Neither Here nor There: Latinos in the U.S.

elective courses

Classroom

Exploration of Latinos in the US and the complexities of competing identities of (not) belonging impacted by differences of histories and

origins, as well as language(s), race/ethnicity, class, gender, and sexual orientation.

The course will explore the Latino struggle of belonging, or not belonging, to the mythic U.S. melting pot. The course engages with the

complexity of the Latin American & Caribbean Diaspora in the US as a problem of being both/and as well as neither/nor in terms of how

the US and the countries of origin view them, and how they negotiate this space in terms of race, ethnicity, country of origin, and cultural

variables including linguistic, gender, sexuality, religion, and class. The difficulty of finding an identity, a locus, and the various modes of

adaptation and adoption will be explored through cultural productions which attempt to articulate the state of (not) belonging. We will also

look at the complexities of (im)migration and the dissimilar processes by which different groups within the Diaspora have come to be part

of the US narrative. We will examine the difference between Latino/Hispanic/Chicano and variations within those groups. We will also have

an opportunity to converse with some authors and filmmakers.

Practical Info:

• The readings are selected short stories, poems, fragments available through the library, as well as via pdf in Google drive.

• All readings are in English (with some Spanish words) and the films are either in English, a mix of English/Spanish (Spanglish), or

Spanish with English subtitles.

• Regular attendance, particularly as this is an accelerated course, is required.

• Participation in the seminar through asking questions and engaging thoughtfully in a conversation is also expected.

• Given the accelerated context of the course, it is hoped that students will do some readings/film viewings during the regular semester in

advance. Dr. Reitsma is happy to meet with students via Zoom prior to the in-person start of the course.

• Course is taught in English.

Films (title/director): (many are not streaming in Poland but are in other

European countries, particularly in Germany)

1. Latin History for Morons. John Leguizamo. Netflix. (streaming in Poland).

2. Born in East LA. Cheech Marin.

3. Bless Me, Última. Carl Franklin.

4. The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo. Philip Rodriguez.

5. Quinceañera. Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland.

6. The Milagro Beanfield War. Robert Redford.

7. Real Women Have Curves. Patricia Cardoso. (available streaming in Poland)

8. The Garden Left Behind. Flavio Alves.

9. Nobody’s Watching. Julia Solomonoff.

10. La Mission. Peter Bratt.

11. Los Jornaleros/The Day Laborers. Lane Shefter Bishop.

12. I Carry You with Me. Heidi Ewing. (available streaming in Poland)

Excerpts/Fragments from: (please note that ALL readings are short stories, single chapters, excerpts, or fragments –all will be available as

PDF in LMS or GoogleDrive).

1. Gloria Anzaldúa. Borderlands/La Frontera.

2. Cherie Moraga. Loving in the War Years.

3. Ana Castillo. Loverboys. (Short Story: Vatolandia)

4. Rudolfo Anaya. Bless Me, Última.

5. Oscar Zeta Acosta. Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo.

6. Luis J. Rodriguez. Always Running: La vida loca.

7. Michael Nava. Lay Your Sleeping Head.

8. Rigoberto González. Butterfly Boy.

9. Achy Obejas. We Came All the Way from Cuba…? (selected short stories)

10. Esmeralda Santiago. When I was Puerto Rican.

11. Cristina García. Dreaming in Cuban.

12. Julia Álvarez. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents.

13. Junot Díaz. Drown (selected short stories)

14. Sandra Cisneros. Woman Hollering Creek. (selected short stories)

15. Jaime Manrique. Latin Moon in Manhattan.

16. Benjamin Alire Saenz. Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club. (selected short stories)

17. Emanuel Xavier. Selected Poems.

Knowledge:

 Students will add to their knowledge of the significance of cultural studies and religious

studies relative to the variety of religious practices and socio-historic phenomenon of

LatinX in the US through literature and film.

 Students will enhance their knowledge of selected facts and phenomena concerning the

culture of the United States relative to LatinX cultures and cultural productions and

histories navigating these relationships.

 Students will enhance their knowledge of the social specificity of the United States and

how multiculturalism and multi-nationality of its inhabitants condition the dynamics of

social development and potential difficulties in such development. This will include, for

example, an exploration of legal policies regarding immigration, and the cultural

productions of LatinX in the US as they navigate race, class, gender, sexuality, religion.

 Students will enhance their knowledge of cultural products of American culture and

their historical, social, and political contexts, as well as manifestations and processes

characteristic of contemporary cultural, social, and political life in the United States

through literature and film from the LatinX Diaspora perspective.

 Students will enhance their knowledge of major trends and works of American

literature, essential foundations of American literary history that are an integral part of

studying North American culture, as well as theoretical and methodological basics of

literary studies, particularly literature and film related to LatinX peoples.

Skills:

 Students will enhance their ability to interpret works of American literature in the

context of broadly understood American culture, related specifically to LatinX.

 Students will enhance their ability to apply principles of effective communication

necessary in the context of exchange between two or more cultural systems through

participation, interviews, and writing assignments.

 Students will enhance their capacity to acquire and select data from various American

sources, integrate obtained information, interpret it, draw conclusions, formulate

opinions, prepare, and deliver presentations and speeches in English on general/basic

issues in the field of American Studies concerning the United States, as well as prepare

written materials in English.

 Attendance and active Participation (20%)

 Weekly Critical Close Readings (and revisions) (60%) (3 total, 2 pages)

 Final Project / Four Perspectives / Comparative Paper (20%) (4-8 pages)

Grading Scale: Grading scale:

A 95-100

A- 90-94

B+ 87-89

B 83-86

B- 80-82

C+ 77-79

C 73-76

C- 70-72

D 60-69

F below 60 or failure due to absence