MAS314/E314V: Introduction to Mexican American Literature and Culture
Mexico in the Chicana/o Literary Imagination
Fall 2011
Instructor: Dr. Lydia A. French
Email: lawilmeth.french@gmail.com
Office: WMB 5.128
Office Hours: Wednesday 1-4 pm and by appointment
Course Description:
The stories Chicanas/os tell about Mexico reveal the manifold ways in which we imagine
Chicanidad. By examining how Mexican American authors construct “Mexico” as a political
force, a spiritual homeland, and an imagined nation, this course explores the place of Mexico in
twentieth and twenty-first century Chicana/o narrative. Examining questions of indigenism,
mestizaje, gender, class, migration, and popular culture, the course will survey how Chicanas/os
define Mexicanidad and how Mexican identity and nationalism affect Chicana/o identity and
questions of borders, cultural nationalisms, and transnationalisms. Complicating a neat dialectic
we’ll also examine the works of, for instance, Octavio Paz, who looks to the pachuco to divine
something of the “Mexican condition,” as well as Guillermo Gómez-Peña, a Mexican-born
border crosser who self-identifies as Chicano and pocho. Pairing short stories, novels,
autobiography, live performance, and film with histories and criticism, we will discuss the
various ways in which narratives shape material realities, allowing us to envision nations and
cultures as shared, contested, mediated, and imagined spaces of story.
Prerequisites: E603A, RHE3106K, RHE306Q, Tutorial Course 603A, or equivalent.
Required Texts:
Américo Paredes, The Shadow
Sandra Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creek, and Other Stories
Gloria Anzaldúa, Borderlands / La Frontera: The New Mestiza*
Richard Rodriguez, Days of Obligation: An Argument With My Mexican Father
Nina Marie Martínez, ¡Caramba!: A Tale Told in Turns of the Card
Oscar Casares, Amigoland
A required course packet containing supplementary texts is available from Abel’s Copies located
in the University Towers building at 715-N W. 23rd Street. (Between Rio Grande and Pearl.)
* Except for Anzaldúa’s Borderlands, each of the above texts is available at the University Coop. You may also purchase from a bookstore or online dealer of your choice, but please be
aware of the edition you select.
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Assignments and Grade Distribution:
(4) 2-page response papers...........................................................20%
5-7 page critical essay..................................................................10%
Critical essay REVISION.............................................................20%
In-class presentation.....................................................................10%
OED and critical vocabulary assignments.....................................5%
Participation.................................................................................10%
Student Portfolio..........................................................................25%
Course Policies:
Attendance
Participation in class discussion is fundamental to the successful progression of the class
as well as to your personal success. For this reason, five (5) or more excused or
unexcused absences will result in automatic failure of the course. If you do need to
miss a class, you should contact me as soon as possible, and I recommend meeting with
me in office hours and/or getting notes from a classmate.
You will not be penalized for missing class on religious holy days. A student who misses
classes or other required activities, including examinations, for the observance of a
religious holy day should inform the instructor, in writing, well in advance of the
absence, so that alternative arrangements can be made to complete work. Please note that
the University specifies very few other excused absences, including military service and
jury duty.
Reading and Assignments
I expect you to come to class each day having read the material indicated on the syllabus
in order to participate in class discussion, which is the basis for 10% of your grade. I do
not, as a rule, give reading quizzes; however, I will begin if it becomes clear that students
are not completing the reading. Your course packet contains “Questions to Guide Your
Reading” for each text. You are encouraged to use these questions as points of departure
for your reading, for class discussion, as well as for your short response papers.
Also on the “Questions to Guide Your Reading” you will find a section for completion of
unfamiliar vocabulary that includes OED terms for particular readings. Those terms are
to be used for completion of your OED assignments on the dates indicated on the
assignment sheet and syllabus. In addition to participation and completion of the OED
assignments, your grade will be comprised of one introductory “response” essay and
three additional reading response essays to be turned in on or before appointed dates
throughout the semester, as well as one extended analysis essay over a specific text. The
extended analysis essay will form the basis for your in-class presentation and will be
revised based on peer and instructor feedback.
