1 English 360 Course Proposal

English 360 CONTEMPORARY LATINA/O LITERATURE AND CULTURE Instructor: William Orchard Email: william.orchard@qc.cuny.edu Office Hours: Mondays, 1:00 to 2:30 pm and Tuesdays, 1:00 to 2:30 pm Course Description This course surveys recent literature and art produced by Latinas and Latinos, emphasizing the transnational aspects of that cultural experience. We'll consider the ways in which these cultural productions both reflect and constitute the social, political, and economic scenes from which they emerge. After an introductory unit in which we examine the category "Latino" and think about the kinds of affiliation beyond region and nationality that the term suggests, we will examine aesthetic considerations of labor and migration before turning to consider the ways in which race, sexuality, and gender are often categories that are being redefined in Latina/o cultural life. Course Objectives At the completion of core studies, the student will be able to:

1. Identify differences and similarities in communication, values, practices, and beliefs between one’s own culture and other cultures. 2. Explain how categories of human diversity (such as race, gender, ethnicity, and disability) influence personal identities and can create structural and institutional inequity. 3. Critically reflect upon one’s personal and cultural presuppositions and how these affect one’s values and relationships. This course can be used to fulfill the College Option Literature Requirement.

Course Requirements

Short Paper On February 10, you will be given two topics for a short paper. You will choose and write on one of the topics. The paper should be 3 to 5 pages. Papers are due on February 22 by 5 pm. They should be emailed to the instructor. Reading Responses Students will be asked to produce a response to the reading once per week. These responses will be no less than 250 and no more than 350 words (roughly one double-spaced page) and will be posted on our course D2L site. These should be posted by midnight on the night before we will discuss the reading. You should read the postings written by your classmates before arriving in class. Your responses could take the form of a close reading of a key passage, an engagement with a concept that relates to the reading under consideration, or a response to a prompt that the instructor has provided the group. The best responses will be very specific, alive to the textual complexities of the

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literary works that we are reading as well as attentive to the finer points relating to the historical, philosophical, social, and political questions that we will engage. The instructor will return the responses with comments at the close of each of the course’s four units. Everyone will write responses for January 16, January 23, and January 28. A schedule for the rest of the term—with half the class writing on one day, half on the other—will be distributed on January 30. Because these responses are used as a starting point for our conversations, late responses will receive no credit. Research Paper Instructions for the research paper will be distributed the week before Spring Break. The project consists of two parts: 1) a paper proposal (1-2 pp.) that will be submitted on March 28 and accompanied by a bibliography of sources that you have consulted or will consult; and 2) a final (10 to 12 pp) paper. Participation Your contributions to the class discussion are especially important. I encourage you to make "mistakes" in interpreting and evaluating and to take risks in writing. Try new forms, new words, new ideas. You need not be "right" before you speak up, and you may legitimately bring to a reading something that the author never "intended." You will not be able to do this, however, unless you are in attendance and unless you avoid the rut of letting the vociferous trample the earth. You have nothing to lose but your chains. You are expected to make at least one contribution to each of our class sessions.

Quizzes Ten short quizzes will given throughout the term. These quizzes will be given at the beginning of class and will last no more than 10 minutes. Quizzes may not be made up.

Assesssment Your final course grade will be computed as follows:

Short Paper: 15 % Weekly Reading Responses: 25% Research Paper 35% Proposal 10% Final Paper 25% Participation 15% Quizzes 10%

Final Grades break down as follows: 100 – 94 A 78 – 77 C+ 93 – 90 A- 76 – 73 C 89 - 87 B+ 72 - 70 C- 86 – 83 B 69 – 60 D+ 82 – 79 B- 59 and below F Statement on Academic Honesty

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Marquette adopted a university-wide policy regarding academic honesty in 2006. Please consult the policy in pages 49 – 52 of the 2007-2008 Undergraduate Bulletin, which can be accessed online at http://www.marquette.edu/rc/bulletin.shtml. For this class, pay special attention to the policy’s descriptions of plagiarism and its guidelines for the use and citation of other’s work, including both traditional sources and those consulted on the web or in another electronic format.

