COURSE DESCRIPTIONS:
ChLa 201 Introduction to Chicano/Latino Studies
An introductory history of Latinos in the United States. Beginning with Spanish colonization and moving to the recent migration of Latin and South Americans in the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s. Special attention will be given to particular events that shaped and influenced the Latino experience, such as the Mexican-American War, Repatriation, Bracero Program, World War II, War on Poverty, the Chicano Movement, and U.S. foreign policy in Latin America.
ChLa 301U Chicano/Latino Communities
Contemporary sociological studies and theories used to understand and explain the status of Chicanos and Latinos in the U.S. Topics will include family, gender relations, immigration, work and employment, inter- and intra-ethnic and racial relations in the community.
**CLUSTERS: American Identities, Community Studies, Families & Society
ChLa 302U Survey of Chicano/Latino Literature
A representative overview of Chicano/Latino literature covering poetry, theater, novel, short story, and essays. The course will include literary techniques, modes of expression, trends in Chicano and Latino creativity, critical approaches, and will expose students to available bibliographic resources in the field.
**CLUSTERS: American Identities, Global Perspectives
ChLa 303U Chicana/Latina Experience
The social, political, and literary experience of women in the Chicano and Latino communities. The women's perspective and position in historical events, community organizing, and social issues will be explored through literature, art, music, and social science research.
**CLUSTERS: American Identities, Global Perspectives, Families and Society
ChLa 305 Latinx Youth Cultures
Multidisciplinary examination of Latinx youth cultures and expressions to interrogate questions of gender, Latinx identities, white supremacy, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. Class will examine how Latinx youth have been instrumental in shaping and changing their communities through their resilience, creativity, and activism
ChLa 325 Mexican American/Chicano History I, 1492-1900
Mexican American/Chicano/a history from the Conquest of the Americas to 1900 with an emphasis on empire, civil rights, identity, culture, sexuality, and war. This is the same course as HST 325 and may be taken only once for credit.
**Crosslisted with HST 325
ChLa 326U Mexican American/Chicano History II, 1900-Present
Mexican American/Chicano/a history from 1900 to the present with an emphasis on migration, ethnicity, labor, civil rights, identity, and culture. This is the same course as HST 326U and may be taken only once for credit.
**Crosslisted with HST 326U
**CLUSTERS: American Identities
ChLa 330U Latino Popular Culture
Explores a wide scope of Latino popular culture: highly produced entertainment (television, radio, film, magazines); commercial and non-commercial musical and artistic expression; popular celebrations; and the culture of "everyday life," from traditional folklore to newly invented customs and rituals. Popular culture is examined to reveal how Latino groups (Mexicans, Cubans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, etc.), reinvent their culture, heritage, and ethnic identity in the United States, and how Latinos in the process are changing American popular culture and national identity. Students will become familiar with theories of popular culture and get hands-on experience investigating a Latino popular culture form.
**CLUSTERS: Examining Popular Culture
ChLa 331 Barrio Culture: Art and Language
A focus on barrio communities as a construction model to Chicano/Latino Studies yields barrio cultures as dynamic sites of historical, visual, and cultural production. Examination of traditions, lifestyles, and values of Chicana/Chicano communities and representations of legends, icons, and stereotypes through literature, music, media, art, and history.
ChLa 335 Chicano/Latin American Film
What are Chicanx/Latinx representations on the big screen? This introductory course explores this question through close readings of representative films defining Chicanx/Latinx Studies. Throughout the course, we will examine evolving representations of modernity and pay special attention to how these representations are linked to different constructions of gender, race, sexuality, and nationality.
ChLa 340 Mayas, Aztecs and Chicanos
The course will focus on the flourishing of the Mayan civilization and the cultural and artistic contributions of other Mesoamerican societies during the Classic and Post Classic periods, such as the Aztecs. The fall of the Aztec “Empire” will be studied including the first years of New Spain viceregal society and the beginning of class and race relations. The early Mexican identity will be explored during this period and its relations to Chicano identity.
ChLa 360 Bilingualism in U.S. Latinx Communities
Due to the constant contact between English and Spanish in the U.S., a natural bilingual context flourishes in which new linguistic innovations emerge. Even though these two languages coexist, the political, economic, and social capital that English represents accords it a dominant status over Spanish. From an interdisciplinary perspective, this course critically analyzes Spanish-English bilingualism through sociohistorical, sociopolitical, and sociocultural lenses with the goal of dismantling monolingual ideologies and empowering speakers of multilingual discourses
ChLa 375U Southwestern Borderlands
Social, economic, political organization, and representation of the United States/Mexico borderlands. While conflict characterizes the history of the interactions among border actors, the contemporary period reveals growing interdependence and economic integration. Explores cultural and social formations of Anglo- Americans and Mexican-Americans in a dynamic contact zone, as well as the continuities and discontinuities in popular and academic representations of the border experience.
