Spring 2024 Course Flyers

MAS 301 introduction to mexican american and latina/o studies MWF 2-3 pm

#39185

CMA 5.190

Alexandra Salazar

Archives are repositories of our collective memories. What happens when certain minoritized individuals and communities do not exist in traditional archives in an extensive way? In this introductory course, we will start from the premise that there are gaps in the archive, particularly around Latine and queer people. We will examine queer Latinx archives by studying oral histories, theories around archiving, fiction, non-fiction narratives, and multimedia. In more specific terms we will use podcasts, queer literature, and digital archives that showcase LGBTQ+ history to explore the following questions: why is it important to archive queer stories?

How have queer histories been archived? What do digital archives offer that is different from non-digital ones?

What can we learn from using oral histories, podcasts, and interviews as methodology? Authors such as Emma Pérez, Saidiya Hartman, Maria Cotera, José Esteban Muñoz, Lorgia García-Peña, and other Ethnic Studies scholars will help us think through these questions. In addition, we will visit LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections and the Harry Ransom Center which are two archives on campus.

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MAS 301 introduction to mexican american and latina/o studies MWF 10-11 am

#39180

UTC 3.112

Julie Minich

In this introductory course, students study the field of Mexican American and Latina/o/x Studies as an interdisciplinary arena of academic inquiry. We examine the historical, political, socioeconomic, and cultural aspects of Mexican American, Chican@/x, and Latin@/x experiences, with emphasis on the heterogeneity of these experiences. In particular, students use an intersectional approach to unravel how race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, language, migration, and citizenship are integral to the multiplicity of identities forming Latinidad.

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MAS 301 introduction to mexican american and latina/o studies TTH 3:30-5 pm

#39190

GEA 127

Daniel Vázquez Sanabria

In 2020 numerous Latinx Studies departments across the country celebrated their first fifty years. However, what struggles did these celebrations acknowledge? And, how did they/we become part of the university? The primary goal of this course is to explore the different ways in which Latinx Studies is shaped as a field of study since the late 1960s, when Black and Brown students demanded the creation of their/our departments. In engaging Puerto Rican Studies, Black Studies, Mexican American and Chicanx Studies, and Dominican Studies (among others) we will explore the diverse contributions that build Latinx Studies as a transnational and interdisciplinary field of inquiry. By looking at various source materials and media our class will explore the scholarship of people in both Latin America and the U.S. We will discuss topics such as race/racialization, class, gender, sexuality, disability, colonialism/coloniality, (im)migration, language, art and performance in order to develop an understanding of particular Latinx groups and their/our history across time. Ultimately, students will develop knowledge about Latinxs as a multi-racial and multi-ethnic group whose lives are shaped by particular affective cultures.

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MAS 314 Mexican American Literature and Culture MWF 10-11 am

#39200

PAR 308

Lilia Rosas

The first Festival de Flor y Canto in University of Southern California in 1973 marks an overt shift in the literary production of Chican@/xs. A celebration of the expressions and creations, which inform Mexican American, Chicana@/x literature and culture, this gathering, was one of numerous key outlets to showcase this profound vastness and diversity. In this class, we will consider the range of stories, narratives, and texts critical to understanding the daily lives, resistance, exploitation, and rebellions within Mexican Americans and Chican@/xs in the United States. Through a careful reading of the novel, short story, and poetry, memoir, and film we will uncover the relevant themes, which are central to (me)Xican@/xs, xicanindi@/x, mestiz@/xs, indigenous, and brown communities across Greater Mexico. By the end of the course, students will achieve a growing comprehension into subjects such as curanderismo, rasquachismo, segregation, incarceration, migrations, familia, feminism, womanhood, queerness, and la frontera, to name but a few.

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MAS 318g The New Latinas/os/xs MWF 4-5:30 pm

#39210

GAR 2.112

Angela Ocampo

The U.S. Latina/o/x population is diverse and heterogeneous. While over 60% of Latinas/os/xs trace their ancestry to Mexico, a sizable share of Latinxs come from many other countries and contexts. Latinxs from these other regions have been on the rise in recent years. Now, Salvadorans make-up the third largest Latinx origin group, displacing the Cuban population, which for a very long time was the third largest community of Latinxs.

