La Raza Studies Courses
LARAZ-100 Topics in La Raza Studies
.5-4 Units: 9-72 hours of lecture and/or 27-216 hours of laboratory, per term, SC, DG
This course covers topics in La Raza studies. Topics will be chosen to supplement and serve as additions to current offerings in the area, and will be announced each term in the current schedule of classes.
LARAZ-110 Introduction to La Raza Studies
3 Units: 54 hours of lecture, per term, LR, DG, CSU, UC
This course will provide students with a historical awareness and multidisciplinary overview of La Raza studies as an academic field. Students will gain a basic understanding of the historical, social, political, economic and cultural context of Chicanos(as) and Latinas(os) in the Americas. This course has a comparative and transnational approach.
LARAZ-113 Introduction to Analysis of American Political
Institutions
3 Units: 54 hours of lecture, per term, SC, DG, CSU, UC
This course examines the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. system of government at the national and state levels, with an emphasis on Latino political participation. The course covers both U.S. and California political processes, and highlights the relationships between the federal government and state and local governments. It will also survey the resolution of conflicts and the establishment of cooperative mechanisms under the constitutions of both state and federal governments. Included will be the process to achieve resolution. Important events since the American Revolution and contributions of Latinos, women and various ethnic groups will be surveyed. Cultural diversity in California and in the U.S. will be emphasized.
LARAZ-125 Latin American History
3 Units: 54 hours of lecture, per term, SC, DG, CSU, UC
This course examines the history of Latin America and the Caribbean from 1492 to the present. The course is a survey of the history and its influence upon the Latino and indigenous people of the Americas. Special attention would be given to European colonialism, independence movements, the relationship between the United States and Latin America, and to the study of nationalism and social revolutions. The class will also focus on the many ways that globalization and neoliberalism are reshaping the politics, culture, and daily life of Latin Americans.
LARAZ-127 History of Latinos in the United States
(1846-present)
3 Units: 54 hours of lecture, per term, SC, DG, CSU, UC
This course covers United States history from 1846 to the present with an emphasis on Latinos. The course will cover the Mexican War, Civil War, Great Depression, labor movement history, the Cold War, and the Latino struggle for civil rights. The course will emphasize Latino interactions with African Americans, Native Americans, Europeans, and Asian Americans. Students will analyze the development of American economic, social, and political institutions, as well as the United States constitution.
LARAZ-130 Contemporary Chicano/Latino Literature
3 Units: 54 hours of lecture, per term, SC, DG, CSU, UC
This course will provide a survey of contemporary literature written by Chicano/Latino authors in the U.S. and Latin America. This course will explore the diversity of social, political, economic, personal, cultural, and gender-based experiences of Chicano/Latino people through the use of poetry, novels, short stories, and essays written by such authors. The course will also explore issues of identity and challenge students to examine their own identity within their culture, whatever this may be.
LARAZ-131 Introduction to LGBTQ Studies
3 Units: 54 hours of lecture, per term, SC, DG, CSU
This introductory course examines a broad range of contemporary gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer issues in various contexts including bio-medical, sociological, political, racial and sexual. Using interdisciplinary approaches that incorporate the intersecting questions of race, class, gender, and nation alongside sexuality and gender identity, we will cultivate analytical tools provided by queer and trans studies. The course will also give students an overview of the history and diversity of LGBTQ communities.
LARAZ-141 Introduction to Psychology of La Raza I
3 Units: 54 hours of lecture, per term, SC, DG, CSU, UC
This course presents study, analysis, and interpretation of factors to be considered in the psychological development of La Raza living in a white-oriented society.
LARAZ-165 Chicana/o-Latina/o Theatre
3 Units: 54 hours of lecture per term, LR, DG, CSU, UC
This course utilizes dramatic texts, recorded and live performances, as well as cultural research as means of exploring and understanding how Chicana/o and Latina/o dramatic literature and performances play a role in the American theatre. Students will concentrate their studies in the exploration of Chicana/o and Latina/o plays, artists, and theatre companies, past and present, in order to understand how Chicana/o and Latina/o theatre serves as a tool of education and social justice when analyzing cultural, political, socio-economic, immigration, and gender issues within the Chicana/o and Latina/o communities in the United States.
LARAZ-190 Introduction to Chicano(a) and Latino(a) Film
3 Units: 54 hours of lecture, per term, SC, DG, CSU, UC
This course examines films that deal with the Chicano(a) and Latino(a) experience, and the influences that shaped the views reflected in those cinematic works. The course will emphasize film analysis and interpretation, and will frame cinema as political, socioeconomic, cultural, and aesthetic practice. Films produced in the U.S. and in Latin America will be encompassed in the course.
LARAZ-298 Independent Study
.2-4 Units: 3.6-72 hours of independent study, per term, SC, DG
Prerequisite: Educational contract of study signed by an instructor, department chair and vice president. Topics must extend beyond regular course offerings.
This course is designed for selected students to pursue independent study in La Raza studies under the direction of an instructor.