Social Justice Track

This course will examine how urbanization transformed the lives of Latinas/os in the United States, and how their growing presence transformed communities, institutions, and national politics. Since World War II, the growth of U.S. urban areas directly corresponds with immigration trends. Globalization has intensified this dynamic as migrants moved northward from mostly rural areas in Mexico and Central America seeking jobs and to improve their quality of life.

Historical survey and sociological analysis of past and present experiences of Mexicanas and Chicanas in the United States.

This course will provide an overview of the theories, policies, and practices related to the education of Latinos. We will focus specifically on the social, cultural, economic, and institutional factors, within and outside the school context, that contribute to Latino students' underachievement, failure, and negative educational outcomes. In addition, transformative practices that promote student achievement, learning, and critical consciousness will be discussed.

Exploration and analysis of the origin, nature, dynamics (political, social, cultural), ideology, activities, and effects of the Chicano movement of the 1960s.

Using a comparative and interdisciplinary focus this course critically examines major issues affecting today's Latinx populations. Major topics include immigration, class, race, gender, sexuality, culture and identity, and the role of discrimination, laws, public policies and policing in structuring inequality.

Introduction to Mexican American studies from multidisciplinary perspectives.