Central American Narratives in the United States

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course centers the stories and cultural presence of Central Americans in the United States who, despite comprising one of the fastest-growing Latino groups, are often invisible and/or reduced to stereotypes. This course directly addresses this gap by tracing the literary and cultural narratives of Central American life as shaped by migration, transnationalism, labor, and U.S. policy. We will engage the history of Central American experiences of U.S.-led development and intervention in the region. We also study how Central American immigrants have made sense of their lives through literature and the arts, including fiction, poetry, film, theater, and music. Throughout the course, we consider how these narratives contend with race, ethnicity, indigeneity, class, gender, and sexuality. Syllabus will include works by creators from El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica, and Belize, as well as Garífuna and Maya communities.