Since 2010, Latinxs hailing from Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala saw the fastest population growth. What are the experiences of these “New Latinas/os/xs” in the United States? Are they in fact “New Latinx” communities? How does race, gender, sexuality, class, indigeneity, language, migration, and geography influence their lives, identities, and sociopolitical incorporation? How do these communities complicate our understanding of Latinxs in the U.S.? This class explores the trajectories of various communities many have called “New Latinas/os/xs.” In doing so, the course surveys materials from various disciplines to arrive at an understanding of the realities of “New Latina/o/x” communities.

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MAS 319 Latino Social Movements TTH 9:30-11 am

#39215

WAG 308

Antonio Vasquez

Since their incorporation into the body politic of U.S. America in the mid-19th century, Latinos have participated in varied social organizing formations that have affirmed their humanity in the face of continued political marginalization. The purpose of this undergraduate course is to think more deeply about the significance of such formations within and beyond the contemporary construct of a “social movement” in the twenty-first century. We will begin the course by examining the meaning of a “social movement” in relation to the rise of the non-profit industrial complex, increased Latino political visibility and upward economic mobility, and entrenched global economic neoliberalism from the latter twentieth century through the present. The remainder of this course will explore three case studies. The first will trace the rise of a local environmental justice movement through a model of interfaith community organizing in the city of San Antonio. The second will analyze the emergence of cross-racial organizing and ”third world radicalism” in Southern California. The third will explore organizing responses to political discourse and policy around HIV/AIDS. This is a lower-division undergraduate course and all are welcome.

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MAS 319 Police/Prisons/Inequality MWF 11-12 pm

#39220

GEA 127

Michael Hames García

This course is organized around existing problems in the U.S. criminal legal system and asks students to imagine solutions. There are no right answers to the questions this course raises. There are many possible answers and the goal is to understand the tradeoffs involved with each: what are the new challenges brought about by the solutions we offer for problems as complex as those facing policing, criminal courts, and correctional policy in the United States? We will consider mass incarceration, the war on drugs, judicial discretion, mandatory sentencing, defendant rights, police profiling, sexual assault, gender-based violence, victim’s rights, felon disenfranchisement, the criminalization of immigration, prisoner reentry, school discipline, restorative justice, prison abolition, solitary confinement, and the death penalty. The class centers the experiences of the poor, people of color, women, and LGBTQ people.

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MAS 320G Native American Women's History MW 2:30-4 pm

#39240

GWB 1.138

Lilia Rosas

This course investigates the histories of Native American women to reaffirm and reclaim their place and role in the histories of Native Americans, indigenous peoples, women, Chican@/xs, Greater Mexico, and the United States. We will use a historical approach to unravel Western paradigms of women’s history that erase and omit the histories of Native American women because it defies the singular lens of gender. Furthermore, we will contemplate how multiplicitous understandings that center colonization, genocide, race, and environmentalism are essential to examining Native American women’s history. Overall, this class will illuminate the stories, struggles, and ideas of community-building, sovereignty, self-determination, and liberation as integral to their genders and sexualities as Native American, Indian, First Nations, indigenous, and red and brown women.

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MAS 320i Mexican American Studies at UT TTH 12:30-2 pm

#39245

RLP 1.102

Antonio Vasquez

Intended for Mexican American and Latina/o Studies majors and minors in junior-and-senior-standing, this advanced undergraduate course complements MAS 301 (“Introduction to Mexican American and Latina/o Studies”) by engaging in more in-depth research and analysis regarding the origins and development of Mexican American Studies at the national, regional, and local level. Students will critically examine the intellectual formation of Mexican American Studies in concert with the historical emergence of the Chicano Movement. In an effort to assess past and present challenges and contributions made at the local level, students will also work collaboratively to conduct research projects aimed at preserving and examining the role of Mexican American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin and beyond. These assignments will be integrated throughout the semester in conjunction with collaborative critical discussion over select foundational readings in Mexican American Studies. Through this course, students will deepen their understanding of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies as an academic discipline and strengthen their individual research skills in the collection and examination of primary sources.

