THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN DEPARTMENT OF MEXICAN AMERICAN AND LATINA/O STUDIES SPRING 2021 MAS 315 (40640) AND WGS 301 (46000) LATINAS IN POPULAR PERFORMANCE: FROM CELIA TO SELENA MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS FROM 10:00 TO 11:30 AM. (SYNCHRONOUS) INTERNET (CANVAS / ZOOM) PROFESSOR: LAURA G. GUTIÉRREZ EMAIL: [email protected] OFFICE PHONE: 471-3543 OFFICE HOURS: ON ZOOM OFFICE HOURS: MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS FROM 3:30-4:30 PM & BY APPOINTMENT Land Acknowledgment (I) We would like to acknowledge that we are meeting on Indigenous land. Moreover, (I) We would like to acknowledge and pay our respects to the Carrizo & Comecrudo, Coahuiltecan, Caddo, Tonkawa, Comanche, Lipan Apache, Alabama-Coushatta, Kickapoo, Tigua Pueblo, and all the American Indian and Indigenous Peoples and communities who have been or have become a part of these lands and territories in Texas, here on Turtle Island. Course Description: While this course’s title suggest that the span of the class material covered will begin with a visual cultural analysis of Celia Cruz, the Queen of Salsa, and will end with Selena, the Queen of Tejano, these two figures only conceptually bookend the ideas that will be explored during the semester. This class will begin by sampling a number of performances of Latinas in popular cultural texts to get lay the ground for the analytical and conceptual frameworks that we will be exploring during the semester. First of all, in a workshop format, we will learn to analyze cultural texts that are visual and movement-based. We will, for example, learn to write performance and visual analysis by collectively learning and putting into practice vocabulary connected to the body in movement, space(s), and visual references (from color to specific ethnic tropes). Second, we will begin to explore the ways in which Latinas have been hypervisible and invisible at the same time, both in culture and in society at large. The class asks the following: how can we reconcile that the notion of Queen, as signaled by these two figures, or, in general, the notion of Diva, used to signal a performance of virtuosity and excellence, which merited adoration, can co-exist in a society where Latinas are devalued? By combining methods from Latinx Studies and Performance Studies, where embodied practices and representations of race and ethnicity are conjoined in our analysis, we will have a wider understanding of Latinas in popular culture in the United States beginning in the early 20th Century. To that end, this class will examine figures in US 20th and 21st centuries popular culture that have enriched some cultural industries, specifically Hollywood and the music industry, yet have been exceedingly exoticized, discriminated because of race and gender, and marginalized or rendered invisible. By being attendant to the conventions that have manufactured certain representations, that is, by learning to analyze performance texts in popular culture, the students will come to understand not only questions of gender and race and ethnicity as important analytics, but will also become conversant in the theories and practices of performance. Some of the figures that we will study include: Carmen Miranda, Lupe Vélez, Dolores del Río, María Montez, Rita Moreno, Celia Cruz, La Lupe, La India, Jennifer López, Selena, Shakira, Cardi B. 1 THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN DEPARTMENT OF MEXICAN AMERICAN AND LATINA/O STUDIES Objectives: • To study popular cultural representations of Latinas in the U.S. • To learn about how embodied practices by Latinas (movement, singing, live presentations—even if mediated—are have existed and operated since the early 20th Century. • To understand how Latina popular performance produces cultural, social, and political significance. • To develop critical thinking and reading skills. • To cultivate the ability to take part in critical discussions about Latina performance. • To begin to develop skills in performance description and analysis. • To learn basic skills in performance research and writing. • To learn the basics of collective work, public speaking, and fielding questions. Required Texts in University Co-op (On Guadalupe) and Resistencia Bookstore (2000 Thrasher Ln, Austin, TX 78741) Hernández, Jillian. Aesthetics of Excess: The Art and Politics of Black and Latina Embodiment (only available in print, you may want to purchase online, either print or digital) Mendible, Myra, editor. From Bananas to Buttocks: The Latina Body in Popular Film and Culture (available in print and digital, but it’s also available through UT Libraries online) Paredez, Deborah. Selenidad: Selena, Latinos, and the Performance of Memory (available in print and digital, but it’s also available through UT Libraries online) ADDITIONAL REQUIRED READING MATERIAL (AVAILABLE THROUGH CANVAS) Aparicio, Frances R. "La Lupe, La India, and Celia: Toward a Feminist Genealogy of Salsa Music" Cepeda, María Elena. “Shakira as the Idealized, Transnational Citizen: A case study of Colombianidad in Transition” Fregoso, Rosa