Mexican American Studies 10B
Time: Monday, Wednesday 9:00am-10:15am & 10:30am-11:45am
Location: CLARK 226
In this course, we will study Mexican American history from the 1880s to the present-day, focusing mainly on the twentieth century. The time span at the heart of our course is rich and fascinating. It begins in the aftermath of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), the document that formally created “Mexican Americans.” However, events truly gain speed in the early 1900s due to the migration of Mexicans into the US following the Mexican Revolution, when fully 10% of Mexico’s population ventured north—the largest sustained wave of immigration this country has ever seen. Despite this long historical presence, Mexican Americans are still seen by many as only recent arrivals to the US. What has been the effect of this silencing and dismissal, and how have Mexican Americans responded and persevered? We will do our best to restore Mexican Americans to American history by studying their popular culture, union involvement, military history, farmworker struggles, political movements, and much, much more.
Rather than focus exclusively on the “who,” “what” and “when” of his/herstory, together we will focus on the many “why”s and “how”s: Why did the past unfold as it did? Why does focusing on Mexican American culture challenge any assumptions we may have about early US history? How do the forces of race, class and gender shape this era of US history? And finally, how are historical narratives created, and what purpose(s) are they meant to serve?
Syllabus and Hand-outs
Required Reading and Class Assignments for the semester