American Studies 206 - Major Dialogues in Latinx and Latin American Studies

(Offered as LLAS 200 and AMST 206) In this course students will become familiar with the major critical dialogues that have animated Latinx and Latin American Studies, addressing a wide range of issues from pre-Conquest times to the present. Each week students will focus on specific questions such as: Does Latin America have a common culture? Is Latin America part of the Western world? Is Latinx a race or an ethnicity? Is U.S. Latinx identity rooted in Latin America or the United States? Are Latin American nations post-colonial? Was the modern concept of race invented in the Caribbean at the time of the Conquest? The diverse viewpoints around such questions will provide the main focus of the reading assignments, which will average two or three articles per week. Students will learn a methodology for analyzing, contextualizing, and making arguments that they can then use to develop their own positions in the field's critical dialogues. 

Limited to 20 students.  Alicia J. Mireles Christoff

How to handle overenrollment: Priority given to LLAS Majors and first-year students

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Expectations include close reading, discussions, debates, and writing short papers. This class will require several short oral reading presentations, one longer formal oral presentation, and an analytical essay of approximately 7-10 pages. For the final projects, students will have latitude to prepare something more free-form, artistic, literary, or visual if it is desired and always in consultation with the professor.