Fall 2013 Professor Cary Cordova AMS 370 [email protected] Unique #: 30880 AMS 370/ MAS 374 Office: BUR 418 MAS 374 Office Hours: Unique #: 36557 Tues/Thurs 3-4:30 p.m. Class Schedule: RADICAL Office Phone: 512-232-4582 Tues./Thurs. 12:30-2:00 p.m. Classroom: BUR 228 LATINOS The word “radical” encompasses a wide variety of meanings, including being different, “other,” new, extreme, awesome, and even serving as a label for the political Left. Radical suggests a “black sheep” quality, or an inability to fit into standard operating procedure. This course will use the word “radical” to examine the social positioning and history of Latinas/os in the United States. Specifically, we will use this framework to analyze the histories of Latinas/os who have gone against mainstream expectations, or who have challenged or critiqued the status quo in provocative and unexpected ways. The class will examine a wide range of potentially “radical” actions and ideas, incorporating activists, such as Emma Tenayuca, Luisa Moreno, Lolita Lebron, and Reies López Tijerina, social movements, such as the Young Lords and the Cuba Lobby, films, such as Salt of the Earth and Palante, Siempre Palante!, and artists, such as Guillermo Gomez-Peña and Guillermo Verdecchia. In looking at what is considered extreme, out of the ordinary, or unusual, the class is equally invested in what is appropriate, ordinary, traditional, and everyday. REQUIRED TEXTS: COURSE READER: This class requires a course reader, available for purchase at Abel’s Copies, located at 715 West 23rd Street [cross street: Rio Grande, across from University Towers], Austin, TX 78705-5100. The phone for Abel’s is (512) 472-5353. http://www.abelscopies.com Please note: The first few articles will be posted on Blackboard <https://courses.utexas.edu>, to allow you time to acquire the texts. If you have trouble accessing the Blackboard system, contact the computing helpdesk (512-475-9400). One copy of the course reader will be on reserve at PCL. GRADING: Performance Analysis (4-5 pages) (15%). “Radical” History Paper (5-6 pages) (25%). Group Discussion Questions and In-Class Moderating (5%) o As part of a larger group (about 4-5 students), each student will have one opportunity over the course of the semester to lead class discussion. o The group is required to moderate class discussion for a significant portion of the class, using thoughtful, original discussion questions. Students also will be responsible for submitting their group discussion questions at the end of class. o Discussion questions will be graded based on their thoughtfulness, originality, composition, and depth. Please provide a minimum of eight questions. This is an exercise to make you (and your peers) think deeply about the texts and develop your critical thinking skills. A “Radical” Final (TOTAL 35%): o Research Proposal (5%) o Radical Final Workshop Peer Feedback (5%) o Final Presentation (5%) o “Radical” Final (20%) o Given the subject of this class, you will be asked to devise your own final, subject to the professor’s approval. The final must reflect an effort to synthesize the course materials in a meaningful way. Guidelines will be established based on your proposal. If you are unable to come up with a viable “Radical” final, I will assign you a 10-page-minimum final research paper. Attendance & Participation: (20%) o Because class participation is considered an important part of this class, attendance will be noted each day. Missing more than 3 classes is likely to negatively impact your grade. Missing more than 6 classes is a guaranteed zero for attendance and participation, and also may result in failing the class. o However, I am asking for more than just attendance. You should make an effort to participate and show me that you have done the reading, or are actively listening to lecture. A variety of classroom exercises will ensure you are up-to-date with readings and contributing to class discussion. I look for quality of insights shared versus sheer quantity of comments made. o Tips for participation: As you read, think about what you might add to our discussion. What ideas are driving the reading? How is the argument supported? Consider not just your personal reaction, but the big picture questions and contradictions. Come to class with questions for discussion or with related ideas to make connections. o QUIZZES: I do pop reading quizzes. They are not hard if you have done the reading. Come to class prepared. I do not give make-up quizzes. For quizzes, I grade using the following symbols: + (excellent); + (good); (acceptable); - (poor); — (failed). In establishing your final grade on the quizzes, I will take into account your overall performance in the class and your best quiz grades. EXTRA CREDIT o As the semester rolls along, there may be a few opportunities for extra credit. So what is extra credit