ENGL 239 - Introduction to U.S. Latino Literature

Credits: 5
Variable Credit Course: No

Lecture Hours: 55
Lab Hours: 0
Worksite/Clinical Hours: 0
Other Hours (LIA/Internships): 0

Course Description: This course focuses on the reading, analyzing, and writing critical responses to literary works by U.S. Latinos, with an emphasis on writers of Mexican descent. Particular attention will be paid to the roles that history and culture play in the formation of works of fiction, poetry, non-fiction and drama. Knowledge of Spanish is not required.

Prerequisite: ENGL& 101 with a C or higher.
Distribution Requirements:

Humanities Distribution Requirement

General Education Requirements:

Fulfills Engage General Education Requirement

Meets FQE Requirement: No
Integrative Experience Requirement: No

Student Learning Outcomes

Recognize and understand the canon of Latino literatures.
Identify the relationships between social/historical contexts and literary works.
Read critically to understand the themes of Latino literature and how they are treated by different authors.
Demonstrate a range of critical thinking skills in reading, discussing, and writing about literature.
Demonstrate the ability to apply diverse analytical frameworks to understand and interpret Latino literature.
Demonstrate the ability to identify and describe how diverse perspectives about race, class, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, and/or culture are expressed through literature.

Course Contents

This class is designed to prepare students for upper-division literature courses. Class discussion and exercises will help students to analyze texts from various genres and to develop well-supported arguments about works of literature in their cultural and historical contexts. Students will practice close reading and other techniques of literary analysis.
Students may be exposed to a variety of critical approaches to literature, with a particular emphasis to be determined by the instructor.
Includes any works written by U.S. authors from Spanish-speaking cultures, with an emphasis on writers of Mexican descent.
Novels, poems, short fiction, memoir, creative non-fiction and drama are all available for study. A course should focus on more than one.

Instructional Units: 5