**CLUSTERS: Global Perspectives
ChLa 380U Latinos in the Economy and Politics
Offers an overview of economic and political issues facing Latino communities in the United States, with an emphasis on labor market experience, the causes of poverty, and the role of political and civic organizations in shaping Latino ethnic identity.
**CLUSTERS: American Identities, Community Studies
ChLa 390U Latinos in the Pacific Northwest
Introduction to past and present experiences of Mexicans and other Latin American-origin populations in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Attention to current population growth, including sources of migration and settlement patterns. Explores the present social, economic, and political status of Latinos in this region of the country.
**CLUSTERS: Community Studies
ChLa 399 Special Studies (1-5 credits)
ChLa 399U Special Studies (1-4 credits)
To be arranged with the department and consent of instructor. Experimental course offerings, vary by term.
ChLa 401 Research (0-6 credits)
To be arranged with the department and consent of instructor.
Course related to the discovery or creation of new knowledge, art, or scholarly work and the revision of accepted theories or practical application in a particular subject area. Largely independent, guided by a faculty member and designed to produce a tangible product. At the graduate level, typically the culminating activity for a master’s degree in lieu of a thesis. Examples include:
- Latino/a’s in Punk Rock
- Si Se Puede Leadership
- Latinos in Oregon
ChLa 405 Reading and Conference (0-6 credits)
To be arranged with the department and consent of instructor.
Courses focus on a designated subject matter to be read by the student and discussed in conference with an instructor. Examples include:
- Graphic Borders
- Latino Children
- Marxism Chicanos
- Cuban Oral History
ChLa 407/507 Seminar (0-6 credits)
To be arranged by the department and consent of instructor.
Exploration of a particular line of study, presenting and exchanging scholarly ideas or research findings. Examples include:
- Chicano Movement
- Mexican Migration
- Community Mental Health
ChLa 408 Workshop (1-6 credits)
To be arranged by the department and consent of instructor.
An experiential learning series of educational and work-related sessions where small groups of people meet to concentrate on a defined area of concern with a focus on obtaining a goal or project. Examples include:
- Mexican Folk Dance
- Chicano & Mexican Muralism
ChLa 410/510 Selected Topics (Credits 1-5)
ChLa 410U/510 Selected Topics (Credits 1-4)
To be arranged by the department and consent of instructor. Experimental offerings in various learning formats. Examples include:
- Chicanos in Film
- Latinos and the Law
- Chicano/a Folklore
- Contemporary Issues in ChLa Art
ChLa 411 Chicano/Latino History Seminar
This course will take an in-depth look at the history of Chicano/Latino experience in this country examining such issues as the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo and its effect on Latinos. Additional topics will include issues dealing with why the Puerto Rican and Cuban experience has been different than for other Latinos in this country.
**Recommended prerequisite: ChLa 201.
ChLa 414 Chicano/Latino Literature
Examination of the works created by some of the leading Chicano/Latino novelists, poets, and short fiction writers from the 1960s to present day. The course will look at the impact of their work and how it impacts how Latinos view themselves and their place in American society.
**Recommended prerequisite: ChLa 302U.
ChLa 420 Chicanx Families
Multidisciplinary examination of Chicanx families to explore how Chicanx writers, scholars, and artists have defined and revised notions of family, kinship, gender, patriarchy, and power.
**Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
ChLa 450U Latinos in Education
Surveys historical and contemporary social science research on the factors influencing the educational status of Latinos in the United States. A brief history of the Latino schooling experience serves as an introduction to current issues such as bilingual education, school segregation, and higher education access. Special attention is given to educational inequalities among Latinos and to the relationship between schooling and limited class mobility.
**Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
**CLUSTERS: Community Studies
ChLa 471 Chicanx Labor History in the USA
A study of the development and growth of Chicanx labor movements in the 20th century. The first part of the course will focus on movements prior to 1960, and the second will focus on case studies of key labor movements after 1960 focused on labor organizing, community, collective bargaining, and the growing diversity within Latinx working-class communities. Race, class, gender, ethnicity, and immigration status will be discussed.
**Crosslisted with HST 471
**Prerequisite: upper-division standing.