SPAN 365: The Chicano Novel
Focuses on the reading and analysis of selected Chicano writers whose novels have left a distinctive mark on Chicano Literature. Emphasizes the understanding of Chicano cosmology (society, culture, behavior, values) through the literary texts.
Instructor: Dr. Donaldo Urioste
Instructor: Dr. Donaldo Urioste
Course Narrative
The focus of this course was Chicano Literature and the role Chicano authors played in the Chicano Movement. The material was of particular interest to me because of my Chicano background. It also marked a significant shift from Hispanic and Spanish Literature since the previous literature courses dealt primarily with works from the Iberian Peninsula. This course fulfills Major Learning Outcome 1: Language Proficiency and Major Learning Outcome 3: Literary Culture and Knowledge.
The course was structure chronologically beginning with one of the first Chicano novels, Pocho by José Antonio Villarreal and ending with more contemporary works such as, Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea. The beginnings of Chicano Literature focused primarily on the first Mexicans and Mexican-Americans to live in the United States. Novels such as Y no se lo trago la tierra and Bless Me Ultima highlighted the struggle of farm workers in the United States and also gave the reader an insight into some cultural beliefs that Chicano culture carried on from Mexico. These novels also dealt with primarily young protagonist and their different coming of age or bildungsroman stories. Dr. Urioste’s guidance was particularly useful in studying these novels and themes. As the literature we focused on became more contemporary, I noticed that less and less of the them were written in Spanish but they still maintained some form of code-switching.
Throughout the semester we were required to write critical essays on some of the novels we read, one of my choices focused on social justice in Alicia Gaspar De Alba’s Desert Blood. This course helped me understand what it means to be Chicano and fulfilled Major Learning Outcome 3: Literary Culture and Knowledge. We were also encouraged to speak Spanish in class as well as read the original works that were written in Spanish as opposed to English. This practice fulfilled Major Learning Outcome 1: Language Proficiency.
The course was structure chronologically beginning with one of the first Chicano novels, Pocho by José Antonio Villarreal and ending with more contemporary works such as, Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea. The beginnings of Chicano Literature focused primarily on the first Mexicans and Mexican-Americans to live in the United States. Novels such as Y no se lo trago la tierra and Bless Me Ultima highlighted the struggle of farm workers in the United States and also gave the reader an insight into some cultural beliefs that Chicano culture carried on from Mexico. These novels also dealt with primarily young protagonist and their different coming of age or bildungsroman stories. Dr. Urioste’s guidance was particularly useful in studying these novels and themes. As the literature we focused on became more contemporary, I noticed that less and less of the them were written in Spanish but they still maintained some form of code-switching.
Throughout the semester we were required to write critical essays on some of the novels we read, one of my choices focused on social justice in Alicia Gaspar De Alba’s Desert Blood. This course helped me understand what it means to be Chicano and fulfilled Major Learning Outcome 3: Literary Culture and Knowledge. We were also encouraged to speak Spanish in class as well as read the original works that were written in Spanish as opposed to English. This practice fulfilled Major Learning Outcome 1: Language Proficiency.
|
|