Topics in Latina and Latino Text and Representation (393-0-4)
Topic
Latinx NY: Literature & Culture in Urban Space(s)
Instructors
Deisi Cuate
Meeting Info
Locy Hall 314: Thurs 1:00PM - 3:50PM
Overview of class
This course will explore the twentieth- and twenty-first century literary and cultural production of Latinxs in New York City, with emphasis on how particular neighborhoods cultural institutions, and informal spaces have shaped intra-ethnic relationships, representation, and identity formation among different Latinx communities. We will seek to answer the following question: how have Latinx social relations in given spaces been created and performed in NYC? To answer that question, we will examine how Latinxs in NYC have engaged with their social, political, and physical environments through poetry, short stories, fiction, and film. We will focus on the history of the five boroughs and their role in constructing Latinx identities, as well as how Latinx communities have constructed space(s) within the city. Space can be understood as not only the buildings, transportation systems, and communication networks that make up a city, but also as the processes of subjection and subject formation that shape how a place like NYC is understood, defined, and experienced by its residents and nonresidents alike. While our focus will be NYC, we will consider how the lessons we learn about identity and urban space might be applied to other case studies. Although Puerto Ricans and Dominicans are the two most visible Latinx communities in NYC, we will also explore works by writers of other ethnic backgrounds, such as Colombian and Guatemalan Americans, to examine how Latinxs of different national origins have formed community within the city space. By the end of the course students will be introduced to a wide-ranging body of Latinx literature, understand Latinx cultural productions in relation to influential theories of space and place, and learn about the impact of Latinx cultural production on a major U.S. city. Students will be expected to produce a final paper that will showcase how the dynamics of gender, class, race, migration/immigration, assimilation, and colonialism have shaped urban Latinx experiences, and in turn, how Latinx cultural productions have shaped the image and understanding of NYC.
Class Materials (Required)
Primary Texts:
• Algarín, Miguel. Love is Hard Work: Memorias Loisaida Poems. Scribner, 1997. (Selections)
• Cepeda, Raquel. How I Became Latina: Bird of Paradise. Atria Books. 2013
• Lozada-Olivia, Melissa. Peluda. Button Poetry, 2017.
• Perdomo, Willie. Smoking Lovely. Rattapallax P, 2004.
• Pietri, Pedro. Pedro Pietri: Selected Poetry Puerto Rican Obituary. City Lights Publishers, 2015. (Selections)
• Piñero, Miguel. Outlaw: The Collected Works of Miguel Piñero. Arte Publico P, 2010. (Selections)
• Mohr, Nicholasa. Rituals of Survival. Arte Publico P, 1985.
Class Attributes
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area