Declare Ph.D. Minor

This a co-convened course that will include advanced 4th-year undergraduate students who along with graduate students (enrolled in MAS 570) will examine migration as a worldwide phenomenon in part due to the greater participation of women. In the Americas, in particular, there has been a steady increase in migration to the U.S. from Mexico and Latin America since the 1960s, much of which can be traced to the negative impact of structural adjustment programs (SAPs) resulting in the impoverishment of agricultural sectors and lack of employment opportunities, a combination known to produce the feminization of migration. In this class, we will explore this phenomenon and the various challenges borne by women and youths. We will consider relevant theories, such as neoliberal economics and structural violence, as well as a wide range of perspectives, combining demography, history, ethnography and public policy analysis to better understand issues of borders, transnational identities, human rights, labor rights, and responsibilities of host and sending states.

A critical examination of Mexican American culture as portrayed in the social sciences. An assessment of the social, political, and economic factors influencing representations of Mexican Americans.

This course will examine immigration from Mexico to the U.S. The course focuses on current immigration issues such as the economic assimilation of immigrants, as well as other social issues.

A public health perspective in examining health and mental health issues affecting Latinos residing in the U.S., with particular emphasis on Mexican Americans.

This course addresses adolescence from cultural-ecological and socio-ecological approaches to understanding developmental processes and outcomes among Latino youth, with special attention to the multiple contextual factors associated with ethnic identity.  Students explore developmental theories with the goals of an integrated understanding of physical development, social behavior, and belief structures. This course also addresses social and psychological issues of particular interest for Latino adolescents: sexuality, discrimination, ethnic and gender identity, conflict and violence, academic/career aspirations, resilience and positive youth development, and individual, familial, and socio-historical context. This course includes reviews of empirical studies that utilize quantitative and qualitative approaches in order for students to recognize and identify rigorously designed and conceptually driven studies that will contribute to our understanding of Latino adolescents' developmental processes and outcomes.

This interdisciplinary course is a survey of various popular and Indigenous medicinal systems that fall under the rubric known as Mexican Traditional Medicine (MTM).  Mexican scholar Carlos Viesca Treviño defines MTM as medicinal knowledge(s) that emanate from Mesoamerican world views and that have adapted to historical and social conditions in the Americas.  This course will explore various expressions of MTM, with a special emphasis on Indigenous medicinal approaches to healing that exemplify both continuities and adaptations. We will compare across cultures some shared values in various Indigenous systems as well as how they are uniquely expressed in contemporary settings. We will also draw from the local knowledge holders of Indigenous populations from this region to compare various approaches in traditional medicine.  This course will introduce students to the relationship between place, healing and cosmology in Indigenous-based cultures that maintain curing traditions and practices.  We will explore the theories and philosophies that are used in MTM as well as applied knowledge and practices that are useful for self care and community wellness. Graduate-level requirements include projects with deeper analysis, additional three sessions to discuss their research projects, and research paper weighted twice as heavy as the undergraduate paper, with greater expectations in research, writing and analysis.

This is a course in the historical writing on the ethnic Mexican experience. It deals with a) the succession of authors, books, and schools on the subject; b) the development of historical writing within a social and political framework; and c) the changing attitudes to the question and nature of history itself. It is designed to encourage students to understand and to challenge past and present historians and to reflect upon their own ideas of history.

This course starts from the premise that race is an essential social category for analyzing the policies and everyday practices experienced in American society. Students will review a variety of theories and discussions of race to learn how to take this premise seriously and understand the relevance of race in their own studies. The review starts with the early race theorists (Boas, Dubois, Sanchez.) who were countering the racist notion of biological inferiority among people of color. Students will move from discussing biological discourses to cultural explanations of racial difference. Postmodern perspectives, which center on the social construction of race, will be discussed. The review also includes an examination of Critical Race Theory (CRT) scholarship and how this school of thought comes to bear on contemporary social problems, such as educational inequities, legal injustice, and xenophobic nationalism. The course covers key and ongoing debates in race theory, including the relationship between capitalism and racism, the limitations of the black/white binary, the intersectionality of race with other social categories (class, gender, sexuality, etc.) and the veracity versus the chimera of social constructions.

This course will provide an overview of the theories, policies, and practices related to the education of Latinos. We will focus specifically on the social, cultural, economic, and institutional factors, within and outside the school context, that contribute to Latino students' underachievement, failure, and negative educational outcomes. In addition, transformative practices that promote student achievement, learning, and critical consciousness will be discussed. Readings will cover various issues in education as well as introduce course participants to a broad collection of primarily Latino scholars interested in developing new methods and policies that will improve the educational experiences of Latino students.  Graduate-level requirements include more demanding guidelines for essays.

Designed to provide students with an exposure to qualitative and quantitative decision-making methods, focusing on the Mexican American population. Graduate-level requirements include a research project.

Historical survey and sociological analysis of past and present experiences of Mexicanas and Chicanas in the United States.  Graduate-level requirements include a longer writing project and an additional class presentation.