Long Beach City College - Spring 2004

English 79:  Intro to Latino Literature

Section 33670

 

           

Instructor:  Dr. Karen Rose           Class room:  P104

          Office:  P103                               Class time:   MW 9:30 – 11:00 am

          Phone:  562-938-4099                 Course web site:  www.skidandkaren.com

          E-mail:  krose@lbcc.edu                                 

Office hours:  Mondays 1:30 – 2:30 pm, Tuesdays & Thursdays 1:00 - 3:00 pm

                                               

 

Course Prerequisite

You are ready to take English 79 if you are eligible to take English 1.  You may have been placed in English 1 after taking the English assessment test, OR you have successfully completed English 105 or ESL 34 with a grade of “C” or better.

 

Course Description

English 79 is a three-unit course (transferable to CS/UC) that provides an introduction to Latino literature published in the U.S. during the twentieth century.  From coming of age in the barrio to the struggles of migrant farm workers, the diverse perspectives of the contemporary Latino experience will be our focus.  Loss of homeland, immigration, identity, language, education, poverty, gangs, drugs, sex, violence, and religion are some topics we will discuss.  After we progress through a series of texts that illustrate the development and growth of Latino Lit, we will conclude by considering to what degree we can see contemporary work either writing into the “American” mainstream or rewriting that mainstream through an alternate perspective.  Warning:  This class is not for the faint-hearted.  If analyses of traditional religious beliefs, class, gender, hetero- and homo-sexuality offend you or go against your religious beliefs, drop this class today.

 

Textbooks

  • Augenbraum, Harold and Margarite Fernandez Olmos.  The Latino Reader:  An American Literary Tradition from 1542 to the Present.
  • Castillo, Ana.  The Mixquiahuala Letters.  1986.
  • Cisneros, Sandra.  The House on Mango Street.  1989.
  • Rivera, Tomás.  And the Earth Did Not Devour Him.  1987.
  • Rodríguez, Luis J.  Always Running:  La Vida Loca:  Gang Days in L.A.  1993.
  • Viramontes, Helena María.  Under the Feet of Jesus.  1995

 

Requirements

  • Weekly position papers:  1 page responses to the week’s reading assignment.  While these papers will not be graded, failing to complete them will adversely affect your grade.
  • Group and class discussions:  Your participation in group activities and class discussions is very important.  Not only will participating help you develop your oral communication skills, it will help make our class more interesting and enjoyable.  Please don’t be shy.  To help those of you who have difficulties speaking up in class, each member of the class will be required to sign up to be the discussion leader for one of the reading assignments.  Guidelines as to what is expected of discussion leaders will be discussed in class. 
  • Two short essays (2-4 pages):  The topics will be closely related to the reading assignments.
  • Midterm and Final Exam:  You will be expected to recognize and write about passages from the reading selections and respond to 1-2 essay questions.

 

Attendance and Class Participation

I will take attendance at the beginning of class everyday.  I expect you to arrive on time, bring your textbook to class, and be prepared to participate in class discussions and activities.  Your failure to fulfill these expectations will adversely affect your grade.  Please make note of the following rules:

·         You are allowed three absences without penalty.  After that, I will deduct points for each class that you miss.

·         If you miss six class meetings, I will drop you from the class.

·         Three tardies count as one absence.

·         In-class work missed during an absence cannot be made up. 

 

Late work

Fifteen points will be deducted for each day your essay is late (including weekends).  In-class essays cannot be made up.  When an assignment is due, it must be handed in at the beginning of the class. 

 

Grading

English 79 can be taken for a letter grade OR for credit/no credit.  To receive credit, you must earn at least 700 points.  Your final grade for the course will be determined as follows:

Position papers         100 points

Essay #1                 200 points

Essay #2                 200 points

Class participation     100 points

Midterm                  200 points

Final                       200 points

 

Grading Scale

A = 1000 – 900 points

B = 899 – 800 points

C = 799 – 700 points

D = 699 – 600 points

F = 599 or less points

 

Classroom conduct

Treat your classmates as you would want them to treat you!  When somebody is talking, pay attention and listen to what he or she has to say, even if you disagree with what is being said.  You have the right to speak up and present your viewpoint, but personal insults are not acceptable.  Treating one another (and me) with respect will make our class more fun.  And finally, please make sure that all cell phones, pagers, and other distracting noisemakers are turned off during class. 

 

Plagiarism

The use of another’s ideas or words as if they were one’s own is plagiarism.  Be aware that LBCC regulations require that all instances of plagiarism be reported to the Dean of Students for disciplinary action.  Please be careful to cite other people’s words and ideas that you incorporate – by way of quotation, paraphrase, and summary – into your essays.  We will discuss the MLA citation style in class.

