The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the emerging field of US Latino Spirituality. Drawing on history, cultural anthropology, and Christian theology, the course will explore the roots and development of contemporary Latino spirituality.

In this course you will explore the genre of the telenovela (a major social, cultural, political, and economic force in Latin America and, more recently, in the United States) by reading about the genre (in Spanish) and watching one or two condensed telenovelas (also in Spanish). You will demonstrate your understanding of the telenovela and its importance in Hispanic culture through writing and discussion and through application of these ideas as you write, produce, direct, act in, record and edit a mini-telenovela as a class project. During this process you will learn and apply basic production (videography) and post-production (computer based video and audio editing) techniques. The course is taught in Spanish.

This course will survey the history of representations of Latinos in American cinema from the silent era to the present. We will examine how stereotypes associated with Latinos have been produced, reinforced, and challenged in American films; from "greasers" and "Latin lovers" to gangsters, kingpins, and border crossers. We will explore the fascinating contradiction that, despite a long history of misrepresentation and underrepresentation, Latinos have made significant contributions to Hollywood and independent cinema. We will also examine the rise of Latino directors in recent years and their drive to reframe the Latino image for American audiences. Screenings will range from the silent epic Martyrs of the Alamo (1915) to more recent films such as Maria Full of Grace (2004). Our interdisciplinary approach to the subject will draw upon readings from history, film theory and criticism, and ethnic/American studies. Students will take a midterm exam and make class presentations.

This course will consider the processes that have caused aspects of society to be racialized, or labeled with racial meanings, symbolisms, and/or identities. The class will focus on, but will not be limited to, "black" racialization. We will examine how racialization has shaped the human experience in the largest ex-slaveholding nations of the Americas - the United States and Brazil. Our goal is to understand the ways in which not only people are racialized, but also communities, geographical regions, nations, cultural production (such as music), behavior, labor, and gender, to name a few. With these two nations as our case studies, the class will explore the dynamic nature of racialization, focusing on the impact that space and time has had on the way we identify and live race.

The “Chicano Movement” for Mexican American civil rights grew in tandem with the main contours of the civil rights culture that developed in the United States during the 1960s. As such, this course seeks to place the movement alongside other national movements for social change including the African American civil rights movement, labor movement, counter-culture, and the anti-war movement. It will also be attentive to related efforts to build bridges between Latino populations (mainly Puerto Ricans) in American cities. As it emerged in the 1960s, the Chicano Movement challenged and maintained the ideological orientation of past efforts for Mexican American inclusion as it borrowed from the rich mix of social and cultural movements that defined the 1960s and early 1970s. This course will explore movement centers in California and Texas as well as a growing body of research on the civil and labor rights efforts in the Great Lakes, Pacific Northwest, and other Mexican ancestry communities across the United States as well as connections to Mexico and Cuba. This course will detail the key events and leadership of the movement as well as the art, music, and cultural production of one of the most important American civil rights movements of the post World War II era.

This course provides a careful and "critical" analysis of the political status, conditions, and the political activities of the major Latino (or "Hispanic") groups in the United States – particularly, Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban-Americans. To provide a context and grounding, various theoretical perspectives are first considered, followed by discussions of the historical experiences and contemporary socioeconomic situations of the several Latino groups. Attention then turns to a number of issues concerning political attitudes, behaviors, and activities. Assessments of Latino influence upon the major local, state and national institutions of the political system -- and vice versa -- are next are considered. Policy areas particularly significant for Latinos are also examined. Finally, the major issues, questions, and themes considered throughout the semester are "revisited" and reconsidered.

How Latinos are racialized often defies the common understanding of race as either Black or White. This course attempts to complicate this debate by exploring the historical, political, economic and social structures that determine the ethnic and racial stratification of Latinos in the United States. Topics include the multigenerational experience of Latinos, contemporary immigration, Latino youth and gender.

This course is a basic introduction to plays from Latin America and by U.S. Latino/a playwrights. Models from South America, Central America, North America and the Caribbean will be included in order to give students an overview of contemporary plays in English from Spanish-speaking cultures.

This course examines the development of Creole societies in the French, Spanish, Dutch, and British Caribbean in response to colonialism, slavery, migration, nationalism and, most recently, transnationalism. The recent exodus of as much as 20 percent of Caribbean populations to North America and Europe has afforded the rise of new transnational modes of existence. This course will explore the consciousness and experience of Caribbean diasporas through ethnography and history, religion, literature, music, and culinary arts.

A three-week course that refers to a review of basic questions on international migration, with emphasis on immigration to the United States and the methods through which these questions have been adequately or inadequately answered. The numbers, impact, nature, structure, process, and human experience will be discussed in terms of the research methods commonly used to approach them.

This course analyzes the philosophy, principles, and practice underlying the social and political aspects of Latino art. We will approach this analysis by examining a range of topics, including Chicano and Puerto Rican poster art, mural art, Latina aesthetics, and border art.

Demography, the science of population, is concerned with virtually everything that influences, or can be influenced by, population size, distribution, processes, structure, or characteristics. This course pays particular attention to the causes and consequences of population change. Changes in fertility, mortality, migration, technology, lifestyle and culture have dramatically affected the United States and the other nations of the world. These changes have implications for a number of areas: hunger, the spread of illness and disease, environmental degradation, health services, household formation, the labor force, marriage and divorce, care for the elderly, birth control, poverty, urbanization, business marketing strategies, and political power. An understanding of these is important as business, government, and individuals attempt to deal with the demands of the changing population.

Examines the relationship between the Hispanic Caribbean and Central American nations and United States through readings of texts by authors from Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela among others. Although principally focusing on literary texts, works from other fields of study such as politics, history, and economics are also studied.

Latinos have long contributed to the social fabric of the region popularly known as "Chicagoland." From food to sports to politics to the arts, Latinos shaped the local culture and formed vibrant communities. This course will explore Latino communities fit into the broader Latino experience but remain uniquely Midwestern.