ES499:Theory, Creativity, Activism
Tuesday and Thursday, 10-11:20am
104 Gilbert Hall
Matt Garcia
305 McKenzie Hall
Office Hours: Thurs, 12:30-3:30pm
Tel: 6-0903
Email:
Description
This class will bring together much of the literature and discussions conducted throughout your education as an Ethnic Studies major and prepare you for the application of Ethnic Studies in your post-graduate life.I have chosen to emphasize three themes that have been dominant in your Ethnic Studies curriculum:Theory, Creativity, and Activism.We will begin by critically exploring the democratic principles that underlie the “American system,” including the theory that such a system is predicated on equality and justice.Our discussions and readings will include an examination of the contributions and limitations of multiculturalism, postmodernism, and feminism, and the relevance of (ethnic) “experience” in interpreting and addressing the problems we face as a planetary civil society.The majority of the class will be dedicated to the praxis of Ethnic Studies as creative and political human beings.We will read fiction and non-fiction and view films that articulate the complexities of life in North America, especially in our current moment of crisis.The final weeks will be dedicated to exploring social conflict and strategies for overcoming disputes in a manner that accounts for the racial, gender and material divisions that shape our society, past and present.
Ethnic Studies Proseminar 499 is designed as a concluding or “capstone” class for students who have fulfilled most or all of their requirements for the major and are planning to graduate this year or before the beginning of Spring term 2004.You will conclude the class (and your major) by completing a research project of your choosing (details below).
Required Readings
All books can be purchased at Mother Kali’s Bookstore, 720 E. 13thAve.They have a limited number of used copies for each book.
Kincaid, Jamaica.A Small Place. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1988.
Martinez, Ruben.Crossing Over:A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2001.
Moya, Paula.Learning from Experience:Minority Identities, Multicultural Struggles. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
Prashad, Vijay.Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting:Afro-Asian Connections and The Myth of Cultural Purity. Boston: Beacon Press, 2001.
Smith, Anna Deavere.Twilight--Los Angeles, 1992 on the Road:A Search for American Character. New York: Anchor Books, 1994.
Thompson, Becky.A Promise and A Way of Life:White Antiracist Activism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2001.
Course Copies (indicated byin the schedule below)—Copies can be obtained at The Copy Shop on 539 E. 13thStreet.
Required Films
Real Women Have Curves
La BodaandLa Escuela
In the Light of Reverence
Life and Debt
Sa-I-Gu
Assignments
You will be responsible for writing a two to three page review of eitherLa Boda/La EscuelaorLife and Debt.Additionally, you must submit a one-page project proposal during week two, discuss your project between weeks 8-10, and submit your final project by 10am, Tuesday, June 10th.During the project presentation, I will ask you questions, and you will be expected to talk about your project in front of the class.You are advised to visit me during office hours before your project presentation date.The following is a breakdown of your grade.
Film Essay:25%
Project Proposal:10%
Project Presentation:10%
Discussion:25%
Final Project:30%
Weekly Meetings
Reading is to be completed on the day it is scheduled.
Week One
April 1:The Promise of America
de Tocqueville, 99-113()
April 3:NO MEETING; READ!!!
Prashad, ix-36
Week Two
April 8 The American Ideology
Prashad, 37-69; Moya, 1-21
April 9:La Boda; La Escuela
Media Services, Studio D, 7pm
April 10: Theorizing Difference
Moya, 58-99; Sandoval (), “U.S. Third World Feminism”; Moraga (), FromThis Bridge Called My Back
Week Three
April 15:Multicultural Feminism
Thompson, 143-170
April 17:White Antiracist Activism
Thompson, 231-374
April 18:Extra Credit--Ramon Gutiérrez, UCSD Ethnic Studies
Week Four
April 22:Uses and Abuses of Multiculturalism, Diversity and ES
Moya, 136-174
April 23:In The Light of Reverence
See on your own, Reserve, Knight Library
April 24:Visit Bharati Ansari, Jefferson Middle School
McCarthy, FromThe Uses of Culture()
Week Five
April 29:Life and Debt
Kincaid,A Small Place, first half
May 1:Finish and DiscussLife and Debt
Finish Kincaid
PROJECT PROPOSAL DUE
Week Six
May 6:Neoliberalism and Immigration
Martínez, 21-117
May 7:Real Women Have Curves
Media Services, Studio D, 7pm
FILM ESSAY DUE
May 8:Border Matters
Martínez, 119-192
Week Seven
May 13: Mexican Immigrant Life
Martínez, 195-265
May 15:Visit Carmen Urbina, Centro Latino Americano
Martínez, 267-328
Week Eight
May 20:Discuss Crossing Over
May 21:Sa-I-gu
See on your own, Reserve, Library
May 22:Ethnic Conflict
Prashad, 70-125
PROJECT PRESENTATIONS [3]
Week Nine
May 27:Afro-Asian Connections
Prashad, 126-149
PROJECT PRESENTATIONS [3]
May 29:L.A.Stories
AnnaDevere Smith,Twilight LA(Bring to class)
PROJECT PRESENTATIONS [3]
Week Ten
June 3:The Future of Ethnic Studies
PROJECT PRESENTATIONS [3]
June 5:Applying ES
PROJECT PRESENTATIONS [3]
June 10:FINAL PROJECTS DUE,10am, 201 McKenzie Hall