Latino History (218-0-1)
Instructors
Geraldo Cadava
847/491-3152
Harris Hall - Room 210
Meeting Info
Kresge Cent. Hall 2-380 Kaplan: Tues, Thurs 9:30AM - 10:50AM
Overview of class
What a time to be teaching and learning about Latinos (Latinas, Latinxs, Latines) in the United
States and their long history here. The 2024 election, the 2020 Census, the border, Hispanic
Heritage Month, depictions in popular culture. There's so much to say!
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 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 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, 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, students 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 learn about 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 by reading literature,
watching films, evaluating primary source documents, and placing them in a historical
context.
5. To value and participate in a learning community, to demonstrate immersion in a culture of
scholarship, and to appreciate the benefits of learning alongside and in conversation with
others.
Teaching Method
Lecture 3 50-Minute lectures weekly
Evaluation Method
Attendance and Participation (25%). Midterm Essay 1 (20%). Midterm Essay 2 (20%). Final Project (35%).
Class Materials (Required)
Research reports from the Pew Hispanic Center
- Primary source documents from all periods of Latino history, including the writings of
Simón Bolívar, José Martí, José Vasconcelos, César Chávez, and others
- Films including the PBS documentary Latino Americans, Salt of the Earth (1954),
Sanctuary (1983), Born in East L.A. (1987), and In the Heights (2021)
- Selections from Major Problems in Latina/o History, Harvest of Empire, Inventing
Latinos, and The Defectors.
Class Notes
History Area of Concentration: Americas
Class Attributes
Historical Studies Distro Area
Associated Classes
DIS - Kresge Centennial Hall 2-410: Fri 10:00AM - 10:50AM
DIS - Harris Hall L28: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM
DIS - Harris Hall L28: Fri 12:00PM - 12:50PM