Fall, 2000
Professor Marcus Embry
L-30 Michener Library
351-2111
Office Hours:
Tuesday and Thursday 10:00-11:30

Synopsis:

In this course, we will examine texts and films that depict various issues regarding people called Hispanic in the United States. Although we will begin and end by examining issues relating to Mexican Americans, we will explore a much broader conception of this fastest growing segment of US society. Thus we will also examine texts and issues relating to Central Americans, Cuban Americans and Puerto Ricans and Nuyoricans. While we will find various similarities among these texts and issues, we will also find substantial differences. I expect students to compare the novels/texts with one another, and I also expect the students to compare the various groups and voices that call themselves Latina/o. From this comparison, I require that students form their own perspectives regarding this broad group; this perspective will form the basis for each student’s term paper for the course.

We will begin by examining the processes that have developed and shaped the discourses of Latina/os in the US and the US academy. At the heart of these processes is a historical vision, and students must familiarize themselves with the vision and the relevant facts it narrates. Students must be able to differentiate between the historical narratives of Chicana/os, Central Americans, Cubans, and Puerto Ricans, and they must be able to articulate these narratives in a context that interpolates the histories into the US and vice versa. In other words, the literature we will read is all written by US citizens, and students must be able to speak to and about the literature from a perspective that neither begins with nor insists on national difference.

After the mid-term exam, we will examine texts that trouble the historical foundations we explored above. While all but one of the texts we will read in this class are written in the last three years (and the one exception is nevertheless written in the nineties), we will explore to what degree and by what methods the authors in the latter half of the course play with and off the historical visions of Latinidad to articulate new or altered spaces for various voices of Latina/os.

Required Texts (Available at The Book Stop, 931 16th Street, The University Bookstore, and various internet providers such as Amazon.com and half.com):

Bevin, Teresa. Havana Split.
Ferre, Rosario. Eccentric Neighborhoods.
Montoya, Richard. Culture Clash: Life, Death and Revolutionary Comedy.
Rivera, Beatriz. Midnight Sandwiches at the Mariposa Express.
Serros, Michele. Chicana Falsa.
Tobar, Hector. The Tattooed Soldier.
Urrea, Luis Alberto. In Search of Snow.
Velez, Manuel J. Bus Stops and Other Poems.
Zaldivar, Raquel Puig. Women Don’t Need to Write.

Be aware that some of these texts describe sexual situations, and some of the sexual relationships in these texts are homosexual (gay and/or lesbian). We will not debate the morality of human sexuality in my class, although we will discuss how sexuality functions in the various texts. If these issues in either texts or class discussions will disturb or distract you to the point that you are not learning, you are advised to drop this class.

Weekly Syllabus (note: reading assignments are to be completed by the first day of class for which the specific text is assigned):

Week 1:
8/29 Introduction
8/31 Film

Week 2:
9/5 Velez
9/7 Velez

Week 3:
9/12 Tobar
9/14 Tobar

Week 4:
9/19 Zaldivar
9/21 Zaldivar

Week 5:
9/26 Zaldivar, Response Paper #1 due at the beginning of class.
9/28 Bevin

Week 6:
10/3 Bevin
10/5 Bevin

Week 7:
10/10 Ferre
10/12 No class

Week 8:
10/17 Ferre
10/19 Ferre

Week 9:
10/24 Mid-term Exam
10/26 "Bowl of Beings"

Week 10:
10/31 Culture Clash
11/2 Culture Clash

Week 11:
11/7 Urrea
11/9 Urrea

Week 12:
11/14 Rivera, Response Paper #2 due at the beginning of class.
11/16 Rivera

Week 13:
11/21 Rivera
11/23 Thanksgiving

Week 14:
11/28 Serros, Term Papers due at the beginning of class.
11/30 Serros

Week 15:
12/5 Serros
12/7 Conclusions

Final Exam:
10:45 - 1:15 Tuesday, December 12

Response Paper #1 10%
Response Paper #2 10%
Term Paper 25%
Mid-term Exam 20%
Final Exam 25%
Attendance & Participation 10%

Response Papers:

Response paper topics will be assigned in class. Paper will be three to four pages in length, typed, double-spaced, in MLA format. Cite the texts using MLA format. Be aware that the purpose of these papers is both to help prepare you for the exams and to ascertain the various perspectives students are using to read the texts. Thus, you should give evidence that you have indeed read the texts. Citing relevant passages is a very good idea here. Remember – MLA format.

Ten page research paper examining one of the assigned texts or, with my specific approval, a text or film of your choice. You must cite at least five references in the form of articles or books; neither internet web sites, encyclopedias, dictionaries, nor class texts count toward the five reference requirement, although if you use information from these sources, you must cite them correctly. Your paper must be written in MLA format. Plagiarism will result in a failing grade.

Important Note:
I will deduct one point for each circled mistake, and these points will be deducted from the score your paper merits for content. Thus, even on the best possible ten page paper (A+, which is as rare as hen's teeth), if you average four mistakes per page, you will fail this course. UNC has extensive resources to assist students with writing. Use them. Also note that I specify that you submit papers in MLA format. If you do not use MLA format, then I will deduct twelve points from your overall score immediately.

Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the Disability Access Center (970) 351-2289 as soon as possible to better ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Attendance and Participation:

Unfailing attendance 5%     Frequent relevant comments 5%
Frequent " 4%                      Occasional pertinent comments 4%
Spotty " 3%                          Couple, three-four good comments 3%
Crawling in bleeding 2%     Timid silence 2%
Name is mystery 1%           Outbursts, irrelevant comments -1%
Death in class 0%                Reading other texts or newspaper -2%
Rotting in class -1%            Chatting, disrupting neighbors -3%

Yes, Virginia, it is entirely possible to obtain negative points for your behavior. Don't.

Grade Computation:
100-90 A       A+ 100     A 95     A- 92
89-80 B         B+ 88        B 85     B- 81
79-70 C         C+ 78       C 75     C- 71
69-60 D         D+ 68       D 65     D- 61
below 60 F    F 55          N 30     Z 5

Que le vaya muy bien.