Topics in Latina and Latino Social and Political Issues (392-0-2)
Topic
Memory Mourning, and Protest
Instructors
Elvia Mendoza
Crowe Hall, Room 1144
Meeting Info
University Library 5722: Wed 1:00PM - 3:50PM
Overview of class
In this course, we critically explore the interconnections between memory and mourning and the ways they inform acts of protest from the public to the intimate, from the individual to the collective, and from the historical to the contemporary. Moving away from authoritative regimes and narratives that medicalize or pathologize mourning, we will engage with the work of Black and Brown scholars, philosophers, activists, and artists who conceptualize mourning as a foundation for dissent in the pursuit of actualizing other possible worlds. We will draw from different forms of texts such as scholarly writings, murals, novels, film, and curations to interrogate the complexities of how memory and mourning are embodied, expressed, and mobilized to shape individual and collective forms of protest and refusal in confronting enduring colonial legacies of violence. Our approach will be transnational and diasporic in its scope so that we can explore how memory and affect is transmitted across time and space.
Learning Objectives
• Through a range of assigned readings, mini-lectures, guest speakers, group presentations, written, visual assignments, and field tripes, students will gain a critical understanding of how memory and mourning are intimately linked, and how they shape and inform identity formation.
• Students will also be able to articulate a more expansive understanding of the work of mourning and how it informs of acts of protest, specifically as it relates to Latinx and other communities of color.
Class Materials (Required)
• The weight of all things by Sandra Benitez
• Assigned readings provided via canvas and library book reserves
Class Attributes
Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
Interdisciplinary Distro-rules apply
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area
Ethics & Values Distro Area