Department of Radio-Television-Film RTF 359/ MAS 374/ WGS 324 Unique #s 08850 RTF / 36427 MAS / 47765 WGS Latina Feminisms and Media Fall 2014

Meets 3:30-4:50pm Tuesdays & Thursdays, CMA 3.120 Screenings 5-7:30pm Thursdays, CMA 3.116

Professor: Dr. Mary Beltrán Office hours: 2-3pm Wed and Thur at CMA 6.124B, and by appointment Email & Office phone: [email protected], (512) 471-0021

Teaching Assistant: Ana Isabel Fernández de Alba, MA student, Mexican American Studies Office hours: 9-10am T & R at BUR 306, and by appointment Email: [email protected]

Teaching Assistant: Sara Liao, MA, PhD student, Radio-Television-Film Office hours: 2:30-3:30 Tuesdays at CMA 6.156, and by appointment Email: [email protected]

Course Description This upper-division undergraduate course surveys Chicana and Latina feminist scholarship, activism, and creative expression, with an emphasis on Latina media production and representation in U.S. entertainment media. We will explore the rise and development of Latina activism and feminisms in relation to the Chicana/o, Puerto Rican, and U.S. women’s movements and in relation to historical and social contexts for women and girls of Mexican American and other U.S. Latina heritage. The last half of the course will survey scholarship on Latina participation and representation in mediated popular culture and strategies of resistance enacted through Latina film and media production.

This course fulfills both the Cultural Diversity and Writing flags for undergraduates. Cultural Diversity courses are designed to increase your familiarity with the variety and richness of the American cultural experience through exploring the beliefs, practices, and histories of at least one cultural group that has faced persistent marginalization in the U.S. Writing Flag courses are designed to give students experience with writing in an academic discipline. You can expect to write regularly, complete substantial writing projects, and receive feedback to help you improve your writing. You will also have the opportunity to revise one or more assignments, and will be asked to read and discuss your peers’ work. A substantial portion of your grade will come from your written work.

Required Readings • Most of our readings are compiled in a course reader, available at Jenn’s Copies, 2518 Guadalupe. • We also will read from two required text books, for sale at the University Co-op, 2246 Guadalupe: (1) Vicki Ruiz’s From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in the Twentieth Century. New York: Oxford UP, 1998; and (2) Rosa Linda Fregoso’s MeXicana Encounters: 2

The Making of Social Identities in the Borderlands. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. We’ll use both books by the second week of class. • This book and the course packet also will be available for 2-hour checkout in the Perry Castañeda Library (PCL) Reserves. • Optional: A Spanish-English dictionary may be helpful for translating occasional words in Spanish in the readings. Available at most general bookstores.

Grading Breakdown:

Participation—10%. Participation includes taking an active part in class discussions and in-class exercises, and of course faithful attendance. I strongly encourage you to speak up, to ask questions about the reading, to get to know your classmates, and to get actively involved in the class.

Reading responses—10%. Beginning Week 3, you’ll be expected to post a short response on our Canvas site weekly to the class readings and/or a screening by 12:30pm before class. The class will be split in two, so that half will have responses due Tuesdays and the other half on Thursdays.

Your responses should be fairly brief but long enough to develop your thoughts, approximately 150-250 words. They should be critical, but feel free have fun with them as well. Try to bring up new ideas and points based on your reading of others’ comments. The teaching assistants and I will be monitoring the responses every week and will provide you with regular comments and a letter grade twice during the semester. These grades will be based on my assessment of your careful consideration of the reading and the clarity of your writing, in addition to the time and thought put into your responses.

Keep in mind to get an A: Post at least 10 times during the semester. While you can include some focus on a screening, each posting needs to also include some focus on a reading. Responses that are posted late will receive 1/2 credit.

Short Papers – 15%. Three short writing assignments (approximately 4 pages; worth 5% each) that will ask you to respond to course material. You will have an opportunity to revise one of these assignments at the end of the semestesr for a potentially higher grade.

Midterm Exam – 25%. **Oct. 16** An in-class exam that will consist of term definitions, short-answer questions, and an essay.

