Studies in American Culture (310-0-40)

Topic

Coming of Age in Latinx Studies: Scholars, Writer

Instructors

Merida M Rua
Mérida M. Rúa is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research and teaching focus on the history and politics of communities of color in U.S. urban life. Her current book project, "Shouldering Age in the Big City," chronicles the lives of older adult Latinas and Latinos to examine not only how they talk about and make meaning of their experiences and their environments as aging persons, but also the ways in which these frames of reference have and continue to guide their actions and inactions. Rúa's research program bridges areas of inquiry — Latinx/a/o studies, American studies, urban studies, and aging studies — typically segmented in scholarly literature, social policy, and public discourse. In so doing, it disrupts dominant narratives of U.S. cities as social and political spaces polarized between black and white and offers more nuanced attention to age and aging in examinations of urban social and spatial practices.

Meeting Info

Parkes Hall 224: Tues, Thurs 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

This seminar centers age as a significant social and analytical category in the study of everyday life and creative expressions within self-identified Latina, Latino, and Latinx communities. Students will engage with a variety of materials, including historical studies and narratives, ethnographic texts, nonfiction essays, short stories, visual art, and popular culture. Our objective is to question common assumptions about how individuals and communities experience growing up and growing old. Discussions will highlight political and economic dimensions that affect life trajectories within communities, as well as how other categories of social difference inform ideas about age and age relations.

Learning Objectives

Students will develop an understanding of aging as both a physical process and a historical and sociocultural phenomenon.
They will examine Latinas, Latinos, and Latinxs within the broader framework of racial and ethnic studies, situating their shared and divergent experiences alongside those of other racialized communities.
Students will explore an experiment with the interdisciplinary framework of Latina, Latino, and Latinx Studies, which combines both social science and humanities-based approaches to historical and contemporary issues, as well as artistic, cultural, and performative dimensions.

Class Materials (Required)

Matt De la Peña, Last Stop on Market Street (2015)

Angie Cruz, How Not to Drown in A Glass of Water (2022)

Readings on canvas

Class Attributes

Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration -- Reserved for American Studies Majors until the end of preregistration, after which time enrollment will be open to everyone.