CCST-CHICANA/O STUDIES

CCST 2110G. Introduction to Chicana and Chicano Studies

3 Credits (3)

An introductory survey of the Mexican American experience in the United States, with special reference to New Mexico. The course includes exploration of historical, political, social and cultural dimensions. NMSU Specific It seeks to review the historical causes and consequences of the formation of the Chicano identity and to understand its relation to the development of the Chicano experience as a distinct culture. The course explores the social and political impact that Chicana/o thought and theory has had on the United States over time, specifically developing concepts related to identity, community, social movements, and social justice. Ultimately, the course will facilitate understanding the historical ways in which Chicana/os have negotiated the pressures of their surroundings and in the process shaped or redefined American conceptions of identity, race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, education, protest, and resistance.

Learning Outcomes
  1. Apply various transdisciplinary perspectives and processes to understand humanist expressions through a variety of creative productions.
  2. Assess and apply social, historical, economic and cultural perspectives as they impact diverse populations over a period of time.
  3. Explain the ways in which narratives help people understand one another more clearly and profoundly across ethnic and cultural groups.
  4. Design projects that foster and increase a full understanding of a subject in order to promote change in their own and listeners' attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors.
  5. Apply qualitative and numerical data to explain diverse human actions in an everyday context of life.

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CCST 3110. Chicana/o History

3 Credits (3)

This course is an exploration and discuss the history of Mexican Americans in the U.S., with emphasis on their contributions to society and the political, economic and cultural forces that exemplify their experiences as a population. Beginning in 1492, at the onset of European “contact” with indigenous people living in what is now called Mexico, students will study the early beginnings of Mexicans as a mestizo (mixed) race and follow this group on a rough timeline through the present. Films, music, images and poetry are included to supplement lecture material. With special attention to New Mexico and the borderlands specifically, students will endeavor to make relevant, contemporary connections to the material. Additionally, the course will contextualize this history of a population and experiences within the establishment of Chicana/o Studies as an evolving discipline.

Learning Outcomes
  1. Summarize the major economic, political, social and cultural histories defining and effected by the Mexican American population.
  2. Gain understanding of how these histories evolved in political solidarity with other minority populations in the United States.
  3. Understand the multidisciplinary diversity and intellectual rigor that effected and currently compose Chicana/o Studies as an academic discipline.
  4. Develop compelling and logical arguments for class discussion, individual and group presentations and writing assignments, based on course readings and discussions.
  5. Interpret, understand, and engage texts within cultural, social and historical contexts.
  6. Gather, analyze, and evaluate information from a variety of sources.
  7. Compose texts in a variety of media formats.

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CCST 3120V. Chicana/o Genders and Sexualities

3 Credits (3)

This survey course introduces students to Chicanx genders and sexual identities and representations as socially and culturally constructed in transnational Latinx communities and contexts. Through a lens of Chicana feminist and queer theories, students will gain familiarity with gender- and sexuality-related stereotypes and cultural expectations, as well as the histories of individual and group resistance to these norms. Course materials will highlight the revolutionary challenges to limitations and contributions to social, political, and cultural change made by queer Chicanx individuals and groups, women, and men resisting confining constructions of masculinity. This course will be both reading and writing intensive.

Learning Outcomes
  1. Explain the multidisciplinary diversity and intellectual rigor that compose Chicanx feminist and queer theoretical traditions
  2. Develop compelling and logical arguments for class discussion, individual and group presentations and writing assignments, based on course readings and discussions
  3. Interpret, understand, and engage texts within cultural, social and historical contexts
  4. Gather, analyze, and evaluate information from a variety of sources
  5. Compose texts in a variety of media formats.

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CCST 3130. Chicana/o Education

3 Credits (3)

This course deconstructs the history of education through the lens of culture and race. Using a framework of intersectionality, the creation of public education, and the impact of historical shifts within the law concerning education will be examined. Special emphasis is placed on the role of ethnicity in the development of the United States and its education system. Includes an overview of multicultural/multilingual curricula with a special focus on culturally / linguistically responsive instruction and assessment practices. This course provides a critical examination of race and culture using multicultural theoretical frameworks to analyze the conditions of education today. Additionally, this course will particularly foreground Latinx and Chicanx resistance and revolution in the realm of education and what this history and activism teaches us about our own identity, worldviews, environment, and ways of understanding in the contexts of both informal and formal processes and experiences of education.

Learning Outcomes
  1. Analyze and interpret the historical, philosophical, economic, and sociocultural elements of education as it relates to race and culture.
  2. Evaluate and interpret the ways in which education policies influence and are influenced by equity issues.
  3. Describe multicultural education initiatives and assumptions about teaching, learning, and knowing.
  4. Understand how cultural groups and students' cultural identities affect language learning and education overall, especially for Latinx and Chicanx students.
  5. Explain and provide examples of anti-bias teaching strategies and education practices.

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