CALS 458
204 Nichols, Tuesday and Thursday, 3-4:50pm
Professor Patricia Kim-Rajal
NH 208, 664-3294, patricia.kim-rajal@sonoma.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday 1-2pm, Wednesday 4:30-6:30pm and by appointment
Course Description
This course serves as an introduction to the Chicano and Latino Studies major and will involve students in a dialogue about the most salient curriculum and research issues facing CALS teachers and scholars. We will begin the course with an overview of the history of Chicano and Latino Studies and then move on to a discussion on the challenges and consequences of globalization on the everyday lives of Chicanos and Latinos. We will examine the global dimensions of cultural production and consumption and consider the future of national and cultural identities within such a global context.
This seminar will also introduce students to key issues in information literacy and cover academic research practices in order to prepare students for upper division coursework. Students will complete both an information literacy assignment portfolio and an original research proposal to demonstrate their skills in this area.
Course Objectives
Over the course of the semester students should:
Attendance and Participation 10%
Information Literacy Portfolio 45%
Response Paper 25%
Research Proposal 20%
Attendance and Participation
The course will be mainly directed as a seminar discussion. Thus, it is imperative that you attend class on a regular basis having completed the readings in a timely manner so that you are able to participate in class discussions.
Information Literacy Portfolio
Given the wealth of data that is available to us nowadays, particularly on the Internet, information literacy is becoming a crucial skill. In order to develop and hone this ability, students will complete a series of exercises in the library to be collected into a portfolio that will be evaluated by the instructor toward the end of the semester.
Response Paper
This will consist of a short (4-5 pages) essay written in response to the theories of globalization that we will be discussing this semester. It will be your chance to assess how globalization has impacted your life and that of your family and community. More information on this will follow as the semester progresses.
Research Proposal
Using the information gathered while compiling the information literacy portfolio, each student will draft an original research proposal complete with an abstract, thesis statement, outline and annotated bibliography to be turned during our final meeting time.
Individuals needing special accommodations should contact me during the early part of the course so that suitable arrangements can be made.
There are three textbooks for this class, which may be purchased at North Light Books (550 E. Cotati Avenue):
In addition to this, a list of required readings can be downloaded through the WebCT CALS 458 website: http://webct.sonoma.edu:8900/webct/public/home.pl. Throughout the syllabus these readings are marked by a [W].
Weekly Assignments
Week 1 Introduction to the course. The Birth of Chicana/o Studies.
8/22 Introduction. What is Chicano and Latino Studies?
Assignment: Exercises 1 and 2.
8/24 AmŽrico Paredes With His Pistol In His Hand (excerpts) [W].
Week 2 The Importance of Research
8/29 Flores, Lauro. (2001) ÒThirty Years of Chicano and Chicana StudiesÓ
in Color-Line to Borderlands: The Matrix of American Ethnic Studies edited by Johnella E. Butler. Seattle: University of Washington Press, p. 203- 225 [W].
8/31 Booth, chapters 1 and 2
Week 3 Finding and Evaluating Sources
9/5 Booth, chapter 3
Assignment: Exercises 3, 4 and 5
9/7 Booth, chapter 4
Assignment: Research Topic
Week 4 The History of Globalization/Doing Effective Library Searches
9/12 How To Succeed at Globalization, p. 1-55
Excerpts from The Communist Manifesto by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx [W].
9/14 Assignment: Exercises 6a and 6b
Week 5 Neoliberalism and the Global Economy
9/19 How To Succeed at Globalization, p. 56-76
What is Neoliberalism? by Elizabeth Martinez and Arnoldo Garcia [W].
A Short History of Neoliberalism by Susan George [W].
9/21 Booth, chapter 5
Assignment: Exercises 7 and 8
Week 6 Globalization Today
9/26 How To Succeed at Globalization, p. 77-123
Assignment: Exercises 9, 10 and 13
9/28 Booth, chapter 5
Assignment: Exercise 11 and Exercise 12 (Exercise 12 is not due until 11/7)
Week 7 How Globalization is Changing the World/Finding Expert Sources
10/3 Friedman, Thomas L. (1999) ÒA Manifesto For the Fast WorldÉÓ in the New York Times Magazine, March 28 [W].
Palast, Greg. (2001) Excerpts from ÒSell the Lexus, Burn the Olive Tree: Globalization and Its DiscontentsÓ in The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. New York: Plume; p. 143-146 and p. 152-158 [W].
10/5 Assignment: Exercise 13
Week 8 Is Globalization Inevitable?/Government Statistics
10/10 How To Succeed at Globalization, p. 124-197
10/12 Assignment: Exercises 14 and 15
Week 9 Latinos and Globalization
10/17 Takacs, Stacy. (1999) ÒAlien-Nation: Immigration, National Identity and TransnationalismÓ in Cultural Studies 13(4): p. 591-620 [W].
10/19 Levitt, Peggy and Rafael de la Dehesa. (2003) ÒTransnational Migration and the Redefinition of the State: Variations and Explanations.Ó Ethnic and Racial Studies, 26(4): p. 587-611 [W].
Week 10 Making an Argument/Response Paper
10/24 Booth, chapter 7
10/26 No class. RESPONSE PAPER due in CALS office no later than 5pm.
Week 11 Claims
10/31 Booth, chapter 8
11/2 No class. Work on your annotated bibliography (Exercise 12).
Week 12 Reasons and Evidence
11/7 Booth, chapter 9
Exercise 12/Annotated Bibliography due IN CLASS today
11/9 No class. Work on your argument (thesis statement) and be prepared to share it with the class on Tuesday (bring printed copies).
Week 13 Acknowledgments and Warrants
11/14 Booth, chapter 10
10/16 Booth, chapter 11
Week 14 Thanksgiving Break
10/21 Thanksgiving break. No class.
Week 15 Preparing Your Research Proposal
11/28 Booth, chapter 12 and ÒQuick Tip: OutliningÓ (p. 187)
11/30 No class. Work on your outline.
Week 16 What is an abstract anyway?
12/5 Bring a copy of your outline to class today.
Booth, chapter 13 (esp. Quick Tip on titles and abstracts)
12/7 In class presentations of proposed research topics
12/14 Finals Week: RESEARCH PROPOSAL IN CALS OFFICE BY 5PM