LALS 210 Introduction to Latinx Studies and Praxis

This course is an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Latinx Studies, and how it reconfigures the study of the United States and the Americas. We will explore the presence of Latinx, Latinas/os and Hispanics as an integral part of US culture, intellectual life, and history. Latinx, Latinas/os and Hispanics have been a critical component of our expanding and growing nation, from the early nineteenth century to the present. In the contemporary period, Latinx, Latinas/os and Hispanics represent significant social, economic, and political groups that contribute to the nation and concepts of the national. We will examine notions such as: Decolonization, Liberation Theology, Mujerista Feminisms, Xicanism, Global South, transnationalism, globalization, and others through interdisciplinary perspectives coming from the fields of performance studies, music, literature, history, psychology, politics, business, and culture and language among others. This course seeks to understand the Latinx, Latinas/os intellectual and cultural production, and to reflect about how they represent a central pillar for intellectual reflection and cultural production in our own nation. There will be an engaged-learning component in this course in which students will work in and with the Latinx community in Memphis.