Linda. "Lupe Vélez: The Queen of B's"(Bananas to Buttocks) Molina-Guzmán, Isabel. "Disciplining J.Lo: Booty Politics in Tabloid News" Negrón-Muntaner, Frances. “Celia’s Shoes” (Bananas to Buttocks) Negrón-Muntaner, Frances. "Feeling Pretty: West Side Story and Puerto Rican Identity Discourses" Roberts, Shari. “The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat” REQUIRED AUDIO VISUAL TEXTS: AVAILABLE THROUGH THE PROFESSOR, ON LINE, OR IN CLASS González, Rita, The Assumption of Lupe Vélez Solberg, Helena, Bananas is my Business Troyano, Ela, La Lupe: Queen of Latin Soul Wise, Robert and Jerome Robins, West Side Story Cardi B Music Videos (selected) Celia Cruz: The Legacy Project (https://celiacruz.com/music/) Celia Cruz Music Videos and segments of biographical video documentary sketches Dolores del Río (selected early Hollywood film segments) Jennifer López Music Videos and segments of some films India Music Videos (selected) Latin Music USA—program #3 and #4 María Montez (selected film segments) Rita Moreno (selected segments of TV appearances) 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN DEPARTMENT OF MEXICAN AMERICAN AND LATINA/O STUDIES Shakira Music Videos (selected) Some preliminary notes *Even if we will be meeting virtually, the space the we will always be seeking to create will be respectful of all of our differences, whether they are religious beliefs, racial backgrounds, immigration status, gender presentations, ways of speaking (i.e. accents), in sum, all of our differences. *Let’s do our best to stay healthy, both physically and mentally. Do let me know if I need to do anything to ensure that we are all doing well. Requirements BREAKDOWN OF REQUIREMENTS: • Attendance and Active class participationà20% • Midterm Examà25% March 24 • Three short papers (2 pages; 10% each)à30% February 12, March 12, April 9 • Final Examà25% May15 DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS: ATTENDANCE AND ACTIVE CLASS PARTICIPATION (20%): Part of what makes my classes more generative are the discussions, for them, you must attend. Although attendance would only account for five percent of your final grad (5%), discussion will be fifteen percent (15%). You are allowed a total of THREE excused absences. After three absences, your final grade will be affected because of the lack of participation. Tardiness will not be tolerated; please arrive to class on time. The students are entirely responsible for class material that is covered during class lectures and discussions. The professor will not hold additional hours to cover material missed because of an absence. Office hours are exclusively for the review of material or if the student needs additional guidance (understanding concepts, historical contexts, etc). There is an active participation component to your grade so you must come prepared to participate actively in the discussion of the assigned texts/materials. If class discussions become too professor-centered, the professor will upload questions that the student must then bring to class, with answers, in order to earn participation grade. The professor will ask each student to bring in a text to class to share and discuss. Additionally, you must be willing to listen to your fellow classmates and respond intelligently and respectfully. SHORT PAPERS (30%): You will have three 2-page papers (each worth 10%) based on course readings. These papers are designed to gauge your ability to synthesize the readings and to take a rigorously argued and logical position vis-à-vis that material. They are intended for the student to be able to expand the ideas that have been generated by the reading and/or viewings of films and in lecture and discussion sections. I will upload 4 questions (at the most, but perhaps 3) onto canvas and you will be asked to base your short essay on one of those questions. The papers are due at the end of the due date (11:59 pm CST) via Canvas! MIDTERM EXAM (25%) 3 THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN DEPARTMENT OF MEXICAN AMERICAN AND LATINA/O STUDIES FINAL EXAM (25%) GradinG Scale: 92-100 A 80-91 B 70-79 C 60-69 D below 60 E Notice regarding Academic Integrity A fundamental principle for any educational institution, academic integrity is highly valued and seriously regarded at The University of Texas at Austin. More specifically, you and other students are expected to maintain absolute integrity and a high standard of individual honor in scholastic work undertaken at the University. This is a very basic expectation that is further reinforced by the University's Honor Code. At a minimum, you should complete any assignments, exams, and other scholastic endeavors with the utmost honesty, which requires you to: • acknowledge the contributions of other sources to your scholastic efforts; • complete your assignments independently unless expressly authorized to seek or obtain assistance in preparing them; • follow instructions for assignments and exams, and observe the standards of your academic discipline; and • avoid engaging in any form of academic dishonesty on behalf of yourself or another student.