Recent Latina Writers

Marta Caminero-Santangelo will be offering a definitive course on literature by Latinas this spring in the English Department. Her description:

Course Description: This class will focus on readings in recent U.S. Latina literature, including literature by women of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Dominican descent. We will examine issues such as the construction of “ethnic,” “pan-ethnic,” “national,” and “transnational” identities; the representation of history through narrative; linguistic “differences” in the text; the tensions of assimilation and cultural preservation (including changing practices in religion, language, and gender roles); intersections of ethnic identity with race, gender, and sexuality; revisions of myths and history; genre forms such as memoir, magical realism, and testimonio, as well as experimental or mixed genres; the textual representation of political issues; the development of political consciousness; and possible strategies of resistance to cultural and/or political oppressions. The course will be discussion-oriented rather than lecture-based; participation and attendance will be considered in determining the final grade. The primary goals in this course are to introduce students to a range of Latina writing over the last 25 years and to help develop an understanding of some of the critical issues involved in the study of U.S. Latina literature today. In the process, we will of course be working on further developing skills associated with the study of literature: close reading, analysis, the use of critical, theoretical, historical, and biographical secondary materials, and the development and support of oral and written arguments. Texts might include: Santiago, When I Was Puerto Rican; Anzaldúa, Borderlands / La Frontera; Viramontes, Under the Feet of Jesus; García, Dreaming in Cuban; Alvarez, In the Time of the Butterflies; Martínez, Mother Tongue; Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creek; Moraga, Giving Up the Ghost; Castillo The Guardians.

Check the online course schedule for ENGL 573.

small-form American Identities (Honors) now open

Dr. Ray Pence has announced that his honors section of AMS 112- American Identities (Honors) is open to students who are not in the honors program. Contact Dr. Pence for info or permission.

Seminar in Ethnography

As one of many graduate offerings from AMS next semester, Ben Chappell will teach AMS 998, U.S. Ethnography in Spring 2012. Click the image for a flyer.

Honors offering in American Studies

Honors students, don't miss this chance to take AMS 112/SOC 112 with Dr. Ray Pence. This is a small-format, more intensive version of AMS 110/SOC 110 and meets a society and culture principal course requirement. Click the image for a flyer.

Graduate course in counterpublics

Two of KU's experts on rhetorical analysis will offer an exciting graduate seminar this spring that will be invaluable for AMS graduate students. Click the image for a flyer.

Langston Hughes Visiting Professor Tammy Kernodle

The Langston Hughes Visiting Professor program brings outstanding scholars to KU for a semester, and this year, AMS will benefit greatly from the visit. Professor Tammy Kernodle, of Miami University of Ohio, is a renowned expert in African American music, who will offer both graduate and undergraduate courses at KU in the spring. Don't miss this chance to study with a leader in the field. Click the flyers for more.

New course option for majors

AMS majors, it's time to think about your spring schedule. If you haven't filled in your second Theory and Method course (other than AMS 360), consider speaking to your adviser about this new course in HWC. Click the image for a flyer.