This course investigates how people of African descent in the Americas have forged social, political, and cultural ties across geopolitical and linguistic boundaries. We will interrogate the transnational dialogue between African Americans and Afro-Latin Americans using case studies from Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. We will explore how Black activists have partnered to challenge racism and economic inequality, while also considering why efforts to mobilize Afro-descendants across the Americas have often been undermined by mutual misunderstandings.

This course introduces students to methods of American Studies through discussion of some of the signature ideas, events, and debates in and about America's past and present. It presents students various scholarly approaches to historical and mythic manifestations of America from local, national, and global perspectives and considers the historical and cognitive processes associated with the delineation of America. The course examines a wide range of material and media from the point of view of multiple fields of study.

This course looks at the religious traditions as a source of what Gerald Vizenor (Anishinaabe) calls survivance, the active presence, continuance of stories, and renunciation of dominance by indigenous peoples. Our comparative approach will examine the pre and post contact traditions of the Mexicas in the Valley of Mexico followed by the Algonquian communities of early New England (e.g. Wampanoag, Mohegan, Narragansett, Pequot, et al). Sources will include the wide range of ways religion was preserved and augmented including rituals, texts, oral tradition, and material culture.

This interdisciplinary seminar will examine the history and evolution of the Walt Disney Company not only as a multinational media and entertainment conglomerate but also as a powerful cultural force, from the early films and theme parks to the highly successful streaming service. We'll consider the ever-expanding Disney multiverse (which includes Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm, among others) as well as the company's global reach, while paying special attention to its impacts on, and representations of, American history, society, and culture, particularly as they touch on matters of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, and place.

History 306 studies all Latinos in the US, from those who have (im)migrated from across Latin America and the Caribbean to those who lived in what became US lands. The course covers the historical origins of debates over land ownership, the border, assimilation expectations, discrimination, immigration regulation, intergroup differences, civil rights activism, and labor disputes. History 306 looks transnationally at Latin America's history by exploring shifts in US public opinion and domestic policies. By the end of the course, students will have a greater understanding and appreciation of how Latinos became an identifiable group in the US.

This course proposes a counter-narrative of the myths and fantasies that have been created about the Caribbean and of the historical and cultural realities surrounding them. Through a close reading of literary, artistic, critical, and historical texts we will examine race, ethnic, and gender identity constructions; the rise of the plantation economy; and the emergence of modern nations. The relationship between coloniality and the emergence of diasporic Caribbean voices of dissidence will be a guiding tone for our conversations throughout the semester as we unpack the links between colonialism and diaspora in the Caribbean.

Puerto Rico occupies a paradoxical place in the American imagination: denied both statehood and sovereignty, yet not formally recognized as a colony. This course examines Puerto Rico as a case study in U.S. colonialism, tracing how its ambiguous political status, economic struggles, and cultural resistance reveal the structures of American empire. Through interdisciplinary readings in history, political science, law, anthropology, and cultural studies, students will analyze debates over statehood, independence, and sovereignty, asking what true decolonization would require in Puerto Rico and beyond.

This seminar studies how photographs shape our understanding of Puerto Rico and its diaspora, spanning the 19th century to today. We explore how photographs construct truth, identity, and knowledge through four key inquiries: truth vs fiction, representation, documentary politics, and abstraction. Through the critical analysis of, and hands-on experiments with, images, we engage with artworks, state archives, and vernacular photographs in our midst. Through discussions, projects, and fieldtrips, we develop skills for critically analyzing photographs and understanding their role in Puerto Rican cultural and historical narratives.

During our course, we will analyze in a philosophical perspective the role that motherhood and archives have played in confronting the oblivion and injustice caused by enforced disappearance in Mexico. Our critical analysis will involve the close examination of three key elements: history, the archive, and justice. Some of the thinkers and writers who will allow us to address these elements are: Giorgio Agamben, Sayak Valencia, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Achille Mbembe, Susana Draper, Miranda Fricker, Sara Uribe, among others.

How are ideas of belonging to the body politic defined in Latin America, the Caribbean, and within Spanish-speaking communities in the US? What are créole identities? Who is "Latin American," "(Afro-)Latinx," "Boricua," "Chino," "Indian," etc.? Who constructs these terms and why? Who do they include/exclude? Why do we need these identity markers in the first place? Our course will engage these questions by analyzing literary, historical, visual and sound productions across centuries to present time.

This course explores the issues and controversies surrounding the linguistic subordination and maintenance of Spanish within Latino communities, situating them within the broader social and historical context of the United States. Students will gain critical insights into bilingualism, the interplay between language and identity, language policy, and the racialization of linguistic minorities. Additionally, the course introduces fundamental concepts of second language teaching, preparing students for the community-engaged component in which they will volunteer as ESL instructors with El Centro.