English 175 - Latinx Poetics

(Offered as ENGL 175 and LLAS 175) This course approaches Latinx poetics from two angles: we will read poems written by U.S. Latinx writers and cultural theory on the shared and divergent experiences of people of Latin American origin or descent in the U.S. Is there a poetics of being Latinx? No prior experience with poetry is required to take this course; rather than treating the study of poetry as elite and forbidding, together we will explore poetry as an encounter with beauty, a brush with the strangeness of language, and a way to think more acutely about how ideology enters us and informs our own contradictory experiences of moving through our “world of wealthy thieves,” to quote a line by Aracelis Girmay. Students will respond to the poetry we read through both critical and creative writing. Experience reading across English and Spanish very welcome, but not required. Authors may include: Urayoán Noel, Yesenia Montilla, Cynthia Cruz, Diannely Antigua, Natalie Scenters-Zapico, José Esteban Muñoz, and others. 

Limited to 20 students. Spring semester. Professor Mireles Christoff.

How to handle overenrollment: Preference given to first- and second-years. If over-enrolled, students will be selected by lottery.

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: close reading of literary texts; critical and creative writing; dialogue concerning complicated topics