Final Paper—40%. Over the course of the semester, will be expected to write a research paper of approximately 12 pages on a topic related to Latinas and media. You will receive feedback on each element of the research paper as you submit it. As a part of the class you also will be required to meet independently with me to discuss the progress of your writing. In addition, you’ll receive and will be asked to offer feedback from and to a small peer review group of your fellow students on a first draft. Further information will be passed out in class well before the due dates. These are the paper components and deadlines:  Paper proposal (due Oct. 7): 10% of Final Paper grade  Outline (due Oct. 23): 5% of grade  First draft (due Nov. 13) to Dr. Beltran and peer reading group: 20% of grade  Brief Presentation (Dec. 2 or 4): 5% of grade  Final draft (Finals Week, date TBA): 60% of paper grade

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Class Policies

Grading system: Final grades will be based on a standard scale and will include + and – grades: A (93%+), A- (90- 92%), B+ (88-89%), B (83-87%), B- (80-82%), C+ (78-79%), C (73-77%), C- (70-72%), D+ (68- 69%), D (63-67%), D- (60-62%), F (less than 60%).

Late paper policy: Late papers will be penalized by 1/2 letter grade per day late.

Attendance: Regular and prompt attendance is expected. I allow two unexcused absences without penalty, while unexcused absences beyond two will result in grade sanctions. Please inform me via email if you ever have to miss a class. Excused absences include absences discussed in advance for religious holidays, or absences related to serious illness. Excessive tardiness also will result in grade sanctions; please arrive on time and let me know if you have to be consistently late.

Screenings: Like assigned reading in a literature course, the screenings in this class are required course material. If you do have to miss a screening, be sure to arrange with Dr. Beltrán to watch what you’ve missed before class on Tuesday.

Academic Honesty: With the exception of group assignments, work turned in by a student should be solely her/his own work. Plagiarism—any time an outside source is utilized in the writing of a student paper or in an assignment and not properly acknowledged—and other academic dishonesty results in severe sanctions, which can include failing the course or expulsion from the university. Be careful to not put yourself in this position. By accepting this syllabus, you have agreed to these guidelines and must adhere to them. For more information, please visit the Student Judicial services Web site at http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs

Undergraduate Writing Center. If you have difficulties with writing, I strongly encourage you to use the Undergraduate Writing Center at FAC 211, http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/uwc/. The UWC offers individualized assistance to students who want to improve their writing skills. There is no charge, and students may come in on a drop in or appointment basis.

Please inform me early in the semester if you have a learning difference or other issue that could affect your performance in seminar or your research or writing. The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities, 512-471-6259, http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/.

Topics and Reading Schedule

Week 1 (Aug. 28): Introduction to the Course

Aug. 28 Screening: Salt of the Earth (1954, Herbert J. Biberman, 94 min.)

Week 2 (Sept. 2 & 4): Histories and Identities: Mexican American Women and Chicanas

Reading (T 9/2): Vicki Ruiz, Introduction and Ch. 1; Ellen R. Baker, “Household Relations”

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Reading (R 9/4): Ruiz, Chapter 2; Rosa Linda Fregoso, “Ghosts of a Mexican Past”

Sept. 4 screening, 4:45-7:20: West Side Story (1961, Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins)

Week 3 (Sept. 9 & 11): Histories and Identities: Puertorriqueñas & Other U.S. Latinas **Reading responses start

Reading (T): Laura Briggs, “’I Like to Be in America’: Postwar Puerto Rican Migration, the Culture of Poverty, and the Moynihan Report”

(R): Class will not meet. Read Maria Elena Cepeda, “Shakira as Idealized Transnational Citizen” and submit Discussion Worksheet response

Sept. 11, 5pm screening: Chicano! “Taking Back the Schools” (1996, Susan Racho, 54 min.) Palante! Siempre Palante! The Young Lords (1996, Iris Morales, 48 min.)

Week 4 (Sept. 16 & 18): Women in the Chicano & Puerto Rican Movements

Reading (T): Ruiz, Ch. 5; Elizabeth Martinez, “Chingón Politics Die Hard;” Beatriz Pesquera and Denise Segura,”There is No Going Back: Chicanas and Feminism;” The Young Lords, “Position on Women’s Liberation” Short Paper #1 due

Reading (R): Dionne Espinoza, “Revolutionary Sisters: Women’s Solidarity and Collective Identification among Chicana Brown Berets in East Los Angeles, 1967-1970;” “The Young Lords Party Position Paper on Women”

Sept. 18: No screening

Week 5 (Sept. 23 & 25): Origins of Chicana Feminisms: Early Writing and Art

Reading (T): Martha Cotera, “Our Feminist Heritage;” Anna Nieto-Gómez, “Chicana Feminism;” Gloria Anzaldúa, “La Conciencia de la Mestiza”

Reading (R): Angie Chabram Dernersesian, “And Yes, The Earth… Did Part;” Rita Urquijo-Ruiz, “Staging the Self, Staging Empowerment: An Overview of Latina Theater and Performance”

