Fall 2005
Chicano/a Studies 170: La Chicana
Instructor: S. Santiago
Whne: M/W 12:30-2pm
Office hours: by appt.
Email: ssantiag@sdccd.edu
or sabrina.santiago@gcccd.edu
Website:
http://classroom.sdmesa.edu/ssantiago
Catalog Course Description
La Chicana in American society as viewed through a historical and sociological
perspective. Her role in Chicano culture, family, religion, education, economics, and
politics. Contemporary problems and conditions.
Course Objectives
A student who successfully completes this course will be able to:
1. Define Chicana, Feminism, sex, gender, race, ethnicity, social class, culture,
2. Be familiar with the roles played by and issues faced by Chicanas in the Chicano
Movement.
3. Understand the intersections of gender, race/ethnicity, and social class.
4. Describe the variety of social, economic, domestic, sexual, and academic issues
faced by Chicanas
5. Be familiar with Chicana/Latina community and academic organizations.
6. Participate in action that addresses a social issue affecting the Chicana/Latina
community.
7. Write an outstanding research paper on a topic related to analyzing the Chicana
experience from a sociological perspective.
Attendance Requirements
It is the responsibility of each student to add, drop or withdraw from classes prior to
deadlines. Make sure that if you decide to withdraw from this class that you do it before
the deadline or a grade must be assigned to you. Consistent attendance is highly
recommended as 1) you cannot get credit for class participation on the days that you are
absent and 2) you will be held responsible for all material covered in class. If you are
unable to attend class check the website http://classroom.sdmesa.edu/ssantiago to find out
about any new assignments. The covered material will neither be repeated in or out of
class for the benefit of those students who were absent or tardy.
Classroom Behavior and Student Code of Conduct
Every student is expected to follow the Student Code of Conduct as explained in the
course catalog. Consistent with the policy of fostering an environment that is conducive
to learning for all students, I will not tolerate consistent and/or significant (from my
view) classroom disruptions. Please turn off your cell phone before class begins. It is
required in this class that we retain the utmost respect for one another at all times.
Finally, if any student disrupts or distracts the class in any way I will ask the student to
remove himself/herself from the class until he/she has resolved whatever issue that may
be distracting him/her from the focus of the topic that is being covered. Please note that
disruptive and distracting behavior will be factored into the participation grade.
Accommodation of Disability
Students with disabilities who may need academic accommodations should notify the
professor immediately.
Required Text:
Martinez, Elizabeth De Colores Means all of Us
Martin, Patricia. Songs My Mother Sang to Me
Exams:
Exams are essay. No make-up exams will be given.
Method of Evaluation:
In-class Participation
Assignments
Midterm
Final
Research Paper
20%
20%
15%
20%
25%
Written Assignments
Grading Criteria
A- Outstanding Writing. It jolts the reader, wakes her up, persuades her, pleases
or delights her, makes her laugh or cry. Interests her in you and what you have to
say. It keeps her attention. Makes her think the time spent reading is time well
spent. There are only insignificant mechanical errors, if any.
B- Good writing. No major mechanical errors. Fluent, clear, logical, and mature
vocabulary. Sentence variety and maturity (often measured by complexity and
subordination, though not necessarily or exclusively). The writing enhances the
message (i.e. the manner in which you say it actually helps you state your point or
argument).
C- The writing will convey your meaning. It is not sufficiently advanced to
enhance your meaning, nor is it so fault-ridden or unclear that it will detract from
what you have to say.
If the writing is sufficiently bad to take away from the effectiveness or what you
want to say or to distract the reader from what you want to say, we cannot call it
“satisfactory” and it will be below a C.
D-Poor Writing, not satisfactory. There are such errors in mechanics, logic,
sentence structure or organization that you do your ideas a disservice by writing
them—or your ideas themselves need more careful thought. The writing interferes
with your message and is likely to be a handicap to you in college courses if you
fail to improve.
F- Those who finish out the course and receive an F are being told not that they
are vile, evil, or stupid but that their writing is so defective that it is unlikely they
can succeed in courses where writing is required. They are being told that they
need the course again.
(Per Professor Neumeyer, SDSU)
While I agree overall with Professor Neumeyer’s grading criteria overview above, be
aware that in my opinion students do not do a disservice by writing down their ideas. To
the contrary, writing down the ideas is the first step in writing a good paper. Then the
writer goes back, rereads what he/she has written, revises, re-reads, revises, etc. until
he/she has achieved the product that he/she desires. All students are encouraged to use
the Writing Center for assistance with the assignments and the research paper. Please
note that plagiarism --presenting someone else’s writing as your own—is cheating. The
sanctions range from course failure to possible school expulsion. Also, you are expected
to submit original work to this course. Papers submitted to other instructors will not be
accepted.
