“Wild Tongues”:
Contemporary Latina Literature
and Cultural Production
Comparative Literature 34
Summer Session A, 2012
MTWRF 12:30- 1:40,
Phelps 1444
Instructor: Kristie Soares
Office Hours: Mon & Weds 11:30-12:30
Office: Phelps 6634
Email: ksoares@umail.ucsb.edu
http://wildtongues.wordpress.com/
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© Erika Lopez, 2012
Course Description:
“Wild tongues can't be tamed, they can only be cut out.”
― Gloria E. Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza
This course looks at the various “wild tongues” that have invented/re-invented/revolutionized the
field of Latina women’s literature and culture in the late 20th century. Focusing on women
writers that have dared to push the boundaries of acceptable femininity within Latin American
and Caribbean cultures, we will look at how they negotiate the role of Latina women within
family structures, linguistic communities, and socio-economic groups. Because Latina writers
often blur the boundaries of traditional literary genres, we will consider pinnacle works of Latina
literature—such as those of Gloria Anzaldúa, Emma Pérez, Erika Lopez, and Achy Obejas—
alongside other forms of cultural production, such as performance art, television sitcoms, and
popular music. We will also try our hands at these art forms in an effort to find new ways to
enjoy/understand/interact with the written word. Looking at everything from Modern Family to
Borderlands to our own writing, we will examine how these texts use their “wild tongues” to rewrite the role of Latina women in American and Latin American cultures.
Required Texts (available at UCen Bookstore):
 Anzaldúa, Gloria. Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. (B/LF)
 Lopez, Erica. Flaming Iguanas: An All-Girl Road Novel Thing.
 Obejas, Achy. We Came All the Way from Cuba So You Could Dress Like This? (WCALT)
 Pérez, Emma. Gulf Dreams.
**There is no course reader for this class. All other materials will be available on the course
website and marked “Web” on the schedule of readings. http://wildtongues.wordpress.com/**
Recommended Texts:
 This Bridge Called My Back: Writings By Radical Women of Color, edited by Cherríe
Moraga, and Gloria Anzaldúa
 Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics, by José Esteban Muñoz
 Games for Actors and Non-Actors, by Augusto Boal
Course Requirements and Grading:
Participation
15 points
Creative Group Presentation
10 points
Midterm Exam
20 points
Final Paper
25 points
Final Exam
30 points
------------------------------------------------------Total
100 points

Participation (15 points)
Participation is key to your success in this course. Failure to interact with the readings
on a daily basis will result in a zero for participation. I understand that speaking in front
of others (much less reading aloud or performing!) can be scary. Nonetheless, part of the
point of this course is to truly engage with Latina literature and cultural production on a
personal level. Don’t be afraid to be afraid! We’re all jumping in together in an effort to
find new ways to appreciate literature. I can do it in front of 30 students, you can do it
too  Having said this, if you’re uncomfortable speaking up in class come see me in the
first week and we can work out a system of daily written responses as an alternative.

Creative Group Presentation (10 points)
At one point in the semester you will have the unique opportunity to work collaboratively
in a small group to review/reflect on class material. This may seem unusual for a
literature class, but as you’ll see the Latina writers we study emphasize the importance of
creative expression and collectivity as a mode of producing and receiving knowledge. I
will help you prepare for this by leading you in creative warm-up exercises each day at
the beginning of class. For your presentation, your group’s job will be to select one of the
major texts of that week and put together a 15 minute presentation that 1) creatively
addresses its main points, 2) reflects the group members’ personal reactions to it, and 3)
allows class members to interact with the course material. Have fun with it! I am not
grading you on a finished piece of great art, but rather on your willingness and ability to
reflect on course material in non-traditional ways. Groups are responsible for running
their ideas by me by Wednesday of the week they present. Some ideas include: Reciting a
series of original raps or poems written in response to our unit on pop culture, and
leading class members in their own writing exercises. Making a comic book strip in
response to the graphic novel Flaming Iguanas, and bringing materials for students to
create their own comic book strips. Creating a physical representation of the
“borderland” in our classroom space, and asking students to navigate throughout it
using quotes from Borderlands/La Frontera.

Midterm Exam (25 points)
The in-class midterm will be a series of short essay questions to be answered on Friday,
July 13th. It will test your knowledge of class concepts, lecture material, and course
readings, as well as your ability to analyze texts. You are allowed to bring one doublesided 8 ½” x 11” piece of paper with notes as a “cheat sheet.”

Final Paper (25 points)
You’ll be asked to write a polished academic final paper that compares two of the texts
we have read in this class. The first must be one of our primary texts (Borderlands, Gulf
Dreams or Flaming Iguanas), but the second can be any of our readings from the class
(ex. a poem, article, film, or even another primary text). You must turn in your thesis idea
to me in advance on Wednesday, July 18th. Final papers are due at the beginning of class
on Friday, July 27th and must have 1) a title that points toward your main idea, 2) a clear
and specific thesis, 3) close readings of at least two texts, and 4) little to no basic plot
summary. Papers should be double-spaced, 1” margins, Times New Roman, and between
4-6 pages.

