230362 Chicana Studies: Theories and Applications (S) (WiSe 2023/2024)

The website Chicanas.com explains:
"Chicana refers to women of Mexican descent born and/or raised in the United States. The term Chicana (and Chicano) came into popular usage during the Chicano movimiento of the 1960s and 70s as Mexican-American activists sought to define a cultural and political identity for themselves.
[The movement has generated a] critical framework which looks at inequalities along lines of race, class, gender, and sexuality as they affect women of Mexican descent in the United States. That means talking about sexism, racism, homophobia, and poverty as interlinked issues."

Against this backdrop and with the help of a range of literary and non-fictional texts by Chicana Feminists, we will seek to broaden our understanding of their histories, cultures, grievances, positions, imaginations and celebrations. The 4-hour class will give us ample time to deal with the major theories in question and apply them to literary texts and cultural productions.