Research Paper
Your research paper must address a topic related to the sociology of Chicanas. The paper
should be 7-9 pages typed, excluding the bibliography. There is no penalty for writing
more. You should have at least seven (7) sources cited in the body of the paper and listed
in the bibliography. The research paper should have a thesis (or a statement about the
main points of your paper). Your research objective is to find information from credible
sources about the topic under investigation. The research paper should be written
from a sociological perspective.
A sociological perspective focuses on the impact of society on the individual. The
sociological view will seek to understand the social structures (“the large scale patterns
that persist over time”—Henslin, 2003) present in a particular society in order to
understand the phenomenon. C. Wright Mills tells us in “The Promise of Sociology” that
No study that does not come back to the problems of biography, of history, and of
their intersections within a society has completed its intellectual journey. Whatever
the specific problems of class social anlysts …those who have been imaginatively
aware of the promise of their work have consistently asked three sorts of questions:
(1) What is the structure of this particular society as a whole? What are its
essential components, and how are they related to one another? How does it
differ from other varieties of social order? Within it, what is the meaning of
any particular feature for its continuance and for its change?
(2) Where does this society stand in human history? What are the mechanics by
which it is changing? What is its place within and its meaning for the
development of humanity as a whole? How does any particular feature we are
examining affect, and how is it affected by, the historical period in which it
moves? And this period—what are its essential features? How does it differ
from other periods? What are its characteristic ways of history-making?
(3) What varieties of men and women now prevail in this society and in this
period? And what varieties are coming to prevail? In what ways are they
selected and formed, liberated and repressed, made sensitive and blunted?
What kinds of “human nature” are revealed in the conduct and character we
observe in this society in this period? And what is the meaning for “human
nature” of each and every feature of the society we are examining?
The three main theoretical perspectives in sociology are Functionalist, Conflict
and Symbolic Interactionist. The Functionalist view examines and explains the functions
of the social institutions in a society. The Conflict view looks at how power is distributed
and who benefits from the existing societal arrangements. The Symbolic Interactionist
view seeks to understand the meanings that are attached to the experiences of the
individuals within a society. Ideally, your paper will incorporate all of these perspectives.
The paper should be written in an academic manner and all sources of information
should be given appropriate credit. Thus, if the research paper itself contains a citation it
should also be listed in the bibliography. Double space sentences and use a 12-font.
Paragraphs should be indented 5 spaces only. Please do not provide extra space in
between paragraphs. Short quotes require quotation marks but long quotes should be
indented, single spaced (see example above). A cover page with the title of the research
should be provided. You may use any formal bibliographic style (MLA, APA, Chicago,
etc.). If you do not know how to put tighter a bibliography please see your librarian for
help..
Finally, I am willing to review your “draft(s)” any time before the due date. The
earlier you submit the paper to me, the more time I can spend reviewing it the earlier I
can return it to you.
Course Schedule
8/30
Introduction to course
9/1
“La Prieta” by Gloria Anzaldua in A Bridge Called My Back
9/13-15
“La Guera” by Cherrie Moraga in A Bridge Called My Back
“Brownness” by Andrea Canaan in A Bridge Called My Back
9/20
“White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” Peggy McIntosh
“Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them or an Us,” Allan
Johnson
“The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria,” Judith
Ortiz Cofer + student reading selections
9/22
9/27-29
De Colores Means All of Us by Elizabeth Martinez
10/4-6
De Colores Means All of Us
10/11-13
De Colores Means All of Us + student reading selections
10/18-20
Midterm Exam
10/25-27
“Global Woman,” Barbara Ehrenreich & Arlie Russell Hochschild
“America’s Dirty Work: Migrant Maids and Modern-Day Slavery,” Joy
M. Zarembka
“Does Silencio = Muerte?: Notes on Translating the AIDS Epidemic,”
Dr.Rafael Campo
11/1-3
“I’m Not Fat, I’m Latina,” Christy Haubegger
“A Way Outa No Way”: Eating Problems among African American,
Latina, and White Women,” Becky W. Thompson + student selections
11/8-10
“La Conciencia de la Mestiza” by Gloria Anzaldua
“Chicana Feminist Literature:: A Re-vision Through Malintzin/or
Malintzin: Putting the Flesh Back on the Object” by Norma Alarcon
“Mexican American Women, Grassroots Community Activists”
11/15-17
Songs My Mother Sang to Me, “Foreword” & pages 1-75
11/22-24
Songs My Mother Sang to Me, p. 79-141
11/29- 12/1
Songs My Mother Sang to Me, p.145-216
12/6-8
Research Paper Due/Research Presentations
12/13
12/15
Final Review
Final Exam