The course examines the historical and contemporary experiences of Latinxs in the United States. It draws primarily from the social sciences to explore U.S. Latinx experiences and identity across national origin groups, immigrant generations, and colonial time periods. Themes include conceptualizations of Spanish/American settler colonialism, the US Border, panethnicity, racialization and categorization of Latinos, immigration and deportation, social movements, and acculturation.

The course examines the historical and contemporary experiences of Latinxs in the United States. In particular, we will draw on Latinx Studies and Sociological work that focus on the institutional forces that have shaped the ethnic, panethnic, and racial categories and experiences available to various Latino subgroups. To that end, the course is divided into two modules. The first will provide a historical review of the socio-historical patterns of Latin American migration and settlement. In this segment we will also consider how local, state, and national governments have historically racially and legally classified Latin American migrants and their descendents. Moreover, we will examine the role that social movements and civic groups have played in advancing Latinx forms of resistance amidst erasure, invisibility, and community subordination. The second module examines how different institutions shape the Latinx experience in the US today. These particular weeks draw on data and the best and most recent studies to show how different Latinx communities have been affected by the structure of US education, healthcare, media, and politics. In these weeks, students will learn relevant statistics and tease out the interconnected structural mechanisms that shape Latinx life in the US.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.