Transfer Student Courses in American Culture (Division 315)

Fall Term, 1999 (September 8 - December 22, 1999)

To see what Transfer Student courses have been added or changed in American Culture this week go to What's New This Week.

Section 001 – Empowering Families and Communities. (4 credits). Meets with Psychology 319 and 320.

Instructor(s): Lorraine Gutierrez (lorraing@umich.edu) , Jacqueline Mattis

Prerequisites & Distribution: Permission of instructor. (1-4). (Excl). (EXPERIENTIAL).

Credits: (1-4).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

See Psychology 319.001.

Section 001 – Reconstructing U.S. Literature, 1865-1900. (3 credits).

Instructor(s): John González (jmgonzal@umich.edu)

Prerequisites & Distribution: (3-4). (Excl). May be repeated for credit with permission.

Credits: (3-4; 3 in the half-term).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

This seminar will examine the conditions of writing U.S. literature after the Civil War. How did authors respond to the task of rebuilding a sense of what the United States meant in literary terms, and in the aftermath of conditions which suggested that no national literature existed before the War? How did African Americans and other people of color write themselves into the history and rights of a nation that had until recently deny their very humanity? How did writers cope with the increasing professionalization of their once-genteel profession, and to the new realities of urban life and class struggle? How did women challenge the gendered division of public and private in their writings? How did the fact of Empire shape literature and national identity? Emphasis will be upon examining the historical conditions which influenced the making of U.S. literature in this period. Course requirements will include a significant research paper, classroom participation, and weekly response papers.

Section 002 – Politics of Language and Latino/a Identity. (3 credits).

Instructor(s): Frances Aparicio (franapar@umich.edu)

Prerequisites & Distribution: (3-4). (Excl). May be repeated for credit with permission.

Credits: (3-4; 3 in the half-term).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

This course explores language and bilingualism as sites for defining and reconceptualizing cultural identity among Latinos/as in the United States. Through poetry, prose, essays, and testimonies written by Latino/a writers, students will delve into the political meanings of using Spanish, English, and code-switching in literature and in daily life. Issues such as the role of language in creating a cultural identity, the practice of code-switching and bilingualism, the dialects between orality and written texts, and the power dynamics related to bilingualism and the use of Spanish in the United States will be explored. The course is interdisciplinary in its approach and will include readings in literature, sociolinguistics, education, politics, and cultural studies. Course requirements include essays and take home exams. Reading knowledge of Spanish is essential.