AJ25008 Contemporary Mexican American Fiction

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2007
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 3 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. et Mgr. Kateřina Prajznerová, M.A., Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Timetable
Tue 16:40–18:15 G31
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 14 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This course explores the culture of the borderlands, focusing especially (but not exclusively) on the dynamic of transcultural communication in the border areas of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Reading a variety of texts within the field of contemporary Mexican American fiction, we will analyze the interplay among geographical, socio-historical, and cultural factors in the region. We will discuss works by Tomás Rivera, Richard Rodríguez, Rudolfo Anaya, Gloria Anzaldúa, Denise Chávez, Graciela Limón, Sabine R. Ulibarrí, and Helena María Viramontes. Class sessions will include lectures, audio-visual learning, student presentations, team work, and discussion.
Syllabus
  • week 1 / Sept. 18: Orientation week, no class week 2 / Sept. 25: Introduction to the course and class policies Louis Gerard Mendoza, “Introduction: Literature as history, History as Literature, and Cultural Poetics” week 3 / Oct. 2: Helena María Viramontes, The Moths and Other Stories, RP due week 4 / Oct. 9: Sabine R. Ulibarrí, Tierra Amarilla, RP due week 5 / Oct. 16: Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima David R. Maciel and Juan Jose Peňa, “La reconquista: The Chicano Movement in New Mexico” week 6 / Oct. 23: Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima, RP due week 7 / Oct. 30: Graciela Limón, Song of Hummingbird Diana Rebolledo, “From Coatlicue to La Llorona: Literary Myths and Archetypes” week 8 / Nov. 6: Graciela Limón, Song of Hummingbird, RP due week 9 / Nov. 13: Richard Rodríguez, Hunger of Memory, RP due week 10 / Nov. 20: Denise Chávez, Loving Pedro Infante Bruce-Novoa, “Dialogical Strategies, Monological Goals: Chicano Literature,” KWD due week 11 / Nov. 27: Denise Chávez, Loving Pedro Infante, RP due week 12 / Dec. 4: Tomás Rivera, Harvest, RP due week 13 / Dec. 11: Gloria Anzaldúa, selections from Borderlands/La Frontera, PP&AB due week 14 / Dec. 19: Conclusion, course evaluations Research papers and complete course portfolios are due on Wednesday, Jan. 9 by 12 pm or earlier (1st re-sit Jan. 23, 2nd re-sit Feb. 6). Your complete course portfolio will include all the response papers, the presentation outline, paper proposal and annotated bibliography, and research paper. Please note that the focus of the presentation and key-word definition may (but does not have to) coincide with the focus of the final research paper. Ideally, you will pursue a particular direction and develop a research topic of your choice over the course of the semester. I will accept late assignments only in cases of serious and documented emergencies.
Literature
  • Sabine R. Ulibarri, Tierra Amarilla
  • Denise Chavez, Loving Pedro Infante
  • David R. Maciel and Juan Jose Pena, La reconquista: The Chicano Movement in New Mexico
  • Richard Rodriguez, Hunger of Memory
  • Helena Maria Viramontes, The Moths and Other Stories
  • Bruce-Novoa, Dialogical Strategies, Monological Goals: Chicano Literature
  • Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me Ultima
  • Gloria Anzaldua, Borderlands/La Frontera
  • Graciela Limon, Song of Hummingbird
  • Diana Rebolledo: From Coatlicue to la Llorona: Literary Myths and Archetypes
  • Louis Gerard Mendoza, Introduction: Literature as History, History as Literature, and Cultural Poetics
  • Tomas Rivera, Harvest
Assessment methods (in Czech)
Class sessions will include lectures, audio-visual learning, student presentations, team work, and discussion. Assessment: For full credit: Class participation 10% Response papers 30% Oral presentation 20% Key-word definition 10% Paper proposal and annotated bib. 10% Final research paper 20% For partial credit: Class participation 30% Response papers 70% For more information on each assignment please see the assignment guidelines below. Please keep in mind that you need to pass (earn at least an E on) each assignment in order to pass the course. The grading scale: 85-100=A 80-84=B 75-79=C 70-74=D 60-69=E 0-59=F Assignment Guidelines: Participation You are expected to attend all class sessions, to have read the assigned readings for each week, and actively participate in class discussion. If you must miss a class, please let me know in advance or e-mail me an explanation soon afterwards. Response papers (RP) Purpose: to read critically, notice details, make connections, return to key passages, gain a deeper appreciation of the assigned texts, take notes and gradually build up a course portfolio, clearly formulate one’s own thoughts in writing, get personalized