Introduction to Latino Studies

3 points
MW 4:10-5:25 P.M.
Hamilton 318

Professor Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz
Director, Latino Studies Program
Associate Professor of Economics and Education

Office Hours:
T 1:30-3:30 (1033 International Affairs Building)
W 5:30-6:30 (660 Schermerhorn Extension)

 

Course Summary
Requirements &  Texts
Class schedule and Assigned Readings


Course Summary

 

An interdisciplinary course examining the Latino experience in the United States. Focus is on the methods and perspectives utilized by social scientists in the field of Latino Studies. Major demographic, social, economic and political trends are discussed. Key topics covered in this course include: the evolution of Latino ethnicity and identity; immigration and the formation of Latino communities; schooling and language usage; tendencies and determinants of socioeconomic and labor force status; discrimination, segregation and bias in contemporary America; racial and gender relations; and political behavior among Latinos. The course is policy-oriented and covers issues such as immigration policy, affirmative action, welfare reform, bilingual education, and civil rights legislation.

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Requirements & Texts

Requirements

The requirements for the course are a midterm, a final exam and a term paper. The weight of each of these on the final grade is one-third.

TEXTBOOKS

Frank D. Bean and Marta Tienda, The Hispanic Population of the United States, Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1987.

Geoffrey Fox, Hispanic Nation: Culture, Politics and the Constructing of Identity, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1996.

Kenji Hakuta, Mirror of Language: The Debate on Bilingualism, Basic Books, New York, 1986.

Jonathan Kozol, Savage Inequalities, Harpercollins, New York, 1992.

Nicholaus Mills, Arguing Immigration: Are New Immigrants A Wealth of Diversity or a Crushing Burden?, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1994.

Joanne Moore and Raquel Pinderhughes, In the Barrios: Latinos and the Underclass Debate, Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1993.

Alejandro Portes and Alex Stepick, City on the Edge: The Transformation of Miami, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1993.

Mary Romero, Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo and Vilma Ortiz, eds., Challenging Fronteras: Structuring Latina and Latino Lives in the U.S., Routledge, New York, 1997.

Roger Waldinger and M. Bozorgmehr, eds., Ethnic Los Angeles, Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1997.

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Course Schedule

January 21        What is the Latino Population?
January 26       The Construction of a Latino Identity
January 28       The Formation of Latino Communities in the United States: An Overview
February 2      Case Study I on the Formation of Latino Communities: New York City
February 4      Case Study II on the Formation of Latino Communities: Miami
February 9      Case Study III on the Formation of Latino Communities: Los Angeles
February 11    Immigrants and Immigration Policy
February 16    The Impact of Immigrants on the U.S. Economy
February 18    The Debate on Illegal Immigration
February 25    The Educational Attainment of Latinos
March 2       School Segregation and Desegregation: The Case of Latinos
March 4       Bilingualism vs. English Only: The Issues
March 9       The Socioeconomic Status of the Latino Population

March 11 Midterm Examination

March 23     Latinos in the Labor Force
March 25    Is There a Latino Underclass?
March 30     Residential Segregation
April 1     Housing Discrimination
April 6     Discrimination in the Labor Market
April 8     The Debate on Affirmative Action
April 13     Racial Identity among the Latino Population
April 15     Race and Ethnicity in American Society
April 20     Latinos and the Civil Rights Movement
April 27     Gender Issues in Latino Studies
April 29     Household, Family and Latino Women
May 4     Latinos in American Politics: Political Representation and Redistricting



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January 21. What is the Latino Population?

Geoffrey Fox, Hispanic Nation: Culture, Politics and the Constructing of Identity, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1996.

 [schedule]

January 26 The Construction of a Latino Identity

Candace Nelson and Marta Tienda, "The Structuring of Hispanic Ethnicity: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives," in M. Romero et. al., Challenging Fronteras, 1997, pp. 7-30.