Sept. 25 screening: Paulina (1997/2010, Vicky Funari, 90 min., BLA 13120)

Week 6 (Sept. 30 & Oct. 2): Latinas, Gender & Sexuality

Reading (T) Ruiz, Ch. 3, pp. 51-71; Fregoso, “Cross-Border Feminist Solidarities” Short Paper #2 due

Reading (R): Gloria Gonzalez-Lopez, “Heterosexuality Exposed” In-class screening: Brincando el Charco (1994, Frances Negrón Mutaner)

Oct. 2 screening: Las Marthas (Cristina Ibarra, 2014)

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Week 7 (Oct. 7 & 9): Community Activism / Community Rituals

Reading (T): Ruiz, Ch. 4 & 6 Paper proposal and bibliography due

Reading (R): Karen Mary Dávalos, “La Quinceañera: Making Gender and Ethnic Identities” Possible Guest Presenter: Filmmaker Cristina Ibarra

Oct. 9 screening: Pretty Vacant (1996, Jim Mendiola, 33 min. BLA 12899 ) / Corpus: A Home Movie for Selena (1999, Lourdes Portillo, 47 min. BLA 11723)

Week 8 (Oct. 14 & 16): Latinas Speaking Out Through Popular Culture/ Midterm Exam

Reading (T): Michelle Habell-Pallan, “Soy Punkera, Y Qúe?” Deborah Paredez, “Becoming Selena, Becoming Latina”

Thursday, 10/16: Midterm Exam

Oct. 16 screening: After the Earthquake (1979, Lourdes Portillo, 23 min. BLA 13321*) / The Devil Never Sleeps (1994, Lourdes Portillo, 86 min. BLA 7428*)

Week 9 (Oct. 21 & 23): The First Wave of Latina Media Producers

Reading (T): Fregoso, “La Quinceañera of Chicana Counter Aesthetics;” Liz Kotz, “Unofficial Stories: Documentaries by Latinas and Latin American Women”

Reading (R): Fregoso, “Devils and Ghosts, Mothers and Immigrants: A Critical Retrospective of the Works of Lourdes Portillo” Paper Outline due

Oct. 23 screening: Mi Vida Loca/My Crazy Life (1994, Allison Anders, 100 min.)

Week 10 (Oct. 28 & 30): Conundrums in Latina Representation

Reading (T) Fregoso, “Familia Matters;” Thea Pitman, “Allison Anders and the ‘Racial “Authenticity” Membership-Test’: Keeping Mi Vida Loca/My Crazy Life (1994) on the Margins of Chicano Cinema”

Reading (R): Beltrán, “Crossing Over the Latina Body: Jennifer Lopez…”

Oct. 30 screening: Mosquita Y Mari (2013, Aurora Guerrero, 85 min.)

Week 11 (Nov. 4 & 6): Latinas and Independent Film

Reading (T): Adriana C. Muñiz and María Fernanda Nieto, “The Emerging Latina Voice in Filmmaking” Short Paper #3 due

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(R): Jillian Baez, “Toward a Latinidad Feminista” In-class screening: Latina shorts

Nov. 6 screening: Girlfight (2000, Karyn Kusama, 110 min.)

Week 12 (Nov. 11 & 13): The Mediated Latina Body

Reading (T): Angharad Valdivia, “Is Penelope to J.Lo as Culture is to Nature?” Beltrán, “Más Macha: The New Latina Action Hero”

Reading (R): Isabel Molina Guzmán, “Modern Family’s Latina Spitfire in the Era of White Resentment.” In-class screening: Episode of Modern Family

Nov 13 screening: , “Queens for a Day”; Segments from Quiero Mis Quince, The Bridge, Devious Maids, etc.

Week 13 (Nov. 18 & 20): Latinas and Contemporary U.S. Television

Reading (T): Isabel Molina Guzmán, “Ugly America Dreams the American Dream” Paper Draft due

Reading (R): Vicki Mayer, “Living Telenovelas/Telenovelizing Life”

Nov. 20 screening: Episodes of Ylse, East Willy B., Justice Woman, Police Chicks

Week 14 (Nov. 25): Latina Media Futures

Reading (T): Vittoria Rodriguez and Mary Beltrán, “Una Nueva Frontera for Latina/os in Web Television” Peer comments on paper/project abstracts and outlines

Nov. 27: Have a happy Thanksgiving! No class or screening.

Week 15 (Dec. 2 & 4): Presentations

T: Paper presentations

R: Paper presentations, and Class Wrap-up Short Paper Revision due

Research papers and projects due: Finals week, Date TBA