feedback from the instructor, be prepared to participate in class discussion, practice writing about literature in preparation for the state exam Form: two pages, MLA format, creative title Content: no research, “only” your own creative / critical thoughts, discoveries and opinions based on the primary reading(s), analytic mini-essays rather than records of personal impressions, narrow focus (particular themes, images, narrative techniques, characters, relationships, issues, contexts, and so on) Style: clear argumentation, logical organization (introduction, main body, conclusion), coherent paragraphs, integrated citations, academic language Due dates: at the end of class on Oct. 2, Oct. 9, Oct. 23, Nov. 6, Nov. 13, Nov. 27, Dec. 4 Oral presentation Purpose: to orally yet clearly articulate complex arguments, use a variety of audiovisual aids, lead a discussion, respond to comments Form: fifteen minutes of being in charge of the class, written outline (including a title) and bibliography, additional materials pertinent to the topic (optional) Content: your own creative / critical thoughts and discoveries and opinions based on the primary reading and supported by/in dialogue with two or three secondary sources (you may use the supplementary essays) Style: easy to follow argumentation, logical organization (preview, introduction of the thesis and secondary sources, main points, supporting evidence, conclusion, discussion), appropriate pacing, variety of presentation strategies (textual examples and audiovisual aids), interaction with the audience (eye-contact, gestures, rhetorical questions, check-up questions, discussion questions), use of spoken discourse markers (pauses, repetitions and restatements, sign posting and transitions, short sentences, simple words, loud voice, clear articulation), you may refer to your notes occasionally but do not read Due date: Please sign up for a week of your choice at the beginning of the semester. Drop a hard copy of your outline into the essay box or e-mail it to me by noon on the preceding Monday. Key-word definition (KWD) purpose: to begin the first stages of research related to the course and potentially to the research paper content: your own definition of a particular concept, place, relationship, phenomenon, event, feature, etc., inspired by the primary readings and supported by information from at least two secondary sources form: an extended paragraph written in complete sentences and followed by a works cited list, double spaced, MLA format style: a fully developed paragraph, integrated citations, academic language Due date: turn in a hard copy at the end of class on Nov. 20 Paper proposal and annotated bibliography (PP&AB) Purpose: to organize your materials and your ideas in preparation for the first research paper, to receive feedback on your research before you start writing Form: title, a full paragraph or a detailed outline, an annotated list of sources, MLA format, double-spaced Content: a concise introduction to your topic, a list of your research questions, a preliminary version of your main argument, an outline of structure, a list of the primary as well as secondary sources you have consulted so far and plan to integrate into your paper, a five-sentence summary of each source highlighting why it is useful to you Style: precise, academic language, careful and complete bibliographic information Due date: turn in a hard copy at the end of class on Dec. 11 Research paper Purpose: to examine some aspect of American literature that interests you, to develop your ideas with the help of a variety of sources, to formulate an argument and support it by convincing evidence, to pursue a research project over the course of the semester which will develop into a short first paper and then get reworked into a longer final paper. Content: preferably, your paper will focus on one (or two or three) of the works we have studied. You may also discuss an author whose work we have not looked at but who is in some way connected to the issues we have covered. You may analyze various literary features (the use of imagery, sources, style) through one critical approach or another, but I especially welcome interdisciplinary perspectives that in some way connect literature and history. You are encouraged to draw on the themes that emerged (and re-emerged) in class discussions, in your response papers, and/or your presentation / book review. Form: ten to twelve pages (excluding the works cited page), MLA format, use endnotes or footnotes only for informative/explanatory notes Style: strong argument, clear organization, coherent paragraphs, integrated citations and references, academic language Due date: drop a hard copy of the paper into the essay box by noon on Wednesday, January 9 (1st re-sit Jan. 23, 2nd re-sit Feb. 6)
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2002, Autumn 2005.
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