Fall 2008 Course Offerings:

Sociology of Health and Ethnic Minorities - LSP 2200 (also DSOC 2200). This course is a critical introduction to the study of the sociology of health by examining the health status of ethnic minorities. The primary goal of this course is to understand the determinants in the health status as well as access and utilization of health services of Latino and other ethnic minorities in the U.S. We will cover the following areas: 1). The distribution of illness by social and demographic factors, and the social forces affecting inter-group differences; 2). ethnicity, culture, and environment as contributors to health risks, and/or protective behaviors; 3). the organization of the health system and its allocation of resources in the health services; 4). the access to and utilization of health care services by ethnic minorities. Instructor: Pilar Parra. TR 10:10 – 11:25.  3.00 credits.

US Mexico Border:  History, Culture, Representation - LSP 2250 (also HIST 2250 and AMST 2250). A writing-intensive, interdisciplinary sophomore seminar on the U.S.-Mexico border.  The study of borders, and specifically of the U.S.-Mexico border, requires us to cross the disciplinary and methodological borders of academe itself.  The proliferation of provocative writings on the border in recent years bears this assumption out:  in no other filed of study has the literature been so remarkably interdisciplinary; so methodologically eclectic; nor so theoretically provocative.  This seminar intends to tap that literature to help students analyze and understand the histories, cultures and representations of the border that are so important to contemporary self-fashioning and policy-making in the United States and Mexico.  Readings include works of fiction, literary and cultural theory, history, science studies, and postcolonial criticism.  Students can expect to write several papers of varying lengths that will develop their skills in historical research and textual criticism. Instructor:  Maria Cristina Garcia.  TR 1:25 - 2:40.  4.00 credits.

Introduction to Latino Literature – LSP 2400 (also ENGL 2400 and AMST 2401). From the radical manifestos of revolutionaries to the satirical plays of union organizers, from new, experimental novels to blogs, this course will examine Latino/a literature published in the United States beginning in the early nineteenth century and continuing to the present.  We will pay particular attention to the historical, theoretical, and literary context for this literature. We will also study memoir, poetry, essays.  Authors will include José Martí, Arturo Schomberg, Maria Cristina Mena, Bernardo Vega, Gloria Anzaldúa, Sandra Cisneros, Junot Diaz, Manuel Muñoz, and Pedro Pietri.. Instructor:  Mary Pat Brady.  TR 1:25 – 2:40.  4.00 credits.

 Modern and Contemporary Latino/Latin American Art - LSP 3551 (also ARTH 3550 and LATA 3680). This course is designed as a thematic survey of Latin American Latino art from the early twentieth century to the present. Attention is given to issues such as the effect of colonialism on Latin American Latino visual arts, the creation of national artistic styles, the relation of Latin American arts and artists to European and American cultural centers, the interaction of high art and popular culture, the role of art criticism on popular perceptions of Latin American art, and the contributions of Latin American Latino women to various aspects of artistic practice. Instructor: M. Fernandez. MW 2:55 – 4:10.  4.00 credits.

Latino/Latin American Cities - LSP 3760/6760 (also CRP 3760/6760).  This course will study the economic and social processes associated with colonialism, post-colonial state building and neoliberal globalization.  We will discuss the construction of urban spaces, sociospatial segregation, and the implications of economic globalization for urban families and their environments.  The course will also connect Latino/a migration with labor informality, immigrant entrepreneurship, and ethnic socio/economic polarization within a sub-set of U.S. urban immigrant portals.  Instructor:  Arturo-Ignacio Sanchez.  TR 1:25 - 2:40.  3.00 credit.

The United States - LSP 3777 (also ANTHR 3777 and AMST 3777).  The anthropological inquiry into one's culture is never a neutral exercise.  This course will explore issues in the cultural construction of the United States as a "pluralistic" society.  We will look at the ideological context for the production of a cultural profile predicated upon ideas that are intrinsic to American images of identity such as individualism, freedom, and equality and the way these are applied in practice.  The course readings will include historic documents and accounts, popular writings, and recent ethnographies on the United States.  Instructor:  V. Santiago-Irizarry.  MW 2:55 – 4:10.  4.00 credits.

Classics of Latina/o Literature - LSP 4130 (also SPAN 4130). What makes a book a “classic”?  When does it become a must-read?  What do we mean when we talk about a Latino/a literary canon?  In this course we will look at foundational texts of US latinidad, in Spanish and in English, from colonial times to the present, in all the major literary genres (novel, short story, drama, film, essay, poetry).  We will be likely to range from Cabeza de Vaca’s chronicles, to José Martí’s newspaper articles on late 19th New York, to the  mid-20th century “Chicano Big Three” (Rivera, Anaya, Hinojosa), to contemporary poetry (Cervantes, Cisneros), to Pulitzer prizewinners like Cruz and Hijuelos.  Instructor:  Debra Castillo.  MW 2;55 – 4:10.  4.00 credits.

Multicultural Issues in Education - LSP 4510  (also EDUC 4510 and AMST 4510). This course explores research on race, ethnicity and language in American education. It examines historical and current patterns of minority school achievement as well as practices of teaching and learning in diverse families, communities, and schools.  Policies, programmatic and pedagogical responses to diversity, including multicultural and bilingual education, are addressed.  Instructor:  Sofia Villenas.  MW 2:55 - 4:10.  3.00 credits.

Immigration: History, Theory, & Practice – LSP 4850 (also HIST 4850 and AMST 4850).  This seminar focuses on immigration to the United States since 1965.  We will examine the various groups that have migrated to the United States; the immigration and refugee policy that has facilitated their entry; contemporary debates about immigration control; the transnational ties of immigrants to their homelands; guest workers programs; and the special needs of today's immigrant populations.  Course requirements include participation in a service-learning project within the Ithaca/Tompkins County area that will be arranged in conjunction with the professor.  Weekly sessions will feature presentations by different Cornell faculty and representatives from local social agencies and community organizations.  Permission of instructor required.  Instructor:  Maria Cristina Garcia.  W 2:30 – 4:25.  4.00 credits.