Comparative American Studies 330
Spring 2007
T 7:00-9:00p
Room: King 127
Dr. Annette A. Portillo
Office: Peters Hall G-36
Office Hours: by appointment
e-mail: Annette.Portillo@oberlin.edu
Chicana/o and Native American Literature
This course will introduce students to major Native American and Chicano/a writers. Readings
will include historical essays, autobiographies, novels, poetry, and documentaries that discuss the
categories of race, gender, class and nationality as they relate to the creation of identities and
ideologies within “American” culture. We will also examine the social justice movements of
these groups whose leaders critiqued their communities’ second-class citizenship within a
democratic “America.” How is identity formation and cultural representation determined by
power relations that exist within society? And how is the ability to define oneself a form of
power? Although the definition of an “American” self is often viewed independent of outside
factors, this course will necessitate positioning the ‘self’ within a larger environment.
Required Texts
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Sherman Alexie --The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
Linda Hogan -- The Woman Who Watches Over the World
Leslie Marmon Silko - Ceremony
Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton - Squatter and the Don
Tomás Rivera -- y no se lo tragó la tierra/And the Earth Did Not Devour Him
Helena María Viramonates, -- Under the Feet of Jesus
Gloria Anzaldúa -- Borderlands/La Frontera
Cherrie Moraga – Heroes and Saints and Other Plays
Sandra Cisneros – House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creek
Luis Valdez The Early Works
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Grades will based on the following criteria:
1. [10%] Active participation in seminar discussions. You are required to discuss the reading
material in class and be prepared to address the weekly questions on your syllabus. The
issues raised in this class are by no means resolved. It is thus expected that as a class we will
often disagree and rarely come to a consensus about the material. This should be seen as
positive, rather than negative. As a class we will collectively grapple and work through the
material and develop an intellectual community that is able to skillfully and respectfully
debate pressing issues while doing close readings of the literature.
2.
[10%] Reading Responses/Blackboard Discussions. These are due every week unless
otherwise stated. This will provide a space where you can critically analyze the readings
without having to worry about a formalized or structured essay (1-2p). This can be done on
blackboard (discussion groups) and/or written responses. The purpose of the responses is to
generate class discussion and enable you to begin formulating essay topics.
3. [20%] Individual and Group presentations. Everyone will be responsible to present one of
the assigned readings in order to facilitate class discussion. Although it is not required you
can utilize any of the following multi-media formats to aid in your presentations:
film/documentary clips, visual slides, PowerPoint demonstrations, material objects, music,
visual art, and current news events that relate to the course readings. As a presenter you may
synthesize the main points of the week’s reading and evaluate the author’s main arguments.
In your oral presentation and synthesis of the night’s reading you are not required to
summarize the reading assignment. Rather, you will draw from the main and provocative
points of the reading as points for further discussion. You may also present on the historical
context of the readings, biographical information on the author, or literary/historical
criticism. Please see me in office hours before your presentation.
4. [30%] Midterm Paper. You will be required to write a short (5 page) midterm essay.
Although I do not assign essay topics, I will require a conference where we can discuss your
outline and research preparation. (Please note: For each day your midterm or final papers are
late, I will lower the grade by one. No extensions will be given.)
5. [30%] Final Paper or Project. A final essay of 15p will be due at the end of the semester.
This paper might be a longer research/analytical paper that requires you to utilize secondary
resources. For example, you may choose a theoretical issue or analyze a novel, several
poems, etc. that have interested you throughout the class. OR For a final project you may
also choose to do a more creative piece that might take the form of: autobiography, poetry,
creative non-fiction, etc. or even an art installation. This final project might also include in
part the performance (individually or as a group) one of the plays we read in class. You are
all required to meet with me well in advance in order to discuss ideas for the final
essays/projects.
CLASS POLICIES
Attendance
Attendance and participation are an integral part of this class. I will take attendance regularly
and any unexcused absences will affect your grade. More than three unexcused absences will
result in your grade being lowered for each absence thereafter, (for example, from an A to a A-).
You are responsible for knowing what was discussed in class and getting handouts or
assignments you missed either by contacting me (email) or another classmate.