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MAS 337c Chicana Feminisms TTH 9:30-11 am

#39250

GEA 127

Maria Cotera

This course tracks the rise and development of Chicana feminist consciousness in the 1960s and 1970s across the Southwest and Midwestern United States. Drawing on both contemporary scholarship and primary source material from the Chicana por mi Raza Digital Memory Collective, students will learn about the individuals, organizations, theories, and aesthetic practices that shaped Chicana feminism in its early years and contributed to the development of an intersectional analytic. A central theme of this course is how Chicanas used the tools at their disposal to produce alternative newspapers and journals and create vibrant counter-publics where their ideas could be developed and disseminated. To learn about this practice, students in the class will create their own newspaper with essays, art, and poetry inspired by the history of Chicana/x feminisms. Students will emerge from this course with a strong foundation in the history of Chicana feminist thought in the 1970s, an understanding of how Chicana feminism has contributed to contemporary theories of intersectionality, and an appreciation for how Chicanas raised consciousness and developed their ideas through the newspapers and other types of print cultures.

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MAS 364l La Causa, Farmworkers Movement TTH 11-12:30 pm

#39270

SZB 5.414

Antonio Vasquez

At its core, “La Causa, The Farmworker Movement” seeks to critically examine the significance of farm labor organizing and expressions of solidarity in the United States, both in historical and contemporary contexts.

That is, in this course, students will be introduced to the history of the expansion of commercial agriculture and concomitant organizational labor struggles waged by agricultural workers in the United States. They will also gain direct experience in understanding and organizing support for current struggles for farmworker justice in the nation.

MAS 374 Central Americans in the U.S. MWF 10-11 am

#39279

MEZ 2.124

Nicole Ramsey

About 7.2 million Central Americans live in the United States and have been migrating in growing numbers since the early 1900s. They include Afro-Carribean, Creole, Mestizo, Asian and Indigenous peoples, and they come in search of a war-free existence and economic opportunity. In this undergraduate course (MAS 374), Nicole Ramsey, Ph.D., explores ways in which these distinct cultural groups incorporate into mainstream U.S. society, pushing popular understanding of who they are and why they have come. Using an interdisciplinary approach, Ramsey investigates their enduring yet marginalized presence in this country through a myriad of lenses, including identity politics, cultural production, pop culture, race, and migration. By the end of the course, students will develop a nuanced understanding of the Central American experience in the United States and will be equipped with the knowledge and tools to engage with their histories, cultures, and contemporary issues from a diasporic and transnational perspective.

Nicole Ramsey, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mexican American & Latina/o Studies and the Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Her teaching and research explore post-colonial identity formations, nationalism, politics, memory, migration and indigeneity in Central America, the Caribbean and these communities in the United States.

MAS 374 U.S. Immigration Policy and Stories of Migration MWF 12-1 pm

#39299

BIO 301

Angie Gutierrez

The story of racial and ethnic politics in the United States is one of struggle, resistance, and change. While many sought to migrate to the U.S., its doors have not always been open to everyone. Who can enter the United States, and who can become American is a political and social question that has had different answers throughout history. In this course, we will cover the role immigration policy in defining the face of American politics and society. From Asian exclusion, landmark immigration reform in 1965, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, to more recent policies like the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, we will discuss how these policies have impacted migration into the United States and their impact on defining who can become American. We will combine the history of immigration policy with memoirs of migration, immigration policy, and incorporation, providing a fuller picture of how immigrants affected by these policies are treated in the United States.

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MAS 374 Latinx Social Science Methods MW 1-2 pm

#39295

GAR 3.116

Angela Ocampo

How do we study the social world, its impact on people and people’s behaviors in society? This course delves into the conceptual foundations of social science research with real-world applications on the Latina/o/x community. The goal of the course is to equip students with an understanding of the methods and tools that social scientists use to make sense of the world around us and specifically as it pertains to understanding the Latina/o/x experience in the United States. As part of this course, students will learn about various research methodologies. Particular attention will be paid to quantitative research and reasoning skills including sampling design (probability and non-probability) and sampling methods for hard-to-reach populations such as ethno-racial and linguistic minorities. Students will learn univariate analysis, distributions, summary statistics, bivariate analysis, significance testing, multivariate analysis, and group comparison. Through in-class exercises and take-home methods assignments students will learn how to craft research questions, identify appropriate methods to answer different questions, develop a research design, identify strengths and shortcomings of various social science methods, and analyze data and present results on a relevant question pertaining to the Latina/o/x community.