Throughout the semester the feedback you get from your colleagues and myself is
invaluable as are our course discussions. Much of what you will learn this semester will
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come not only from reading and writing but also from the conversations you enter in
class. For these reasons, I expect discussion to remain critical but collegial, which means
you will need to listen carefully, respect your colleagues’ points of view, and frame your
arguments from a perspective of understanding and analysis rather than bias.
Scholastic Honesty
The core values of the University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom,
individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is expected to
uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers
and community.
Turning in work that is not your own, or any other form of scholastic dishonesty will
result in a major course penalty, possibly even failure. This standard policy applies to all
drafts and assignments. Any incident will be subject to a report submitted to the Office of
the Dean of Students, which is filed in your permanent UT record. Under certain
circumstances the Dean of Students can initiate proceedings to expel you from the
University.
The University provides information on Scholastic Integrity, including definitions of
plagiarism and unauthorized collaboration through the Office of the Dean of Students
Judicial Services. Please familiarize yourself with the University’s stance on Scholastic
Dishonesty, as I expect you to abide by those terms for everything you turn in for this
class.
If you have any doubts about your use of sources, ask your instructor for help before
handing in the assignment.
Students with Disabilities
The University of Texas at Austin provides appropriate academic services for qualified
students with disabilities. Please contact the office of Services for Students with
Disabilities for more information and to begin proceedings to obtain additional materials,
services, or aid. In cooperation with Services for Students with Disabilities, I will make
any necessary arrangements and/or make accessible additional services. For more
information, contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 417-6259 (voice) or 2322937 (video phone).
Email
Email is an official means of communication at the University of Texas at Austin, and I
will use this medium to communicate class information. You are therefore required to
provide me with a working email address that you check regularly. Additionally, you
have access to my email address (lawilmeth.french@gmail.com) on the syllabus. I check
my email frequently, but unless we are planning a last-minute meeting or have been in
urgent dialogue, I will not respond to last-minute questions (e.g., emails about an
assignment sent within six hours before class on the day the assignment is due) or to
emails sent between 10pm and 8am.
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Phone and Computer Usage
Phone usage of any kind—including texting, talking, or data usage—in the classroom is
prohibited as it is disruptive and distracting. Please show respect to your colleagues and
to me by turning your phones OFF before you enter the classroom. If a phone rings
during class, the entire class will be subject to a pop quiz on the reading for the day.
Because students frequently use computers for note-taking, laptops and netbooks are
allowed in the classroom; however, non-class computer use, including checking your
email, Facebook, or Twitter accounts, is prohibited. Evidence of any non-class related
computer use will detract from your participation grade.
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Daily Schedule:
Disclaimer: This course operates according to an ‘open contract’ syllabus. The direction the
course takes will be informed by the students’ feedback and textual preferences, by the course of
discussion, and by unforeseen scheduling restrictions. As such the following schedule may be
subject to changes throughout the semester. The instructor reserves the right to change the
syllabus at her discretion.
Week One
25 August
Introductions
Week Two
30 August
Writing Instruction: Approaches to Analytic Composition
1 September
In-class Writing and Revision workshop
Response One Due: Mexico is . . .
Week Three
6 September
Vista del Otro Lado: Introductory Readings
Paredes, “El Pocho Arrives” (Packet)
Paz, “The Pachuco and Other Extremes” (Packet)
OED: pocho
8 September
Close-Reading Fiction and Introduction to The Shadow
Paredes, The Shadow, Chs. 1-4 (pp. 1-39)
Week Four
13 September
Susto or Superstition?
