Critical Social Inquiry 0217 - Remapping Las Americas

Utilizing an interdisciplinary framework, this course will examine Latin@ communities in the United States, focusing on their historical, social, political and economic formations and practices. Drawing also from an Ethnic Studies perspective, we will examine what constitutes Latina/o Studies, what its intellectual goals are, and unravel its overlapping, yet distinguishing mission with Latin American area studies. To acquire a historical understanding of Latin@ histories within the United States, we will first review some historical literature and then attempt to identify comparative inter-Latin@ formations across multiple communities. We will then study particular themes and issues, such as identity politics and discourses, new and emerging Latin@ communities in the United States, labor policies, social movements, immigrant labor, and past and current xenophobic policies and practices against Latin@ communities. Throughout the semester we will also discuss how Latin@s are "remapping" the U.S. public sphere through their political, labor, and social practices, among other ways. Finally, as an interdisciplinary seminar, we will benefit from conducting and managing dialogues across multiple disciplines, synthesizing varying perspectives in our investigative inquiries.