ANTH/LLS 259 LATINA/O CULTURES
Prerequisite Anth 103 or Consent of Instructor
Lectures in 180 BEVIER HALL on Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:00am-12:20pm
Instructor: Dr. Alejandro Lugo, Associate Professor of Anthropology and
Latina/Latino Studies
University of Illinois
Davenport Hall 385
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:15-2:45pm, Phone #: 333-0823
E-mail: a-lugo@uiuc.edu
TA: Aidé Acosta (Aidé’s office number and office hours to be announced later)
Course Description In this class, we will examine the cultures and histories of U.S.
Latinas and Latinos. Although we will focus on recent ethnographic studies about and by
Latinas and Latinos, we will also explore other genres of representation: poetry, film,
video, and historical and sociological texts. Topics to be discussed include: identity,
language, sexuality, power, class hierarchies, cultural citizenship, racial formation,
gender inequality, diasporas, and popular culture—all from an anthropological
perspective. In the process, we will critically examine the imagined, the lived, and the
invented communities constituting the Latina/o population of this country in the West,
Southwest, East Coast, and the Midwest. In particular, we will explore (though not
exclusively) the experiences of Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Salvadorans, and Cubans in the
United States.
Course Requirements This class will consist of lectures on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I
strongly recommend that students read the assigned material before attending my
lectures. In order to benefit the most from taking this class, students have to take reading
very seriously. Faithful attendance is expected from all of you. Students will take two
major exams (a midterm and a final); they will be given pop quizzes once a week; and
they will write two 5-7 page essays (the first one based on 3-4 chapters/articles selected
by the student from materials read for class; and the second one based on your reflections
and analysis of Thomas A. Tweed’s OUR LADY OF THE EXILE).
Required Books:
Coutin, Susan Bibler
2000 Legalizing Moves: Salvadoran Immigrants’ Struggle for U.S. Residency.
Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
De Genova, Nicholas and Ana Y. Ramos-Zayas
2003 Latino Crossings: Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and the Politics of Race and
Citizenship. New York: Routledge.
Flores, William V. and Rina Benmayor, editors
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1997
Latino Cultural Citizenship: Claiming Identity, Space, and Rights.
Boston: Beacon Press.
Tweed, Thomas A.
1997 Our Lady of the Exile: Diasporic Religion at a Cuban Catholic Shrine in
Miami. New York: Oxford University Press.
Velez-Ibañez, Carlos G. and Anna Sampaio
2002 Transnational Latina/o Communities: Politics, Processes, and Cultures.
Boulder: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Grading will be done as follows: Class participation—this includes attendance and pop
quizzes--- (20%), Midterm Essay Exam (30%), Final Essay Exam (30%), and two 5-7
page papers (10% each).
**Make-up Exams, Quizzes, and Extensions of Deadlines: Will be given only for
extraordinary circumstances such as when there is serious illness, a medical emergency,
or if a death in the family occurs (all of which must be properly documented when the
student returns).
Reading Assignments:
August
26(TH)Introduction and Welcome
31(Tu) “Introduction: Constructing Cultural Citizenship,” by William Flores with
Rina Benmayor, pp. 1-23 (LATINO CULTURAL CITIZENSHIP-LCC).
September
2(TH) “Introduction: Processes, New Prospects, and Approaches,” by Carlos G.
Velez-Ibañez and Anna Sampaio, pp. 1-37 (TRANSNATIONAL LATINA/O
COMMUNITIES (TLC).
7(Tu) TLC—pp. 39-45 and Anna Sampaio’s Chapter 1 (“Transforming Chicana
and Latina/o Politics…”, pp. 47-71).
9(TH) TLC—Suzanne Oboler’s Chapter 2 (“The Politics of Labeling…”, pp. 7389) and Raymond Rocco’s Chapter 3 (“Reframing Postmodernist Constructions
of Difference..”, pp. 91-109).
14(Tu) LCC—Renato Rosaldo’s Chapter 1 (“ Cultural Citizenship, Inequality,
and Multiculturalism), pp. 27-38,
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16(TH)LCC—Blanca Silvestrini’s Chapter 2 (“The World We Enter When
Claiming Rights”), pp. 39-53.
