Wise Latinas: Women, Gender, and Biography in Latinx History

Last summer the Brown community reflected on Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's autobiography that documents how her experience as a Bronx-raised Puerto Rican and “wise Latina” shaped her illustrious legal career. This course will provide historical context for reading Latinx biographies and locate them within a broader history of women, gender, and sexuality in Latinx histories of the United States. We will examine life histories, oral histories, and biographies. Units will explore the histories of Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans, and Central Americans, paying close attention to race and gender and highlighting struggles for social justice.