Papers
All papers should be double-spaced and typed in 12-point font with a one-inch margin on all
sides. For any questions regarding format I recommend that you consult the The MLA Handbook
for Writers of Research Papers. All work must be turned in on time. I will lower your grade
accordingly for any late papers and will only give extensions under extraordinary circumstances.
If you are taking this course for CR/NE please discuss with me ahead of time your options for
assignments and papers.
Honor Code
This class will follow the policies as written in the Oberlin College Honor Code. Avoid
plagiarism or quoting any secondary sources without proper citations. If you have any questions
about citations please see me or refer to the MLA Handbook. For more information on the Honor
Code please see: http://www.oberlin.edu/students/links-life/rules-regs/06-HonorCode.pdf
Please Note: The Honor Code requires that for each academic assignment (i.e. quizzes, papers,
reading responses) you write the following statement and sign your name. “I affirm that I have
adhered to the Honor Code in this assignment.”
Students with Disabilities
Please let me know if you need disability-related accommodations for this course. Support is
available through academic services. Contact Jane Boomer, Coordinator of Services for Students
with Disabilities at Peters Office G27, (440)775-8467.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Week 1:
2/6
Week 2:
2/13
Week 3:
2/20
Introduction to Course
handout: “Early Hispana/Mexicana Writers: the Chicana Literary Tradition”
Squatter and the Don by Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton; Group Presentations
- excerpt from Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins’ Life Among the Piutes (1885) (p. 129-168)
- excerpt from Zitkala-Sa or Gertrude Simmons Bonnin’s, American Indian Stories
- “Civilize Them With a Stick,” by Mary Brave Bird & Richard Erdoes (p.255-265)
- “Boarding School Abuses and the Case for Reparations,” by Andrea Smith (p.35-54)
- documentary: “The Residential School Experience: A Century of Genocide in the
Americas”
recommended: from Kill the Indian Save the Man by Ward Churchill, “Genocide by
Any Other Name,” (p.1-33); “Indirect Killing,” (p.34-60);
Week 4:
2/27
- The Woman Who Watches Over the World by Linda Hogan
recommended: “The Trail of Tears,” by Theda Perdue (p.67-83) and “Genesis of
Removal” by Wilma Mankiller (p. 45-58)
Week 5:
3/6
Week 6:
3/13
- The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
- various articles
- Film –Smoke Signals (screen outside of class)
- Ceremony and excerpts from Yellow Woman Beauty of the Spirit by Leslie Silko
- excerpts from essays, interviews
recommended: Sacred Water, Storyteller and Almanac of the Dead by Silko
Week 7:
3/20
3/23
36
Week 8:
Week 9:
4/3
Week 10:
4/10
- Group Presentations: Native American Artists
MIDTERM PAPERS DUE! By 4pm in my box (KING 141) or my office Peters G3/24 – 4/2 -- SPRING BREAK!
- documentary: Chicanos! Quest For a Homeland
- “ Yo Soy Joaquin”/”La Loca de la Raza Cósmica”
- Y no se lo trago la tierra/…and the earth did not devour him by Tomás Rivera
- excerpts from Chicana Feminist Thought & Major Problems
- Under the Feet of Jesus, “‘Nopalitos’: The Making of Fiction,” and excerpts from The
Moths and Other Stories by Helena Maria Viramontes
recommended: articles/documentary on Cesar Chavez and the farm workers movement
Week 11:
4/17
Week 12:
4/24
-The House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros
- excerpts of her poetry and articles from Infinite Divisions
- Borderlands/La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldua
- excerpts from This Bridge Called My Back and Making Face/Making Soul
recommended: “To(o) Queer the Writer—Loca, escritora y chicana,” by Anzaldua and
“Listening to the Silences in Latina/Chicana Lesbian History,” by Yolanda Chávez
Leyva and “Gloria Anzaldua: La Gran Nueva Mestiza Theorist, Writer, Activist-Scholar”
by Emma Perez
Week 13:
5/1
Week 14
5/8
- excerpts from Luis Valdez: The Early Works
- Heroes and Saints & Other Plays by Cherrie Moraga
- excerpts from interviews, essays
reflections/discussion - evaluations
FINAL PAPERS DUE MAY 17th by 4pm in my box (KING 141) or my office Peters G-36