RACE, ETHNICITY, AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF LATIN@ IDENTITIES IN THE US

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

What does it mean to be Latino and who should be in/excluded from that category? Are Latin@s a “race’ or an “ethnicity” or an “ethnorace” or something else? Should we even be using “Latino”? Or should we use labels like Hispanic, Latino/a or Latin@? What about “Latinx” or “Latine”? And what do these different questions tell us about the lives of the more than 62 million people in the US who personally or whose parents and ancestors once lived in places as far-reaching as Mexico, Cuba, Argentina, and perhaps even Brazil and the Philippines? This course aims to answer these questions by examining research, journalism, and media that elaborate on how race and ethnicity are constructed within US histories and systems of discrimination, prejudice, nativism, etc. Students will study empirical patterns and theoretical discussions on Latin@ immigration, panethnicity, political behavior and mobilizations, and interactions with US institutions. In exploring theory and patterns, this course will emphasize how racial-ethnic inequality shapes Latin@ life, both between Latinx@s and other groups (like Asian, Black, and white Americans) and amongst Latin@s. We will also explore how racial/ethnic inequality intersects with other social categories and systems, including gender and social class. Students will further explore the potential futures of Latin@ populations in the US.