 

Resources

Take advantage of the resources available to help you develop your writing skills and succeed in this class:

 

·         Me -- I am dedicated to helping each of you achieve your academic goals.  If you feel that you need extra assistance, please come to my office hours.  I will be happy to help you. 

 

·         Writing and Reading Center -- The WRC is located at L149 on the LAC campus and GG129 on the PCC campus.  You can receive FREE walk-in writing assistance from an English instructor or tutor.  If you would like more specialized individual instruction, you can enroll in a half-unit course.  There are eleven courses to choose from.  For more information, please ask me, call the Writing and Reading Center at 938-4520, or visit the web site:  http://engl.lbcc.cc.ca.us/writingandreadingcenter/wrcwr.html

 

·         Computer Labs -- The English Department Computer Lab is located in P111 and is available to all students currently enrolled in an English course.  For more information, visit the English Department’s web site at:  http://engl.lbcc.edu.    The Open Access Computer Lab is located in the south wing of the 2nd floor of the Library Building (L208).  It is free to use the computers (PC and Mac) for word processing or to access the Internet.  Printing costs 10¢ per page.  For more information, call 562-938-4852, or visit the web site:  http://clas.lbcc.cc.ca.us/openaccess1.html

 

·         Our class web site -- On our web site you will find the syllabus, assignments, and links to many web sites that I think you will find helpful.  Please visit http://www.skidandkaren.com.  Click on “Karen’s English Students”

 

 

Course Schedule and Assignments

Note:  This schedule is subject to change.  If we need to spend more time

on any of the topics listed below, we will make adjustments.

 

 

 

 

Mondays

Wednesdays


Week One
Jan. 12, 14


Course overview
Interviews and introductions


Discussion leader guidelines and sign-ups
Historical Overview:  Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

María Amparo Ruiz de Burton, “The Squatter and the Don” (80-98)

 


Week Two
Jan. 19, 21


Martin Luther King Jr. Day
No Classes


Historical Overview:  The Mexican Corrido
Unknown author, “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez” (133-135)
Leonor Villegas de Magnón, “The Rebel” (141-155)

Cleofas Jaramillo, “Romance of a Little Village Girl” (211-220)


Week Three
Jan. 26, 28


José Antonio Villarreal, “Pocho” (236-247)
Américo Paredes, “The Hammon and the Beans” (248-253)


John Rechy, “City of Night” (253-264)
Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzáles, “I Am Joaquín” (265-279)

 


Week Four
Feb. 2, 4


Piri Thomas, “Down These Mean Streets” (279-285)
Rudolfo Anaya, “Bless Me, Ultima” (295-307)

 


Oscar “Zeta” Acosta, “The Revolt of the Cockroach People” (307-318)
Nicholasa Mohr, “Nilda” (317-328)
Lorna Dee Cervantes, “Poem for the Young White Man . . . “ (389-301)


Week Five
Feb. 9, 11


Tomás Rivera,  . . . And the Earth Did Not Devour Him


Tomás Rivera,  . . . And the Earth Did Not Devour Him


Week Six
Feb. 16, 18


Presidents’ Day
No Classes


Luis Valdez, “Zoot Suit” (364-378)
Richard Rodriguez, “Hunger of Memory:  The Education of Richard Rodriguez” (391-405)

 


Week Seven
Feb. 23, 25

 

Oscar Hijuelos, “The Handsome Man from Heaven” (488-497)

Cristina Garcia, “Dreaming in Cuban” (468-478)

 


Cherríe Moraga, “A Long Line of Vendidas” (426-430) and “Loving in the War Years” (431-432)
Gloria Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera:  The New Mestiza (444-456)


Week Eight
March 1, 3


Helena María Viramontes, “The Moths” (432-438)
Sandra Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creek (457-468)


Review for Midterm Exam


Week Nine
March 8, 10


Midterm Exam


Rough Draft of Essay #1 Due


Week Ten
March 15, 17


Essay #1 Due


Ana Castillo, The Mixquiahuala Letters


Week Eleven
March 22, 24


Ana Castillo, The Mixquiahuala Letters


Flex Day
No Classes!


Week Twelve
March 29, 31


Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street


Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street


Week Thirteen
April 5, 7


Film:  Mi Vida Loca


Film:  Mi Vida Loca


SPRING BREAK
April 12, 14


No Classes! 


No Classes!

 

Week Fourteen
April 19, 21

 


Luis J. Rodríguez, Always Running


Luis J. Rodríguez, Always Running

 

Week Fifteen
April 26, 28


Luis J. Rodríguez, Always Running
Film:  American Me


 Film:  American Me


Week Sixteen
May 3, 5

 


Helena María Viramontes, Under the Feet of Jesus


Helena María Viramontes, Under the Feet of Jesus


Week Seventeen
May 10, 12


Essay #2 rough draft due


Review for Final Exam


Week Eighteen


FINAL EXAM
Date and time to be announced