What does it mean to be Latina/o/e/x? What meaning does 'Latinidad' hold in 2025? How has the current regime impacted Latine movements, organizing and solidarity on the ground? In this course we will explore the colonial and imperial relations that have fueled migration from countries across the Americas to the United States, as well as the distinct experiences and geographies of Latine peoples in the US. To make sense of Latine presence in this country, we must first think historically and transnationally to understand the US's role as an imperial power throughout the Americas. Together we will read foundational texts of Latinx studies, as well as feminist, queer, Afro and Indigenous Latinx writings and critiques to disentangle how the "Latino/a/e/x" identity exists in relation to other identities within the US national project. Additionally, we will develop a political economic analysis of structural inequalities that Latine communities face, and trace the emergence of Latinx social movements and political struggles. We will ruminate on the sights and sounds of Latinx cultural production, and analyze the role of art in Latine political imaginings. Lastly, we will spend time in the Stanford archives learning about local Latinx political movements, and consider what liberatory movements are emerging from Latinx communities at present.
5 units · Letter (ABCD/NP) · GER: WAY-EDP
What does it mean to be Latina/o/e/x? What meaning does 'Latinidad' hold in 2025? How has the current regime impacted Latine movements, organizing and solidarity on the ground? In this course we will explore the colonial and imperial relations that have fueled migration from countries across the Americas to the United States, as well as the distinct experiences and geographies of Latine peoples in the US. To make sense of Latine presence in this country, we must first think historically and transnationally to understand the US's role as an imperial power throughout the Americas. Together we will read foundational texts of Latinx studies, as well as feminist, queer, Afro and Indigenous Latinx writings and critiques to disentangle how the "Latino/a/e/x" identity exists in relation to other identities within the US national project. Additionally, we will develop a political economic analysis of structural inequalities that Latine communities face, and trace the emergence of Latinx social movements and political struggles. We will ruminate on the sights and sounds of Latinx cultural production, and analyze the role of art in Latine political imaginings. Lastly, we will spend time in the Stanford archives learning about local Latinx political movements, and consider what liberatory movements are emerging from Latinx communities at present.
Offered in Autumn 2025 at Stanford University.