Fall 2006

E 314V • Mexican American Literature and Culture

Course Description

This course will consider the relationship between Mexican-American literary productions and the social conditions and possibilities of its production, mainly concentrating on novels since the 1970s. Topics will include: cultural nationalism as a response to structural racism, the articulations of literary form and cultural nationalism during the Chicano Renaissance and after, the fate of both texts and their producers within various institutions, the gendered division of literary labor and the feminist critique of nationalist aesthetics, and queer transformations of the Mexican American literary landscape.

Grading Policy

Completion of all writing projects and preparation of assigned readings and exercises is mandatory, as is regular section attendance and participation. Anyone arriving more than five (5) minutes after the official class start time will be counted as absent.

Participation/attendance including possible pop quizzes 10%
Freewriting exercises 10%
Two outlines of 1 page apiece 10%
Two position papers of 2-3 pages each 20%
Peer review 10%
Two essays of 4-5 pages each 40%

Texts

Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima
Ron Arias, The Road to Tamazunchale
Ana Castillo, The Mixquiahuala Letters
Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street
Arturo Islas, The Rain God
Tomás Rivera, y no so lo trago la tierra (bilingual edition)
Michele Serros, How to be a Chicana Role Model
Helena Viramontes, Under the Feet of Jesus

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