Department of Spanish
Professor Isabel Alvarez Borland
Fall 2004
Office Hours: Tuesdays 1-2

U.S. LATINO AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Course Description and Objectives
In this course we will study autobiographical writings by Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban-Americans and other Latinos in order to explore how these authors find and invent themselves through the writing of autobiography. From our class readings we will develop our own practical definition of a poetics of autobiography as it relates to the memoirs and accounts written by these bicultural and bilingual writers. Particular attention will be given to the aesthetics of autobiography and to how Latino writers experiment with this genre in order to address changing constructions of immigration, language, exile, and identity.

Readings
1. Agosin, Marjorie. Cartographies. Athens: The U. of Georgia Press, 2004.
2.Arana, Marie. American Chica. NY: Dell Publishing, 2001.
3.Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. NY: Vintage, 1991.
4.Diaz, Junot. Drown. NY: Riverhead Books, 1997.
5.Eire, Carlos. Waiting for Snow in Havana. NY: Free Press, 2003.
6.Ortiz Cofer, Judith. Silent Dancing; A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood. Houston: Arte Publico Press,
7.Perez Firmat, Gustavo. Cincuenta lecciones de exilio y desexilio. Miami: Universal, 2000.
8.Rodriguez, Richard, Hunger of Memory. NY: Bantam, 1983.
9.Santiago, Esmeralda. When I was Puerto Rican. NY: Vintage, 1993.
10. Stavans, Ilan. On Borrowed Words: A Memoir of Language. NY: Penguin, 2001.

****In addition I would like to request that those students who are able to read and write in Spanish read the works in Spanish, if available.

Format and Course Requirements

This course is designed as a seminar. Students are expected to have read the required materials before coming to class and to be fully prepared to discuss the book/topic identified in the syllabus. Students are required to lead assigned discussions of the readings, write two five-page papers during the semester, and complete a 10 to15 page research paper by the end of the term. Grades will be based on the following percentiles: discussions and class participation 20%; two short papers 20% each ; the research paper 20% and an in-class essay 20%.

Assigned Discussions
Students in the seminar will take part in small groups (2 to 4 depending on class size) which will lead the class in an analysis of the assigned reading materials. Specifically, each group or pair will meet in advance of its discussion date and prepare a list of questions relevant to the readings. This list will be handed out to the class or e-mailed to the students on the Friday prior to the discussion date. Students in class will be expected to think about the readings based on the questions composed by the group leaders. Group leaders are invited to discuss any ideas or questions with me before class or via e-mail.

Papers
There will be two five-page papers assigned during the semester. These papers will ask students to analyze the literature from class readings. Check the syllabus for dates. There will also be a longer research paper due at the end of the term. Students are required to do outside readings for this paper. As noted in the syllabus, you must hand in a short summary of your paper topic. This summary will include: 1) a clear statement of the project; 2) the rationale for this topic; 3) a short list of sources.

Class Schedule and Assignments

Week I September 7

Topic: Latino identities and writing. The Latino autobiography. Objectives for the course.
Handouts (available through the Web before first meeting).
In Class Discussion:
Julia Alvarez "Doña Aida, With Your Permission" 30-1.
Poems: Martin Espada's "My Native Costume"; Tino Villanueva's "Convocacion
de Palabras", Gustavo Perez Firmat's "Dedication."
Suggested Readings
Nicolas Kanellos, "An Overview of Hispanic Literature of the United States" 1-32
Alan West, "Crossing Borders, Creative Disorders," 21-40.

Week II September 14

Topic: Bi-cultural Negotiations
In Class Discussion: Marie Arana, American Chica.
Suggested Readings
Nancy Huston, "The Mask and the Pen" 55-69.
Eva Hoffman, "P.S.," 49-55.

Week III September 21

Topic: Two World Contexts
In Class Discussion: Judith Ortiz Cofer, Silent Dancing
Suggested Readings
Isabelle de Courtivron, "Memoirs of a Bilingual Daughter", 157-67.
Carmen Haydee Rivera, "Judith Ortiz Cofer", 917-35.( * includes a selected
bibliography ).

Week IV September 29

Topic: Women and Puerto Rican Identity
In Class Discussion: Esmeralda Santiago, When I Was Puerto Rican
Suggested Readings
Edna Rodriguez Mangual, "Esmeralda Santiago," 985-1002 (* w/selected bibliography).

*video La Plaza Series: Esmeralda Santiago-recommended

Week V October 5

Topic: The Hispanic Barrio
In Class Discussion: Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street
Suggested Readings
Ellen McCraken, "Sandra Cisneros," 229-249 (*w/ selected bibliography)
Short Essay #1 due today

LONG WEEKEND

Week VI October 19
Topic: The Hispanic Barrio (cont)
In Class Discussion: Junot Diaz, Drown
Suggested Readings:
Jacqueline Loss, "Junot Diaz," 803-15 ( *w/ selected bibliography).

video: La Plaza Series: Junot Diaz (recommended)

Week VII October 26
Hour One: Recap of autobiographies read/comparative discussion of texts.
Hour Two: In Class Essay.

