA-360 Survey of Latin American Cinema

Organized both chronologically and nationally, the course focuses on clusters of Latin American films (both feature and documentary) that have intervened in a series of social and cultural debates: colonization, migration, modernity, tradition, inequality, national utopias, etc. Students develop their skills in film analysis as they examine the specific role of film in representing, contesting, or defining questions of national, personal, and cultural identity in the region. Class discussions and assignments familiarize students with the characteristics of the distinct film aesthetics and socio-political and cultural contexts in which these works were produced. The class will be conducted in English.

Other or on demand and every 2-3 years. 3 Credits