CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY CHANNEL ISLANDS
CHS 331 - Transborder Perspectives in Chicana/o Studies
Spring 2009
(last updated 1/21/09)
Dr. José M. Alamillo
Associate Professor and Coordinator
Chicano/a Studies Program
Telephone: (805) 437-2685
jose.alamillo@csuci.edu
http://csuci.blackboard.com
www.josealamillo.com
Sage Hall 2125
M-Th 2-3pm
Bell Tower 1471
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3-4:15pm
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Focuses on the major theoretical concepts in transborder studies as they apply to Chicana/o studies in the areas of culture and cultural production, economics, gender issues, health, history, and migration. This is a required course for the major in Chicana/o Studies and fulfills a general education requirement in the Multicultural Studies area. The course fulfills the University Writing requirement.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion students will be able to:
1. Define the main concepts and paradigms in Transborder Studies as they apply to Chicana/o Studies.
2. Apply Transborder Perspectives to the different research areas in Chicana/o studies such as migration, history, and cultural production.
3. Develop critical thinking that expands the students' understanding of Chicana/o Studies as it applies to the different regions in the United States as well as to the Americas.
4. Develop skills to integrate a gender analysis to Transborder Perspectives as an integral component of Chicana/o Studies.
5. Articulate the relationship to regional, national, and international components of Chicana/o Studies in various areas of research such as history, cultural production, and labor migrations.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
1) Lynn Stephen. Transborder Lives: Indigenous Oaxacans in Mexico, California, and Oregon (Duke University Press, 2007).
2) Ruben Martinez. Crossing Over: A Mexican family on the migrant trail (Picador USA, 2001)
3) Milagros Peña. Latina Activists Across Borders: Women’s Grassroots Organizing in Mexico and Texas (Duke University Press, 2007)
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Class Attendance & Participation: All students are expected to attend all classes. This course deals with complex material processed in a variety of ways. Structured interactions, group processes, oral presentations, guided discussion of readings, and in-class group exercises will be part of the course. Students are expected to have read assigned materials by the date indicated in the syllabus, and should be prepared to discuss readings individually or groups. The degree of your engagement in these forms will the basis for points earned. Due to the highly interactive nature of the course, regular attendance and full participation are expected. Therefore, you will only be allowed two unexcused absences for the semester. Missing more than 2 class meetings absence will result in a reduction of points (2 per absence) from your total attendance/participation grade. Arriving late or leaving early on more than two occasions without permission from instructor will result in the reduction of one point from your total attendance/participation grade. In case of illness and emergency circumstances students need to provide medical documentation and notify the instructor via e-mail or phone. Excessive absences without notification beyond the withdrawal deadline will lead to being dropped from class.
2. Blackboard Participation: Please check your Blackboard regularly to participate in discussions, respond to reading questions, check updates, check your progress in grade book, read class announcements and look for syllabus changes and extra credit opportunities. If you do not regularly check your dolphin email account, please go into Blackboard and forward all of your email to the account that you regularly check. Blackboard discussions will occur throughout the semester and they will be based moderated by instructor with questions from readings, videos or current events/issues. Your Blackboard comments need to connect to and react to class readings, discussions and other related/relevant issues. Each posting needs to be well thought out and well informed.
3. Current Event/Issue: Each student will select a current event/issue that relates to transborder experience and must share it with the class. First you must explain how the current event/issue can be interpreted using a transborder perspective. Then you need to relate it course readings, video and discussions. Then you need to describe current issue/event and provide a critique about how it is addressed. You need to include the source, e.g., magazine, newspaper, news service, internet. You must bring in a copy for each of your classmates, including the appropriate citation, or presented via PowerPoint. Lastly, be prepared to any student and instructor’s questions. Each presentation will take about 10 minutes of class time. Students will need to sign up for their current event/issue presentation during the third week of the semester.
