Fall 2006
Sonoma State University
Chicano And Latino Studies 339
Dr. Ron L—pez
Phone: 664-3039
Email: ronald.lopez@sonoma.edu
Office: Carson Hall 63
Office Hours: Monday - Thursday, 3pm - 3:50 (and by appointment)
Class Time and Place: Monday and Wednesday, 4pm - 5:15pm, Salazar Hall, Room 2020
339 Chicanos/Latinos in US Society (3)
The impact of American social policies on Chicanos and Latinos. Policy areas will include: children and families, health, and education. Major court decisions and public policies on bilingual and multicultural education, equal employment opportunity, immigration, and affirmative action will be reviewed and analyzed. Primary and secondary sources will be examined in light of historical and social outcomes. This course will focus on Chicanos/Latinos in California every other semester in conjunction with the California Cultural Studies degree.
Satisfies upper-division ethnic studies in GE, category D1 (Individual and Society).
1. U.S. Latino Issues
Rodolfo F. Acu–a, Greenwood Press, 2003 ISBN: 0313322112
2. Latinos: Remaking America
Marcelo M. Suarez-Orozco, Mariela Paez (Editors), UC Press 2002 ISBN: 0520234871
3. Massacre of the Dreamers: Essays on Xicanisma
Ana Castillo, Plume/Penguin 1995 ISBN: 0452274249
Additional Optional Texts (others texts will be suggested upon request)
ÒÁMi Raza Primero!Ó (My People First!), by Ernesto Ch‡vez
Between Borders: Essays on Mexicana/Chicana History, Adelaida R. Del Castillo, editor
From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in Twentieth Century America, Vicki L. Ruiz
Mexican American Labor: 1790-1990, Juan G—mez-Qui–ones
Memories of Chicano History: The Life and Narrative of Bert Corona, Mario T. Garc’a
Anything but Mexican: Chicanos in Contemporary Los Angeles, Rodolfo F. Acu–a
Chicana Feminist Thought: The Basic Historical Writings, Alma M. Garc’a, editor
Community/Concerns Essay 5 points A 90 - 100
Foco Presentation 20 points B 80 - 89
Midterm #1 20 points C 70 - 79
Term paper 20 points D 60 - 69
Final Paper 20 points F 0 - 59
Attendance, participation 15 points
No Cell Phones
All Cellular telephones, Blackberries, Pagers, walkie-talkies, Electronic devices (radios, music players, etc) or other gadgets must be turned off completely before students enter the classroom.
A Note on Reading
Reading is a practice that is common to all great civilizations. Most mentioned are the ancient civilizations of the Middle East and North Africa. However, many Indigenous American civilizations (the Maya, Aztecs, Teotihuacanos, Toltecas, Soque, and Incas, among others) also independently produced systems of writing and mathematics, with the Maya independently producing and applying the concept of Zero to architecture, cosmology, and calendar systems). Still, writing is a learned behavior. It is a skill that requires regular use to maintain efficiency. You need to read your assignments regularly and to have read the material by the beginning of the week for which it is assigned, and be ready to comment upon or ask questions about the material.
On Attendance and Participation
Your attendance and participation is necessary not only for your education, but is important for your understanding of the material and thus your grade. Those students who really want a "good" grade will not miss class. Students absent the first day may be dropped. Students who are repeatedly absent may be dropped. However, it is the studentsÕ own responsibility to drop the class. Absences, even when due to emergency, and habitual or disruptive lateness will affect your grade.
Email Group
An Email group run through the Campus WebCT or through a Yahoo email group will be used for this class. Please email the group at CALS-339-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to become a member of the group. I will give further information in class. This group is only to be used for course related communication and discussion, and will be used to email exams and relevant material, when necessary. Material of a personal, religious, or commercial nature (and cute ÔforwardsÕ) are not acceptable. More information on WebCT later.
The Active, Empowered Student
This course is based on the premise that the active and empowered student is central to any successful pedagogy. As an empowered student, you should strive to become a co-equal teacher-learner of the material, to take ownership and responsibility for your learning experience, and to engage, directly, with the rest of the class in an open discussion of the material assigned.
Current Events and Additional (heretofore unassigned) Material
During the Semester, some assignments and readings may be modified, or added to. In particular, the class may be asked to discuss current events and new findings. Material will be added to the WebCT page (under construction) for the class that pertains to current issues facing the Chican@/Latin@ community. Students will also be directed to read material that is available from a variety of on-line sources. A list of these will be made available on the WebCT page for the course, when it is available.
Classroom Decorum is Based on Common Sense - and These Rules
ÒEl respeto derecho ajeno es la paz – respect for your neighbor is peaceÓ (Benito Ju‡rez) Please show respect and courtesy for fellow students. Cursing at or insulting other students, or using sexist, racist, homophobic, or derogatory language, will not be tolerated, will affect your grade, and will probably result in the offending student being dropped from the class.
This is your first week paper. You are to write a paper of three (3) pages. It should be typed/printed on a computer or typewriter. In this essay you are to describe yourself and your community. What kind of community do you think of as your ÔprimaryÕ or Ômost importantÕ community. This may be your church, an Ôon-lineÕ community, your peer (friendship) group, your local neighborhood or barrio, or your family. Your community may be many things. Please be clear and answer the following questions. What is your community? Who are you within your community? How do others perceive you, how would they describe you? Please be detailed. Do as well on this assignment as you can. You should turn this assignment in on the second day of class. If you enter the class late, you must turn the assignment in on the following class day or you may be dropped from the class. Students who do not turn in this paper in a timely manner will fail the class.