[FIRST 5-7 PAGE ESSAY DUE DURING THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 2024. LAST DAY TO TURN PAPER IN: FRIDAY, SEPT. 24]
21(Tu) TLC—pp. 111-113 and Pedro A. Caban’s Chapter 4 (“The Colonizing
Mission of the United States in Puerto Rico, 1898-1930”), pp. 115-145.
23(TH)TLC—Marta Cruz-Janzen’s Chapter 5 (“Ethnic Identity and Racial
Formations…”, pp. 147-166).
28(Tu)TLC—Olga Najera-Ramirez’s Chapter 6 (“Haciendo Charreada…”, pp.
167-180) and Gina M. Perez’s Chapter 7 (“’La tierra’s Always Perceived as
Woman’…”, pp. 181-202).
30(TH) LCC—Chapter 6 (“Claiming Cultural Citizenship in East Harlem..”, pp.
152-209), by Rina Benmayor, Rosa M. Torruellas, and Ana L. Juarbe.
October
5 (Tu) LCC—William V. Flores’s Chapter 7 (“Mujeres en Huelga…”, pp. 210254).
7(TH) LCC—Renato Rosaldo and William V. Flores’ Chapter 3 (“Identity,
Conflict, and Evolving Latino Communities…in San Jose, California…”, pp. 5796).
12(Tu) LCC—Richard R. Flores’s Chapter 5 (“Aesthetic Process and Cultural
Citizenship..,in San Antonio..”, pp. 124-151).
14(TH) Documentary: “Chulas Fronteras”
19(Tu) MIDTERM EXAM (ESSAY FORMAT: 4-5 QUESTIONS)
21(TH) TLC—pp. 203-204 and Margaret Zamudio’s Chapter 8 (“Segmentation,
Conflict, Community, and Coalitions..”pp. 205-224.
26(Tu) TLC—Patricia Zavella’s Chapter 9 (“Engendering Transnationalism in
Food Processing…”, pp. 225-245) and Juan Vicente Palerm’s Chapter 10
(“Immigrant and Migrant Farmworkers in the Santa Maria Valley,” pp. 247-272).
28(TH) TLC—Raymond Rocco’s Chapter 11 (“ Citizenship, Civil Society, and
the Latina/o City..”, pp. 273-292) and “Conclusion: New Projects and Old Reminders,”
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by Carlos G. Velez-Ibañez and Anna Sampaio (pp. 293-295); ONLY RECOMMENDED
(NOT REQUIRED): Raymond Rocco’s “Citizenship, Culture, and Community:
Restructuring in Southeast Los Angeles” in LCC, pp. 97-123).
November
2-4(Tu/Th)LCC—William V. Flores’s Epilogue (“Citizens vs. Citizenry:
Undocumented Immigrants and Latino Cultural Citizenship,” pp. 255-277).
9(Tu) Thomas Tweed’s Introduction and Chapter 1 (Part 1: Devotion to Our Lady
of Charity)— in OUR LADY OF THE EXILE.
11(TH) Chapters 2 and 3 (Part II: Contested Meanings at the Shrine)--in OUR
LADY OF THE EXILE.
16(Tu) Chapters 4 and 5 (from Part 111: Shared Meanings at the Shrine) in OUR
LADY OF EXILE.
18(TH) Chapter 6 and Postcript (from Part 111: Shared Meanings at the Shrine) in
OUR LADY OF EXILE.
****THANKSGIVING RECESS: NOV. 20-NOV. 28****HOMEWORK: read Chapters
1, 2 and 3 (pp. 31-82) in LATINO CROSSINGS, by Nicholas de Genova and Ana Y.
Ramos-Zayas.
SECOND 5-7 PAGE ESSAY DUE ON THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 29th
30(Tu) Lecture/Discussion of Chapters 1, 2 and 3-- in LATINO CROSSINGS.
December
2(TH) Chapters 4 and 5 (pp. 83-143) in LATINO CROSSINGS.
7(Tu) Chapters 6 and 7 (pp. 145-210) in LATINO CROSSINGS
9(TH) Chapter 8 (“Conclusion: Latino Futures?”, pp. 211-217) in LATINO
CROSSINGS.
FINAL EXAM:
ON DECEMBER 16, THURSDAY AT
4
1:30-4:30PM