Contra Costa College
Course Outline
Department & Number
Course Title
Prerequisite
Co-requisite
Prerequisite or concurrently
Challenge Policy
La Raza 127
History of Latinos in the United States (1846 –
Present)
None
Number of Weeks per term
Lecture Hours per term
Lab Hours per term
*HBA per term
Activity Hours per term
Units
18
54
3
Advisory
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course covers United States history from 1846 to the present with an emphasis on Latinos. The course will
cover the Mexican War, Civil War, Great Depression, labor movement history, the Cold War, and Latino
struggles for civil rights. The course will emphasize Latino interactions with African Americans, Native
Americans, Europeans, and Asian Americans. Students will analyze the development of American economic,
social, and political institutions, as well as the United States Constitution.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
At the completion of the course the student will be able to:
Explain the history of Latino struggles for political empowerment and access to U.S. political institutions.
Demonstrate knowledge of the U.S. Constitution and the impact on Latinos in the U.S.
Explain the cultural, economic and political contributions of Latinos in the United States.
COURSE CONTENT: (In detail; attach additional information as needed and include percentage breakdown)
15
% The United States-Mexico war of 1846 to 1848 and the transition period from 1848 to 1910. The
Spanish-American war of 1898, the incorporation of Puerto Rico. African American, Asian
American, European American, and Latino cultural conflict and resolution.
10
% Political, cultural, and economic relationship of regions within the United States. Differences in the
historical development of the South, the Southwest and the East coast.
10
% U.S. Latino participation in World War I and II, African Americans and Native Americans in the
military, Japanese internment, the Zoot Suit Riots.
10
% Define and describe the concepts of economic, social, and political institutions in relation to
immigration; push-pull factors and Latino immigration to the United States.
10
% The US Constitution and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments after the Civil War; anti-segregation
cases such as the 1953 U.S. Supreme Court Hernandez v. Texas decision, and the 1954 Brown v.
Board of Education.
10
% The Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression and the effects on Latinos; the repatriation and
deportation of Mexican-Americans, Roosevelt’s New Deal and labor history.
15
% The 1950s and 1960s caused major changes in the U.S. – Brown v. Board of Education, the Vietnam
War, Civil Rights legislation, the Chicano and United Farm-worker Movement, the Puerto Rican and
Cuban struggles for political inclusion.
10
% Historical U.S. relations with Europe, the Soviet Union, and Latin America; U.S. political, economic
and military involvement in Latin America during the Cold War.
10
% Watergate and Richard Nixon, AIDS in America, the conflict in the Middle East, environmental
issues, the status of Latinos from the 1970s to the present, immigrant rights movement.
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
Lecture and discussion
Videos and audio
Individual and group presentations
Library research
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
Textbook Title:
Author:
Publisher:
Edition/Date:
Textbook Title:
Author:
Publisher:
Edition/Date:
A People’s History of the United States: 1492 to the Present
Howard Zinn
Harper Perennial Modern Classics
2nd/2005
Occupied America: A History of Chicanos
Rodolfo Acuna
Prentice Hall
7th edition /January 31, 2010
NOTE: To be UC transferable, the text must be dated within the last 5 years OR a statement of justification for a text beyond the last 5
years must be included.
COURSE EXPECTATIONS (Use applicable expectations)
Outside of Class Weekly Assignments
Weekly Reading Assignments
Weekly Writing Assignments
Weekly Math Problems
Lab or Software Application Assignments
Other Performance Assignments
Hours per week
2
2
2
STUDENT EVALUATION: (Show percentage breakdown for evaluation instruments)
20
20
20
20
20
%
%
%
%
%
Quizzes
Research Paper
Midterm Exam
Oral Report
Final Exam
GRADING POLICY (Choose LG, CR/NC, or SC)
Letter Grade
Pass / No Pass
90% - 100% = A
80% - 89% = B
70% - 79% = C
60% - 69% = D
Below 60% = F
70% and above = Pass
Below 70% = No Pass
Prepared by:
Agustin Palacios
Date:
03/10/2010
Form Revised 10/09
X
Student Choice
90% - 100% = A
80% - 89% = B
70% - 79% = C
60% - 69% = D
Below 60% = F
or
70% and above = Pass
Below 70% = No Pass