Undergrad electives

Historical survey and sociological analysis of past and present experiences of Mexicanas and Chicanas in the United States.

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.

Practical Spanish for the elementary and secondary school subject-matter teacher who uses Spanish as the medium of instruction.

Social processes involved in minority groups in terms of race, caste, class, ethnicity, politics, and religion.

Major novelists of modern Mexico; their works, narrative perspective, characterization, language, time, space, and themes.

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 provides and in-depth exploration on how social and cultural factors influence the health of racial/ethnic groups and underserved populations in the United States. The Socio-Cultural Determinants of Health are social, political, economic and cultural conditions, forces and factors that influence how health is distributed among entire groups and populations. The examination of socio-cultural influences is an interdisciplinary field of study that draws on research and scholarship from many areas including medical sociology, medical and cultural anthropology, public health, political science, public policy studies, epidemiology, and critical gender and race studies. This course introduces important concepts found in the scientific literature and then examines fundamental determinants of health, including income and social class, ethnicity and racism, place and space on specific determinants (e.g. segregation, racism) and health conditions (e.g. infectious and chronic diseases).

Traditional Indian Medicine, or TIM, is a concept that refers to Indigenous knowledges expressed through the varied healing systems in Indigenous communities. This course will pay particular attention to American Indian nations and healing knowledges that are intersecting and intertwined relationships with the natural world, the Indigenous body and the sacred. We will examine both how Indigenous healing systems have persisted as well as responded to social conditions, such as genocide, colonization and historical, as well as contemporary, forms of oppression. Topics include intergenerational trauma as well as how resilience is expressed in practices of wellbeing, healing and self-determination. We will also explore TIM as containing systems of healing that may/may not operate in conjunction with allopathic medicine. This course takes a transdisciplinary approach, incorporating readings from American Indian/Indigenous studies and health to explore a complex portfolio of American Indian/Indigenous wellbeing.

Studies of major works by Mexican and Mexican-American writers. Taught in Spanish although a small portion of the readings may be in English.