Paredes, The Shadow, Chs. 5-13 (pp. 41-114)
15 September
Memory and Shadows of History: Historical Approaches to The Shadow
Saldívar, “In Memoriam” and “The Shadow and the Imaginary
Function of Institutions” (Packet)
Literary Critical Term: New Historicism (packet)
OED: transnational
Week Five
20 September
Growing Up Poch@: Intro. to Woman Hollering Creek
Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creek, Parts I and II (pp. 1-40)
Literary Critical Term: Point of View
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22 September
The Place of Mexico in Chicana Feminism
Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creek, selections from Part III
“Woman Hollering Creek” (pp. 41-56), “Never Marry a Mexican”
(68-83), “Eyes of Zapata” (85-113), “Tin Tan Tan” and “Bien
Pretty” (135-165)
Response Two Due on or Before This Date
Week Six
27 September
29 September
Chicana Feminism on the Border
Saldívar-Hull, “Women Hollering: Transfronteriza Feminisms”
Literary Critical Term: Feminist Criticism (packet)
Presentations By: _________-______
__________________
___________________
__________________
Autohistoria, Mestizaje, and Mexico
Smith, “Life Narrative: Definitions and Distinctions” (Packet)
Anzaldúa, Borderlands, “Preface to the First Edition” – Ch. 2
OED: mestiza
Week Seven
4 October
6 October
The New Mestiza and Las Diosas Mexicanas
Anzaldúa, Borderlands, Chs. 3-4, 7
Literary Critical Term: Queer Theory
Presentations By: __Jocelyn Zuñiga__
__________________
___________________
__________________
Memories of Mexico: Intro. to Days of Obligation
Rodriguez, Days of Obligation, Intro-Ch. 1 (pp. xv-25)
OED: comedy, tragedy
Week Eight
11 October
Memory into Story into History
Rodriguez, Days of Obligation, Chs. 2-6 (pp. 26-148)
13 October
Forming Memory, Forming Memoir
Rodriguez, Days of Obligation, Chs. 7-10 (pp. 149-230)
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Week Nine
18 October
Reconciling Political Realities: Indigeneity, Mexicanidad, Chicanidad
Saldaña-Portillo, “Who’s the Indian in Aztlán?” (Packet)
Presentations By: _Alex Penobshek___
__________________
__David Parry_____ __________________
20 October
Border Brujería: Intro. to “El Naftazteca”
Gómez-Peña, “El Naftazteca” (Packet)
In-class viewing and discussion
OED: performance / performance art
Response Three Due On or Before This Date
Week Ten
25 October
Poetics of Poch@ Performance
Gómez-Peña, “Free Trade Art Agreement” (Packet)
Presentations By: _Morgan Long_______
___________________
27 October
__________________
__________________
Lotería and Narrative Chance
Martínez, ¡Caramba!, Tabla 1 (pp. 3-66)
Week Eleven
1 November
Destino a través de la Frontera
Martínez, ¡Caramba!, Tablas 2-3 (pp. 67-182)
3 November
Music, Gender, and Self-Fashioning
Martínez, ¡Caramba!, Tablas 4-5 (pp. 183-314)
Literary Critical Term: “Queer Theory” (Packet)
Week Twelve
8 November
Masculinity, Migration, and Divine Women
Martínez, ¡Caramba!, Tabla 6 (pp. 315-end)
Presentations By: _Cecilia Leonard___
_Edith Robles______ __________________
10 November
Guest Speakers: Mexica Elders Advocating for the Wirikuta
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Jose David Velazquez Romo and Maria de la Luz Mendoza
Escalera
Week Thirteen
15 November
Age, Memory, and Mexico: Intro. to Amigoland
Casares, Amigoland, Part I (pp. 1-46)
17 November
Stories of Freedom and Border-Crossing
Casares, Amigoland, Parts II-III (pp. 49-202)
Week Fourteen
22 November
Timeless Mexico?
Casares, Amigoland, Part IV (pp. 202-357)
Response Four Due On or Before This Date
Presentations By: _Claudia Vidales_____
24 November
__________________
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY—NO CLASS
Week Fifteen
29 November
Mexico in Popular Culture and Current Events
Robert Rodriguez’s Machete
In-class Viewing
1 December
Final Discussion: (Re)Visions of Mexico
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