4. Take Home Exams : There will be three take-home exams with essay questions related to previous readings, video and class/BB discussions. Each question must be typed or word-processed, with a minimum of 2 pages and maximum of 4 pages. The take home exam will help evaluate student’s progress throughout the semester and to emphasize the importance of “keeping up” with the readings, lectures, and discussions. All exams are due on the due date specified on the syllabus. No late assignments will be accepted without prior approval of the instructor. All assignments must be typed and double spaced. Please submit all assignments via Blackboard.
5. Transborder Community Study: Each student is required to complete a Transborder Community Study and present it to the class (10 min.) during the last week of the semester. Each student must choose one of the following options below. More detailed guidelines of each option will be posted on Blackboard.
Option 1: Library Research
Students will write a 6-8 page research paper using secondary sources on a transborder community event/issue that relates to the Chicano/a experience. The topic and sources will have to be approved by the instructor. Each student is required to submit their topic to the instructor for approval by Thursday Feb. 17th A short bibliography with journal articles (min. of 3), books (min of 2) and newspaper sources (min. of 3) is due before Spring Break (March 19th). A draft of the library research paper is due April 30th. The final research paper is due during final exam week. Thursday May 14th before 6pm
Option 2: Participant Observation
Select a transborder community that you wish to study and participate in the community by joining a non-profit organization, grassroots organization, hometown association, cultural arts center, farm worker advocate organization (CRLA) or community center as a student volunteer. Keep a journal of every conversation, observation and interaction with community members. Take notes and photographs of the types of stores, homes, streets, signs, advertisements, that you observe. Based on your field work begin to formulate questions about this community. What makes this community a “transnational” or “transborder”? What are the most pressing social issues facing this community? You will need to select the community and organization by March 19th. You questions are due after Spring Break (April 7th) Address each question in a 6-8 page paper. Discussion of your questions (analysis) should be integrated with readings and specifically associated with the class readings & discussions. A draft of the paper is due April 30th.
Option 3: Oral History Interview
Select a person from a transborder community to interview. You may interview a person with their permission using a tape recorder, then write an 6-8 page paper based on the content of the interview. By writing an oral history paper it will sharpen your analytical and critical thinking skills and gain a better understanding of the transborder Chicano/a experience. You will need to select your interviewee by March 19th and conduct the interview during Spring Break or before April 7th. Your paper should make connections to the readings, videos and discussions. The presentation should highlight the main themes of the interview and answer how it fits into the larger transborder Chicano/a narrative. A draft of the paper is due April 30th.
GRADE CALCULATION
GRADING SCALE
The final grade system will be a “+/-” A, B, C, D, and F-scale.
100% - 95% = A
94% - 90% = A-
89% - 87% = B+
86% - 84% = B
83% - 80% = B-
79% - 77% = C+
76% - 74% = C
73% - 70% = C-
69% - 67% = D+
66% - 64% = D
63% - 60% = D-
59% and below = F
SPECIAL NOTES:
Academic Honesty Information as specified by the Policy on Academic Dishonesty (SP01-57) (Note from your developer: I've reproduced the Academic Dishonesty policy at http://www.csuci.edu/academics/catalog/2007-2008/12_policiesandregulations/50_academicdishonesty.htm below).
Academic dishonesty includes such things as cheating, inventing false information or citations, plagiarism and helping someone else commit an act of academic dishonesty. It usually involves an attempt by a student to show possession of a level of knowledge or skill that he/she does not possess.
CSUCI Disability Statement (Note from your developer: Access this policy at http://www.csuci.edu/disability/disability.htm. I've copied the policy text below).
Cal State Channel Islands is committed to equal educational opportunities for qualified students with disabilities in compliance with Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The mission of Disability Accommodation Services is to assist students with disabilities to realize their academic and personal potential. Students with physical, learning, or other disabilities are encouraged to contact the Disability Accommodation Services office at (805) 437-8510 for personal assistance and accommodations.
University Mission Statement
Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives. (University Catalogue, 2009 – 2010)
COURSE OUTLINE: Readings are expected to be done prior to class meeting. Instructor reserves the right to make adjustments to the syllabus.