Attendance  Policy  According to the University’s Undergraduate Attendance Policy, “[s]tudent are expected to attend all exercises of the courses in which they are registered and to be on time. Any absence, regardless of the reason, prevents the student from getting the full benefit of the course.” Because this is a discussion course in which your participation is crucial to the learning that occurs in the classroom, absences also negatively the affect the learning environment and learning opportunities for your classmates. Excessive absences (4 or more) will not only affect your participation grade, but will also result in a ½ grade reduction for every absence after the third one. Required Texts Jessica Abel, La Perdida (New York: Pantheon, 2006) Julia Alvarez, In the Name of Salome (New York: Plume, 2001) Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (New York: Riverhead, 2007) Cristina Garcia, Monkey Hunting (New York: Knopf, 2003) Arturo Islas, The Rain God (New York: Harper Perennial, 1991) Cherrie Moraga, Loving in the War Years (Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2001) READING SCHEDULE Unit One: What is a Latino? Jan 14 Introduction: Celia Cruz and Willie Colon, “Latinos en Estados Unidos” Julia Alvarez, “Bilingual Sestina” Jan 16 Suzanne Oboler, “Hispanics? That’s What They Call Us” Stuart Hall, “New Ethnicities” Jan 21 Holiday—Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Jan 23 John Leguizamo, Freak

Unit Two: Neocolonialism and Globalization: Labor and Migration

Jan 28 Arlene Davila, “Barrio Business, Barrio Dreams” David Harvey, “Neocolonialism and the Restoration of Class Power” Jan 30 Senorita Extraviada (dir. Lourdes Portillo, 1999) Leslie Salzinger, “Producing Women: Femininity on the Line” Feb 4 Jessica Abel, La Perdida (1-107) Feb 6 Jessica Abel, La Perdida (108 – end) Feb 10 Paper 1 Assigned

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Feb 11 Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (1-75) Feb 13 Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (76-165) Feb 18 Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (167-261) Feb 20 Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (263-335) Feb 22 Paper Due, by email by 5 pm Unit Three: Latino Gender and Sexualities Feb 25 Cherrie Moraga, From Loving in the War Years Mind If I Call You Sir (dir. Mary Guzman, 2004) Feb 27 Brincando el charco (Frances Negron Muntaner, 2000) Cherrie Moraga, From Loving in the War Years Mar 3 Julia Alvarez, In the Name of Salome (1 – 86) Mar 5 Julia Alvarez, In the Name of Salome (87 – 166) Mar 10 Julia Alvarez, In the Name of Salome (169 – 274) Mar 12 Julia Alvarez, In the Name of Salome (275 – 353) Mar 17 Spring Break Mar 19 Spring Break Mar 24 Spring Break Mar 26 Dan Kulick, “A Man in the House: The Boyfriends of Brazilian Travesti” Tomas Almaguer, “Chicano Men: A Cartography of Homosexual Desire Behavior” Cherrie Moraga, From Loving in the War Years Mar 28 Research Paper Proposal Due

Unit Four: Comparative Racialization

Mar 31 Arturo Islas, The Rain God (3 – 49) Apr 2 Arturo Islas, The Rain God (53 – 110) Apr 7 Arturo Islas, The Rain God (113 – 138) April 9 Arturo Islas, The Rain God (141 – 180) Apr 14 Eduardo Machado, The Cook (Acts I and II) Apr 16 Eduardo Machado, The Cook (Act III) Apr 21 Cristina Garcia, Monkey Hunting (1 – 59) Apr 23 Cristina Garcia, Monkey Hunting (60 – 119) Apr 28 Cristina Garcia, Monkey Hunting (123 – 219) Apr 30 Cristina Garcia, Monkey Hunting (223 – 251) May 2 Final Paper Due, by email, by 5 pm

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