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MAS 375 Internship T 2-4 pm

#39300

JES A205A

Lilia Rosas

This course is an opportunity for students to gain practical and hands-on experience in the workplace through the lens of Mexican American and Latina/o/x Studies. You will participate in a nonpartisan, direct-service capacity internship where you will work with a Mexican American, Chicana/o/x, Latina/o/x, Indigenous-centered community, civic, or government organization/program/entity that is frontline-led and addresses questions of economic, political, social, and/or cultural inequalities, justice, and/or empowerment.

You are required to successfully secure a 10-12 hour per week internship by Week 4 of the semester. The purpose of the internship is to apply theories and understanding gained from courses in your area of specialization in a professional setting and to provide you with supplementary training in professional development and workplace expectations. You will use the internship as an opportunity to determine the type of goal-setting you will engage in for the semester.

MAS 378 Capstone Seminar MWF 1-2 pm

#39310

GEA 114

Michael Hames García

This course will pursue in depth the research interests and methodological skills developed in other Mexican American and Latina/o Studies classes. Specifically, we will explore research through an exploration of the city of Austin, Texas. How have Latine people come to, lived, worked, moved through, and departed this city which we now inhabit? This question will be grounded in a politics of place: What are the local sites that are now or have been in the past significant historically, politically, socially, or culturally for Latines? How are those sites memorialized, if at all? What do we learn by attending to them?

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MAS 392 Latinx Digital Praxis T 11-2 pm

#39325

JES A209A

Maria Cotera

This course tracks the rise and development of Chicana feminist consciousness in the 1960s and 1970s across the Southwest and Midwestern United States. Drawing on both contemporary scholarship and primary source material from the Chicana por mi Raza Digital Memory Collective, students will learn about the central individuals, organizations, theories, and aesthetic practices that shaped Chicana feminism in its early years and contributed to the development of an intersectional analytic that was later elaborated and expanded on by writers like Gloria Anzaldúa, Cherrie Moraga, Aida Hurtado, Chela Sandoval, and many others. A central concern of the course will be to think about how different forms of memory (archival/embodied) are mobilized in histories and counter-histories of the movement years.

MAS 392 Marketing Latinidad W 3-6 pm

#39330

GWB 1.138

Rachel González Martin

The central question of this graduate-level seminar is: can race and/or ethnicity ever be ethically marketed? In Marketing Latinidad (MAS 329), Dr. González-Martin leads discussion on how corporate entities often market products to targeted communities by curating a sense of ethnic or racial identity around those products. At the same time, this course examines how communities themselves often market their own “authentic” versions of self, to create ideal representations in public space and across historical and political discourse. Consider stereotypes that are propagated intentionally by capitalist forces, such as Hollywood’s depiction of the “Latin Lover” or the Latina image deliberately projected by United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, with her 2-inch gold hoops and red lipstick. Discussion in this course will call into question the outcomes of motivated branding which can create dangerous walls around what is authentic and what is different, or even deviant.

González-Martin is the author of Quinceañera Style: Social Belonging and Latinx Consumer Identities, winner of the 2020 Emily Toth Best Book award in Women's Studies and Popular Culture, and the 2020 Elli KongasMiranda Prize in Women's Studies from the American Folklore Society.

MAS 392 Race in the Americas M 10-1 pm

#39335

GWB 1.138

Danielle Clealand

This course explores the major paradigms, arguments and streams of thought in the field of racial politics throughout the Americas. We will focus on Black politics in Latin America and the Caribbean and Black and Latinx politics in the United States. The goal of the course is to be able to examine Black politics and white supremacy through a hemispheric lens comparing experiences, ways of identifying, activisms and racial inequalities throughout the region.

MAS 395c Theories of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies T 3:30-6:30 pm

#39340

GWB 1.138

Laura Gutiérrez

This graduate seminar introduces the students to different critical theories that have been or can be used in Latinx Studies, as well as theoretical approaches that have stemmed from the field. The course will begin with and insist on the premise that there is no one consistent theory within the field of Latinx Studies, nor will we strive to arrive at one. Instead, we will work with texts in a way that allows for discussions regarding the vexed relations within Latinx identities, and the larger social and cultural contexts. One of the goals of the seminar is for students to be able to advance their (interdisciplinary) research projects in Latinx Studies. More general outcomes include having basic knowledge of several of the major theoretical contributions to the field, but also to situate the contributions of these thinkers to the larger field of critical theory and intellectual histories in the hemisphere.