worth? Extra credit is given weight in the assessment of your participation grade. It is meant to help students that would like a little more recognition in this aspect of the grading process. It is in no way required, but it can help push students up a couple of points in their overall participation grade. Students are also welcome to propose opportunities for extra credit. GRADING SCALE: 100-93 = A 92-90 = A- 87-89 = B+ 84-86 = B 80-83 = B- 77-79 = C+ 74-76 = C 70-73 = C- 67-69 = D+ 64-66 = D 60-63 = D- 0-59 = F POLICIES: CLASSROOM CONDUCT: o In order to build the best possible learning environment, please be respectful of the professor and other students. Reading the newspaper, falling asleep, talking to your friends, texting, or other examples of disregarding the learning environment, are not acceptable conduct. Should you feel compelled to engage in these activities, you may be asked to leave the classroom. Also, please turn off and put away all the electronics – cell phones, ipads, and laptops. ASSIGNMENTS: o Students are expected to do the required readings for each class in advance of attending class. Students also are encouraged to bring the reading / course reader with them to class, in order to refer to the material when needed (or perhaps prepare for a pop quiz!). o You are responsible for the material missed in any class. I will not respond to any email requests to summarize an entire class, but I will respond to in-person requests during office hours or by appointment. Alternatively, consult with a fellow student. PAPERS AND LATE POLICY: o All papers must be typed and proofread; careless editing will incur deductions. All assignments are due at the beginning of the scheduled class. Extensions on graded assignments will be granted only in the case of a medical or family emergency, or if you have official documented college business off campus. You must notify me before the due date. Failure to do so will result in the automatic subtraction of a letter grade. Assignments turned in late without an allowable excuse will lose one letter grade for each day past the due date. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: o Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and any incidents of dishonesty will be reported to the appropriate authorities. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism (the unauthorized appropriation of another’s work – including from Websites – in one’s own written work offered for credit) and collusion (the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing college work offered for credit). These acts will be subject to serious academic penalty. ACTS OF PLAGIARISM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. ACCOMMODATION: o Requests for academic accommodations are to be made during the first three weeks of the semester so that appropriate arrangements can be made. o Disabilities: Students with disabilities who need special accommodations should notify the professor by presenting a letter prepared by the Services for Students with Disabilities Office. To ensure that the most appropriate accommodations can be provided, students should contact the SSD Office at 471-6259 or 471-4641 TTY. o Religious Observances: Per the UT General Information Catalog, “[a] student who is absent from a class or examination for the observance of a religious holy day may complete the work issued within a reasonable time after the absence, if proper notice has been given” (page 71). The deadline for notification of such an absence is fourteen days prior to the class absence, or the first class day for religious holy days that fall within the first two weeks of the semester. Course Schedule: Please Note: This schedule is subject to change as needed. WEEK 0 Thursday, August 29 Introduction & Welcome WEEK 1 What’s Radical? Who’s Latino? Tuesday, September 3 Rules for Radicals o READ: Saul D. Alinsky, Preface and Chapter Two: Of Means and Ends,” Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals (New York: Vintage, 1989 (1971)), xiii-xxvi and 24-47. o DUE: 1-page Alinsky Response Paper. Answer either of the following questions: 1. What is, or is not, radical about Alinsky’s writing? 2. How does Alinsky’s text from 1971 speak to, or not speak to, the political climate of today? Thursday, September 5 The Latino Imaginary o READ: Ruben Salazar, “Who is a Chicano? And What Is It the Chicanos Want?” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, February 6, 1970, B7. o READ: Frances R. Aparicio, “(Re)constructing Latinidad: The Challenge of Latina/o Studies,” from A Companion To Latina/o Studies, eds., Juan Flores and Renato Rosaldo (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2007). o READ: Juan Flores, “The Latino Imaginary,” From Bomba to Hip Hop: Puerto Rican Culture and Latino Identity (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000), 191-203.