Latina and Latino Studies

latinostudies.northwestern.edu

Latina and Latino Studies focuses on the historic and contemporary circumstances that shape Latina and Latino lives, spaces, subjectivities, and politics in the United States.  This field encompasses diverse communities and nationalities while also offering critical attention to transnational dynamics or to how Latinas and Latinos relate and connect to cultural or geographical origins across the Americas. Similar to other race/ethnic studies fields, Latina and Latino Studies has origins outside of universities. To a large extent, it originated in social movements led by organizers, thinkers, artists, students, workers, and teachers who were opposed to legacies of racial injustice, ethnic prejudice, exploitation, criminalization, and neglect.  Latina and Latino Studies represents the academic branch of this dynamic political culture. As an interdisciplinary field, it sustains this activist impulse by honoring the diverse mediums and methods through which Latinas and Latinos have advocated for social justice and dignity.  Latina and Latino Studies produces ways of knowing and seeing that challenge normative and stereotypical representations of Latinas and Latinos in U.S. society.  In solidarity with other race and ethnic studies interdisciplines, Latina and Latino Studies unsettles traditional and Eurocentric modes of knowledge production in order to recuperate, speculate and illuminate other possible worlds.  Our courses particularly explore:  political economies, decolonial thought, expressive cultures, histories, inter- and intra-group dynamics, social movements, race and racialization, critical analysis of gender and sexuality, transnational processes, electoral politics, indigeneity and settler colonialism, slavery and anti-blackness, nepantla and border thought, and critical interrogations of heteropatriarchy.

Majors and minors meet with the Advisor for advising, including review and approval of course selections and review of progress toward timely completion of the major or minor.  

LATINO 101-7 College Seminar (1 Unit)   Small, writing and discussion-oriented course exploring a specific topic or theme, and introducing skills necessary to thriving at Northwestern. Not eligible to be applied towards a WCAS major or minor except where specifically indicated.

LATINO 101-8 First-Year Writing Seminar (1 Unit)   Small, writing and discussion-oriented course exploring a specific topic or theme, and focused on the fundamentals of effective, college-level written communication. Not eligible to be applied towards a WCAS major or minor except where specifically indicated.

LATINO 201-0 Introduction to Latina and Latino Studies (1 Unit)   Introduction to major themes and debates shaping US Latina/o communities, such as history of colonization, diverse ethnicities, debates on immigration, racialization, assimilation, and cultural resistance. Historical Studies Distro Area Interdisciplinary Distro - See Rules Social Behavioral Sciences Distro Area

LATINO 203-0 Introduction to Latina & Latino Cultural Studies (1 Unit)   Introduction to representations of identity and difference through literary theories and cultural studies. Draws on diverse cultural texts such as literature, popular music, folklore, journalism, media, visual culture, and performance arts. Literature Fine Arts Distro Area Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl

LATINO 218-0 Latino History (1 Unit)   In this course, we will explore the 500-year history of Latinos in the United States—and, indeed, across the Americas—from the 16th century through the early 21st century. In its broadest sense, Latino History offers a reinterpretation of United States history that focuses on race, migration, labor, and empire. HISTORY 218-0 and LATINO 218-0 are taught together; may not receive credit for both courses. Historical Studies Distro Area

LATINO 222-0 Latina & Latino Youth in U.S. Cities (1 Unit)   Cultural, social, and political contexts that shape the lives of Latina/o youth in US cities, as well as Latina/o youths' ideas of self-identity and civic engagement. Social Behavioral Sciences Distro Area

LATINO 230-0 Grrrls Our Mothers Warned Us About: Introduction to Latine Feminist Sexualities (1 Unit)   This course examines Latina/x femmes and feminist sexualities through a broad range of visual artworks, performance, aesthetic, sexual desires, practices of survival, visual and sonic representations that disrupt and dismantle common misrepresentations of racialized sexualities centering Latina/x femmes. These varied productions of knowledge will help us understand how norms of ethnicity, race, class, nationality, and gender shape Latina/x femmes. Literature Fine Arts Distro Area Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

LATINO 232-0 Queer and Trans Latino Studies (1 Unit)   This course will examine the histories, theories, and cultural productions of Queer and Trans Latine/x. We will explore the construction of gender and sexuality as it intersects with race, class, immigration, and other relationships of power. This course traces the development of the field through Black feminist, women of color feminist, and queer of color critique writing and activism. Literature Fine Arts Distro Area Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

LATINO 277-0 Introduction to Latinx Literature (1 Unit)   Survey of major writers and movements from Spanish colonial era to the present, covering a range of genres and ethnicities. ENGLISH 277-0 and SPANISH 277-0 are taught together; students may receive credit for one of these courses, and cannot be enrolled in both. Literature Fine Arts Distro Area Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

LATINO 312-0 Latinx Chicago (1 Unit)   The Chicagoland area has long been a home for Latina/o/x communities. These communities, spanning and spilling beyond city limits, have profoundly shaped life in the Windy City. Drawing on the ever-growing interdisciplinary scholarship on Latinx Chicago, students will explore the local formation of Latinx identities, politics, and cultural production.

LATINO 342-0 Latina and Latino Social Movements (1 Unit)   Histories and ideologies of various US Latina/o social movements. Draws upon historical, ethnographic, autobiographical, and documentary accounts. Ethics Values Distro Area Interdisciplinary Distro - See Rules Social Behavioral Sciences Distro Area

LATINO 391-0 Topics in Latina and Latino History (1 Unit)   Historical approach to US Latina/o lives and communities, such as history of Latina/o Chicago, labor history, and immigration. Content varies; may be repeated for credit with different topic. Historical Studies Distro Area

LATINO 392-0 Topics in Latina and Latino Social and Political Issues (1 Unit)   Social and political issues affecting US Latina/o communities. May include quantitative or qualitative methods, or both. Topics may include electoral politics, immigration, and race and demography. Content varies; may be repeated for credit with different topic. Ethics Values Distro Area Interdisciplinary Distro - See Rules Social Behavioral Sciences Distro Area Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl

LATINO 393-0 Topics in Latina and Latino Text and Representation (1 Unit)   The politics of representation in mainstream and Latina/o media, literature, visual culture, popular music, and performance arts. Content varies; may be repeated for credit with different topic. Literature Fine Arts Distro Area Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline

LATINO 395-0 Capstone Seminar in Latina & Latino Studies (1-3 Units)  

Advanced course synthesizing the state of current research. Questions the boundaries of Latina/o studies. Contextualizes research and topics in relation to other ethnic studies, gender/queer studies, and diaspora studies. Primarily for majors and graduate students.

Prerequisite: consent of the program director.

LATINO 399-0 Independent Study in Latina and Latino Studies (1 Unit)   Reading, research, and/or tutorials for students pursuing projects outside the context of regularly offered courses. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.