Latino Studies Learning Objectives
1) Through the analysis of a wide array of Latino cultural productions (literature, film, music, visual arts, socio-political studies), students will be introduced to Latino Studies as a field, its history from the Civil Rights era to the present, its spaces of engagement (community, academy, political, cultural), and main theoretical contributions.
2) Students will complicate their understanding of US history, geography, and dominant narratives about Latinos through the study of heterogeneous Latin American and Latino experiences of coloniality, migration, and exile, and the realities of lived experience in borderland and/or transnational contact zones.
3) Students will come to know Latinos as subjects and producers of knowledge through the exploration of diverse and intersectional Latino/a/x identities. Students will engage questions of how indigeneity, race, class, gender, language, and nationality shape negotiations of Latino identities. Through their understanding of diverse Latino experiences and identities, students will consider the tension between calls for strategic Latino unity and the distinct needs of its heterogeneous communities.
4) Through the study of public policy, political struggles and strategies of the past and present, students will critically evaluate structural inequalities in the US and compare the experiences of Latinos with those of other historically minoritized ethnic groups. Through engagement with Latino leaders, community members, and organizations, students will gain understanding of local and regional Latino histories and lived, daily experiences.
5) Throughout their course of study, students will develop critical powers of observation and strengthen their ability to think, write and act. By engaging in thoughtful dialogue about issues of race, ethnicity, class, gender, language, and multiple categories of human diversity, students will be challenged to examine their own places of enunciation, reflect on what to do with the knowledge they obtain, and consider ways to advocate for a more just and peaceful society.