Department of English

In this course we will read contemporary novels by self-identified Latina
writers.  From Barrio/Street Lit to Chica Lit to New/Old World Lit, we will
ask ourselves how the models of womanhood and female liberation and
autonomy presented in these texts align themselves and/or challenge U.S.
American, Latin American, European and Latina feminisms to date.  We will
question whether the shifting constructions of sexuality, gender roles, and
family/inter-generational ties combined with the experience of immigration,
transmigration, hybridity and border culture fashion a new Latina subject
emerging within the realities of consumerism and globalization. All texts
are in English: Dirty Girl's Social Club (2003) by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez;
Becoming Latina in 10 Easy Steps (2006) by Lara RÃ os; Burn (2006) by Black
Artemis; Evenings at the Argentine Club (2009) by Julia Amante; The
Accidental Santera (2008) by Irete Lazo; Daughters of the Stone (2009) by
Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa; Dancing with Butterflies (2009) by Reyna Grande.