Grrrls Our Mothers Warned Us About: Introduction to Latine Feminist Sexualities (230-0-1)

Instructors

Audrey Silvestre

Meeting Info

Parkes Hall 213: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

This course examines Latina sexualities through feminist and queer frameworks, centering refusal as a political practice that unsettles colonial, racial, and gendered regimes of power. We will study social movements, visual artworks, performances, aesthetics, sexual desires, practices of survival, and sonic representations that refuse dominant narratives shaped by colonialism, nationalism, heteropatriarchy, and racial capitalism. These diverse productions of knowledge illuminate how state power, surveillance, borders, racial capitalism, and normative constructions of gender and sexuality shape and are unsettled by Latina/e lived experiences. Grounded in intersectional traditions of Black feminist scholarship, women of color feminism, and queer of color critique, the course examines how Latina sexualities are regulated, represented, and lived, and how refusal functions as a method, ethic, and world-making practice. This course welcomes anyone committed to engaging the course materials with care, respect, and critical openness.

Learning Objectives

What will the student be expected to know by the end of the class?
Identify and explain key concepts from feminist, queer, and queer of color studies related to Latina sexualities, using appropriate terminology in short written and oral assignments.
Describe refusal as a political practice and distinguish it from resistance by referencing examples from course readings, artworks, or media.
Interpret visual, sonic, or performative materials by summarizing their themes and analyzing how they represent gender, sexuality, and power.
Recognize and discuss the role of colonialism, state power, surveillance, and borders in shaping representations and lived experiences of Latina sexualities, using evidence from course materials.
Produce a clear, organized written or creative project that applies course concepts to a specific example, demonstrating engagement with feminist and queer perspectives.

Class Materials (Required)

Readings will be posted on canvas.

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Registration is reserved for Latina and Latino Majors and Minors during pre-registration. Regular registration will be open to all majors/minors after the pre-registration period.