DATE |
TOPIC |
REQUIRED READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS |
Tues |
Introduction/overview of the course |
Course Overview |
Thurs |
Introduction to the concepts: “Migration, Transnational & Transborder” |
Read: Stephen’s Transborder Lives Chapter 1 |
Tues |
Introduction to the concepts: “Migration, Transnational & Transborder”
|
Read: Stephen’s Transborder Lives Chapter 2 |
Thurs |
Migration and Settlement of Oaxacan Communities in Santa Ana, Oxnard, California and Woodburn, Oregon |
Read: Stephen’s Transborder Lives Chapter 3
|
Tues |
Transborder Labor Lives
|
Read: Stephen’s Transborder Lives Chapter 4 |
Thurs |
Immigration Policy and Surveillance Sign-ups for Current Event/Issue
|
Read: Stephen’s Transborder Lives Chapter 5 |
Tues |
Gender Relations in Indigenous Communities |
Read: Stephen’s Transborder Lives Chapter 6 |
Thurs2/12 |
Navigating Racial and Ethnic Hierarchies |
Read: Stephen’s Transborder Lives Chapter 7
|
Tues |
Grassroots Organizing Across Borders |
Read: Stephen’s Transborder Lives Chapter 8
|
Thurs |
Creating Virtual Communities on the Internet
|
Read: Stephen’s Transborder Lives Chapter 9 |
Tues |
Guest Speaker: CRLA Indigenous Farm Worker Project |
Read: Stephen’s Transborder Lives Conclusion
|
Thurs
|
Recovering “Indigenous” History in Chicano/a Studies
|
Read: Weber’s “Historical Perspectives on Mexican Transnationalism” [Blackboard] |
Tues 3/3 |
History of Migration from Mexico |
Read: Martinez’s Crossing Over |
Thurs 3/5 |
Migrant Family Life |
Read: Martinez’s Crossing Over
|
Tues 3/10 |
Transnational Global Culture: |
Read: Martinez’s Crossing Over
|
Thurs 3/12 |
Female Migration |
Read: Martinez’s Crossing Over
|
Tues 3/17 |
Remaking American Towns |
Read: Martinez’s Crossing Over
|
Thurs 3/19 |
Migrants Fighting for a Place in the American Dream |
Read: Martinez’s Crossing Over |
3/23-3/28 |
Spring Break |
No Class
|
Tues 3/31 |
Cesar Chavez Holiday-No Class
|
|
Thurs 4/2 |
Cesar Chavez-“Seeds of Change” Panel on Sustainable Agriculture |
Location TBA Due: Take Home Exam #2 |
Tues 4/7 |
Transnational Philanthropists: |
Read: Jonathan Fox and Xochitl Bada’s “Migrant Organization and Hometown Impacts in Rural Mexico” [Blackboard]
|
Thurs4/9 |
Transnational Indigenous Migrant Health Issues |
Read: Jane Georges and Sharon McGuire’s “Undocumentedness and Liminality as Health Variables” [Blackboard]
|
Tues 4/14 |
History of Mexicana and Mexican American Women Organizing |
Read: Peña’s Latina Activists Across Borders, Introduction
|
Thurs 4/16 |
Women Activism in Michoacán, Mexico |
Read: Peña’s Latina Activists Across Borders, Chapter 1
|
Tues 4/21 |
Women Activism in Texas, USA |
Read: Peña’s Latina Activists Across Borders, Chapter 2
|
Thurs 4/23 |
Transnational Religious Activism |
Read: Peña’s Latina Activists Across Borders, Chapter 3
|
Tues 4/28 |
Lessons from Women’s NGOs |
Read: Peña’s Latina Activists Across Borders, Chapter 4 & 5
|
Thurs 4/30 |
Cross-Border Female Organizing in the Americas
|
Read: Cynthia Bejarano’s “Las Super Madres de Latino America” [Blackboard]
|
Tues 5/5 |
Transborder Presentations |
Due: Take Home Exam #3
|
Thurs 5/7 |
Transborder Presentations |
|
5/11-5/15
|
Transborder Community Study DUE |
|