In-Class Final (30 points)
The non-cumulative in-class final will be a series of short essay questions to be
answered on Friday, August 3rd. It will test your knowledge of class concepts from the
second half of the course, as well as your ability to analyze texts. You are allowed to
bring one double-sided 8 ½” x 11” piece of paper with notes as a “cheat sheet.”
Attendance:
This course meets everyday for 6 weeks! It will be fast-paced and intense. You are allowed
two excused absences. The third absence will result in your grade being lowered by 10 points. A
fourth absence means you will be automatically dropped from the class. In rare cases of illness or
family emergency come see me immediately.
Course Policies:
 Students are responsible for checking their UMAIL accounts for any updates on the
course.
 Please use email only to schedule meetings, and/or for questions about administrative
matters. Questions about the content of the course are better discussed in person. Also, I
will only respond to formally written emails. For clarification see:
http://mleddy.blogspot.com/2005/01/how-to-e-mail-professor.html



Respect others—do not purposefully say things to hurt others and be mindful that others
may be of a different class, gender, sexuality, religion, race, or ability set than you. We
must all be tolerant of each other, so disrespect will not be allowed.
Please see me if you are registered with the DSP and you have accommodation issues.
All grade disputes must be in writing.
Campus Resources:
CLAS- Drop in writing tutors available in the SRB, Room 3210
Women’s Center- http://www.sa.ucsb.edu/women/
Resource Center for Gender and Sexual Diversity- http://www.sa.ucsb.edu/sgd/
Course Schedule
(All readings must be completed by the day they are listed on the syllabus)
Week 1
Mon, June 25
Tues, June 26
Weds, June 27
Thurs, June 28
Fri, June 29
Week 2
Mon, July 2
Tues, July 3
Weds, July 4
Thurs, July 5
Fri, July 6
Week 3
Mon, July 9
Tues, July 10
Weds, July 11
Thurs, July 12
Introduction to Latina Feminisms
Syllabus, “Loose Woman” (WEB)
“Long Island Iced Latina” by Marga Gomez (WEB), “Descendancy”
and “Mami’s Making Mambo” by Mayda del Valle (WEB),
“Cihuatlyotl, Woman Alone” (B/LF 195)
“Feminism on the Border” (WEB), “U.S. Latina and Latin American
Feminisms” (WEB)
“Playfulness, World-Traveling, and Loving Perception” (WEB)
GROUP 1, 2, 3 CREATIVE PRESENTATIONS
Alternate Ways of Knowing
Borderlands Intro to 2nd Ed (B/LF 1-13), The Homeland, Aztlán (B/LF
23-35)
The Coatlicue State (B/LF 63-73) Towards a New Consciousness
(B/LF 99-113)
NO CLASS – JULY 4th HOLIDAY
How to Tame a Wild Tongue (B/LF 75-86), : “El Sonovabitche”
(B/LF 146-51), “To live in the Borderlands means you” (B/LF 216),
GROUP 3, 4, 5 CREATIVE PRESENTATIONS
Resisting Colonization and Sexualized Violence
“Lupe’s Song” (WEB), “Sexual Violence in the Politics and Policies
of Conquest” (WEB), “In the Belly of the Beast: Puertorriqueñas
Challenging Colonialism” (WEB)
Gulf Dreams 1-74
Gulf Dreams 75-126
Gulf Dreams 127-157
Fri, July 13
Week 4
Mon, July 16
Tues, July 17
Weds, July 18
Thurs, July 19
Fri, July 20
Week 5
Mon, July 23
Tues, July 24
Weds, July 25
Thurs, July 26
Fri, July 27
Week 6
Mon, July 30
Tues, July 31
Weds, August 1
Thurs, August 2
Fri, August 3
IN CLASS MIDTERM EXAM
Queering Culture and Identity
Flaming Iguanas (1-29), “Boricua Lesbians” (WEB)
Flaming Iguanas (30-93), “Burning Down the Cannon” (WEB)
Flaming Iguanas (94-165), FINAL PAPER THESIS DUE
Flaming Iguanas (166-End)
GROUP 6, 7, 8, CREATIVE PRESENTATIONS
Latinas in Popular Culture
Excerpts from Disidentifications (WEB), “Miss, You Look Like a
Bratz Doll” (WEB), Clip from “Modern Family” (WEB)
Jennifer’s Butt (WEB), “Much More than a Butt” (WEB)
“En mi imperio: Competing Discourses of Agency in Ivy Queen’s
Reggaeton” (WEB), Poetry from La Bruja (WEB)
Excerpts from Dirty Girls Social Club (WEB)
FINAL PAPER DUE BEGINNING OF CLASS (4-6 PAGES)
Re-Writing Family and Kinship
“We Came All the Way from Cuba So You Could Dress Like This?”
(WCATW 113-131), “Queering Family” (WEB)
“Above All, A Family Man” (WCATW 47-70)
“The Spouse” (WCATW 83-91)
Review for final
IN CLASS FINAL EXAM