Week VIII November 2
Topic: Self and Language
In Class Discussion: Richard Rodriguez, Hunger of Memory
Suggested Readings:
Rolando J. Romero, "Richard Rodriguez," 455-74 (**selected bibliography)
Perez Firmat, Gustavo. "Words That Smell Like Home," 139-57.

video La Plaza Series: Richard Rodriguez

Week IX November 9
Topic: Self and Language (cont)
Class Reading: Gustavo Perez Firmat, Cincuenta lecciones de exilio y desexilio
Suggested Reading:
Isabel Alvarez Borland, "Gustavo Perez Firmat," 717-37 (* w/ selected bibliography).
------. Cuban American Literature of Exile, 1-17, 39-63.

Week X November 16
Topic: Self and Language (cont)
In Class Discussion: Ilan Stavans, On Borrowed Words
Suggested Reading
Ilan Stavans, The Hispanic Condition, Ch 1-3 and Chronology
-----------.Spanglish, "Introduction," 1-55.
Class Interview/Visit with Prof. Stavans
** Short Essay Due Today
THANKSGIVING

Week XI November 30
Topic: The Nomadic Self
In Class Discussion: Margorie Agosin, Cartographies
Suggested Readings:
Guillermina Walas, "Marjorie Agosin," 763-83 (**selected bibliography)
Agosin, Marjorie. Amigas: Letters of Friendship and Exile
Class Interview with Marjorie Agosin

Week XIII December 7
Topic: Living in History and Exile
Class Discussion: Carlos Eire, Waiting for Snow in Havana
Suggested Reading:
Maria de los Angeles Torres, By Heart/De Memoria, Ch I (1-15); Ch 4 (23-57).

Week XIV December 14
Topic: Fiction and Autobiography
Suggested Reading:
Silvio Torres-Saillant, "The Latino Autobiography" 61-81 (w/selected bibliography).

RESEARCH PAPER DUE 12/21

SUGGESTED RESERVE READINGS

Note: the selections that appear as suggested readings in your syllabus are taken from the texts below and can be found through electronic reserve or in hard copy.

Alvarez Borland, Isabel. Cuban-American Literature of Exile. Charlottesville: U. VA Press, 1998.

De Courtivron, Isabelle, editor. Lives in Translation: Bilingual Writers on Identity and Creativity. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

Kanellos, Nicolas, editor. Herencia: The Anthology of Hispanic Literature of the United States.

Perez Firmat, Gustavo. Tongue Ties. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

Torres, Maria de los Angeles, editor. By Heart/De Memoria. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2003.

West-Duran, Alan, editor. Latino and Latina Writers. Vols. I and II. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004.
* This is an important reference work as it contains essays on topics such as "Latino Autobiography" as well as extensive essays on the individual authors followed by a selected bibliography on each author. I have made these writings available to you through electronic research as the individual author bibliographies will be essential reference for your research papers.

Available recommended reading --only in hard copy-- not in electronic reserves.

Agosin, Marjorie. Amigas. Letters of Friendship and Exile. Houston: U.Texas Press, 2001.

Augenbraum, Harold, and Ilan Stavans, eds. Growing Up Latino. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.

Barthes, Roland. Camera Lucida.

Conde, Ivonne. Operation Peter Pan. New York: Routledge, 1999.

Eakins, Paul J. Fictions in Autobiography. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1985.

------. Touching the World: Reference in Autobiography. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1992.

Heyck, Daly Denis, ed. Barrios and Borderlands: Cultures of Latinos and Latinas in the United States. New York: Routledge, 1994.

Luis, William. Dance Between Two Cultures. Nashville: Vanderbilt UP, 1997.

Oboler Suzanne. Ethnic Labels, Latino Lives: Identity and the Politics of (Re)presentation in the United States. Minneapolis: U of Minn P, 1995.

Pratt, Marie Louise. "Linguistic Utopias." In Fabb, Nigel et al. The Linguistics of Writing Manchester UP, 1987, pp.48-66.

Stavans, Ilan. Spanglish: The Making of a New Language. NY: HarperCollins, 2003.

-------. The Hispanic Condition. NY: HarperCollins, 1995. (contains a very valuable secondary bibliography on works by and about Latinos).

-------. La Plaza Series. Video Interviews by Ilan Stavans with Esmeralda Santiago, Junot Diaz, and Richard Rodriguez among other Latino writers.

U.S. Latino Literature: A critical Guide for Students and Teachers. Westpport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2000.