This assignment is designed to encourage all students to take the role of equally participating teacher-learners in a dynamic process of learning. The class will be divided into groups or Focos of 3 (ideally) or 4 students. Some reorganization may be necessary if students drop. Starting the Third week, each Foco will take the assigned reading, analyze it as a group, and prepare a presentation to the rest of the class. This Foco will then participate, with the instructor, in leading the class discussion on this issue. The Foco will also submit a written report, analyzing the issue, their presentation, and the classÕs ability to participate in the discussion. In some cases, the Foco will, with the approval of the instructor, add a reading to the class for that week. This must be done at least two weeks before the day on which the presentation is to be made. Your report must be turned in both as a Òhard copyÓ and to turnitin.com. Additional instructions will be given later.
The paper must be between 5 full pages and 7 full pages, on a topic related to a contemporary issues relating to the Chican@ / Latin@ community. The paper may be historical, sociological, or policy related, and may also have a strong creative component. A list of potential topics will be provided. The steps you should follow are: 1) choosing a topic, identifying between 5 and 10 possible sources for the paper, submitting your topic and at least three of your sources, and turning in the final paper. You are strongly encouraged to use the writing center on the ground floor of the library while preparing your paper. You may also bring your paper to me during office hours. Each student must complete the paper to pass the class. The paper topic is due on Tuesday October 25, but you are encouraged to choose your topic early. Your paper is due on Tuesday November 22. Students will turn their work in Òhard copy and, if you are using a multimedia presentation, as a digital copy (via email to ronald.lopez or on a CD). Additional instructions will be given in class. This is a required assignment. Your paper must be on a topic different from your Foco presentation.
The midterm and Final Exam will be a mixed exam, combining an essay with short answer and/or multiple-choice questions.
Weekly Readings
Please note that this list of readings below is tentative: you will be notified of changes, supplementary materials and additional optional materials as the semester proceeds. Changes will be made at least two weeks in advance. Several ÔspacersÕ exist because some issues may take more than one week to cover. . The exam deadlines and assignment deadlines listed below, however, will not change.
Week 1: August 23
Introduction to the class
Week 2: August 28, 30
Latinos Remaking America: Introduction, Chapter 1
Massacre of the Dreamers: Introduction
US Latino Issues: Introduction, Chapter 1: Race Classification; pp 1 - 40
Massacre of the Dreamers: Introduction
Week 3: Sept 6 Latino Diversity Sept. 4 - Labor Day Holiday
Latinos Remaking America: Chapter 2, 3, and Commentary
Massacre of the Dreamers: Chapter 1
Week 4: Sept 11, 13 Assimilation and Acculturation in Latino Life
Latinos Remaking America: Chapters 4, 5, 6, and Commentary
US Latino Issues: Chapter 2 Assimilation
Week 5: Sept 18, 20
Latinos Remaking America: Chapters 15, 16, 17
US Latino Issues: Chapter 3: Bilingual Education
Optional: Selections from Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez
Latinos Remaking America: Chapters 8, 9
US Latino Issues: Chapter 4: Open Borders
ÒThe Hispanic ChallengeÓ by Samuel Huntington, in Foreign Policy
Week 7: Oct 4 Affirmative Action
October 2 - and perhaps October 4– Dr. L—pez will be off campus
Latinos Remaking America: Chapters 18, 19
US Latino Issues: Chapter 5: Affirmative Action
Recent electoral and court decisions should be included
Additional readings and optional readings to be announced
Week 8: Oct
9, 11 Oct.
9 Columbus Indigenous PeoplesÕ Day observance
Latinos Remaking America: Chapter 6
Massacre of the Dreamers: Chapter 2
Additional Materials to be announced
Week 9: Oct 16, 18 Latino Health and the Epidemiological Paradox
Latinos Remaking America: Chapters 10, 11
US Latino Issues: Chapter 7: Education & Health Care for Undoc. Immigrants
Optional: La Nueva California, by David-Hayes Bautista
Additional Optional Materials to be announced
Week 10: Oct 23, 25 Families and Culture
Latinos Remaking America: Chapters 12, 13, 14 and Commentary
Latinos Remaking America: Chapters 20, 21, Commentary
US Latino Issues: Chapter 8: Amnesty
Week 12: Nov 6, 8
Latinos Remaking America: Chapter 3
US Latino Issues: 9: US Military and Political Presence in Cuba
Week 13: Nov 13, 15
Latinos Remaking America: to be announced
US Latino Issues: 10 US Military Bases in Puerto Rico
Strongly encouraged: Selections from Latino/a Thought, by Vazquez and Torres
Additional Readings to be announced
Week 14: Nov 20 Nov. 22 - 24 Thanksgiving Holiday (campus closed)
Massacre of the Dreamers: Chapters 5, 6, 7
Additional Readings to be announced
Week 15: Nov 27, 29 Final Evaluation/Exam Question Passed Out
Massacre of the Dreamers: Chapters 8,9,10
Additional Readings to be announced
Week 16: Dec 4, 6 Review and final discussions
Week 17: Dec 13 Final Evaluation/Exam Due 5 - 6:50