Topics in Latin American and Caribbean Studies (391-0-24)
Topic
Latina & Latino History
Instructors
Geraldo L Cadava
847/491-3152
Harris Hall - Room 210
Meeting Info
University Hall 121: Mon, Wed, Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Overview of class
Course title: Latina and Latino History
The growth of the Latino population has transformed the United States and has led to heightened debates about their political power, cultural influence, citizenship, civil rights, and ethnic and racial categorization. Yet as the 2020 election demonstrated, many Americans still don't really understand who Latinos are—or who Latinos have been, and will become. While the increased attention to Latinos may feel "new," Latino communities have played a pivotal role in U.S. history for centuries. In this course, we will explore the 500-year history of Latinos in the United States—and, indeed, across the Americas—from the 16th century through the early 21st century. In its broadest sense, Latino History offers a reinterpretation of United States history that focuses on race, migration, labor, and empire. It is also the history of a community—or several communities, including Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Dominican Americans, Central Americans, and Cuban Americans, and others—that represents a growing percentage of the U.S. population as a whole, and one that will increasingly influence the politics, social life, culture, and economy of the United States. Although we will focus on the United States, we also will examine the movement of Latino peoples within and between the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. We will use a variety of media, including literature, film, and music, as well as more traditional historical interpretations. Ultimately, you will gain a deeper understanding of the issues and histories that bring Latinos together, those that continue to divide them, their multiple and shifting racial classification, and the long struggles for equality and belonging that have animated their histories.
Learning Objectives
1. To develop a working understanding of Latino History and its broad themes, in order to understand how Latinos have shaped, are shaping, and will continue to shape the past, present, and future of the United States. 2.To develop historical skills (including critical engagement, facility at formal writing, expressing ideas verbally, defending or deconstructing an argument by using evidence from the past) that will benefit students in any later career. 3. To understand how Latino History fits within the broader field of Latino Studies, and how historians of Latino populations in the United States may or may not approach their subjects in ways that are similar or different compared with other Latino Studies scholars. 4. To learn creative and interdisciplinary approaches to historical thinking. 5. To value and participate in a learning community, and to demonstrate immersion in a culture of scholarship.
Teaching Method
Lecture
Evaluation Method
Attendance and Participation (25%). Midterm Essay 1 (20%). Midterm Essay 2 (20%). Final Project (35%).
Class Materials (Required)
All the assigned readings will be uploaded on Canvas
Class Notes
Concentration: Americas
Class Attributes
Historical Studies Distro Area
Associated Classes
DIS - Harris Hall L06: Thurs 10:00AM - 10:50AM
DIS - Kresge Centennial Hall 2-331: Thurs 11:00AM - 11:50AM
DIS - Kresge Centennial Hall 2-325: Thurs 1:00PM - 1:50PM