LACS 80.03 Border Crossers
This senior seminar will focus on people whose lives traversed the Americas and crisscrossed the borders and boundaries between the United States and Latin America. They include: José Martí; William Ellis/Guillermo Eliseo; Americó Paredes; Luisa Moreno; Maria Moreno; Dolores Huerta; Lourdes Portillo; Ruben Blades; and Selena Quintanilla. In choosing these individuals, I sought figures who connect what José Martí called “Nuestra América” (Latin America) and “The Other America” (the United States). In many cases, their creative work shaped the perceptions of “Americans” in Latin America, and “Latin Americans” in the United States. My focus on “border crossers” compliments the overall curriculum in LALACS, which is committed to an expansive, hemispheric, and interdisciplinary approach that challenges US-centric definitions of the field and resists strict separation of Latin America and the United States. Ultimately, these individuals will serve as a foundation for a biographical study of someone of your own choosing who bridges or bridged these two worlds.
Instructor
M. Garcia