Suzanne Oboler, "The Roots of Hispanic Homogenization," in Mary Romero et. al., Challenging Fronteras, 1997, pp. 31-54.

Jorge Klor de Alba, "The Invention of Ethnic Origins and the Negotiation of Latino Identity, 1969-1981," in Mary Romero et. al., Challenging Fronteras, pp. 55-80.

Juan Flores, "The Latino Imaginary: Dimensions of Community and Identity," in Frances Aparicio and Susana Chavez-Silverman, eds., Tropicalizations: Transcultural Representations of Latinidad, University Press of New England, 1997, 183-193.

 [schedule]

 January 28 The Formation of Latino Communities in the United States: An Overview

Frank D. Bean and Marta Tienda, The Hispanic Population of the United States, Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1987, chapters 1 and 2 (pp. 7-55).

 [schedule]

February 2 The Formation of Latino Communities in the United States: The Case of New York City

Virginia Sanchez Korrol, "In Their Own Right: A History of Puerto Ricans in the U.S.A.," in Alfredo Jimenez, ed., Handbook of Hispanic Cultures in the United States: History, Arte Publico Press, Houston, 1994, pp. 281-301.

Gabriel Haslip-Viera, "The Evolution of the Latino Community in New York City: Early Nineteenth century to the Present," in G. Haslip-Viera and S. Baver, eds., Latinos in New York: Communities in Transition, University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, 1996, 3-29.

Luis Guarnizo, "Los Dominicanyorks: The Making of a Binational Society," in Mary Romero et. al., Challenging Fronteras, pp. 161-174.

Jorge Duany, The Transnational Identity of Dominicans in Washington Heights, CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, New York, 1994.

 [schedule]

February 4 The Formation of Latino Communities in the United States: The Case of Miami

Alejandro Portes and Alex Stepick, City on the Edge: The Transformation of Miami, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1993.

 [schedule]

February 9 The Formation of Latino Communities: The Case of Los Angeles

Waldinger and Bozorgmehr, chapters 1 and 2.

 [schedule]

February 11 Immigrants and Immigration Policy

Frank Bean and Marta Tienda, "A Demographic Profile of the Hispanic Population," "Immigration," in Bean and Tienda, eds., The Hispanic Population of the United States, chapters 3 and 4, 56-136.

Clara E. Rodriguez, "A Summary of Puerto Rican Migration to the United States," in Mary Romero, et. al., Challenging Fronteras, 1997, pp. 101-114.

Nora Hamilton and Norma Stolz-Chinchilla, "Central American Migration: A Framework for Analysis," in Mary Romero et. al., Challenging Fronteras, 1997, pp. 81-100.

Francisco Rivera-Batiz and Carlos Santiago, "Migration between Puerto Rico and the United States," in Island Paradox: Puerto Rico in the 1990s, Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1996, 43-62.

Alejandro Portes and Alex Stepick, "Unwelcome Immigrants: The Labor Market Experiences of 1980 (Mariel) Cuban and Haitian Refugees in South Florida," American Sociological Review, August 1985.

 [schedule]

February 16   The Impact of Immigrants on the U.S. Economy

Nicholaus Mills, Arguing Immigration: Are New Immigrants A Wealth of Diversity or a Crushing Burden?, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1994.

Norman Matloff, "How Immigration Harms Minorities," The Public Interest, Summer 1996, 61-71.

Paul Ong and Abel Valenzuela, "The Labor Market: Immigrant Effects and Racial Disparities," in Waldinger and Bozorgmehr, eds., chapter 6.

Francisco Rivera-Batiz, "Migration and the Labor market: Sectoral and Regional Effects in the United States," OECD, Paris, January 1998.

 [schedule]

February 18   The Debate on Illegal Immigration

Francisco Rivera-Batiz, Selig Sechzer and Ira Gang, U.S. Immigration Polict Reform in the 1980s: A Preliminary Assessment, Prager Publishers, New York, 1991, pp. 1-88.

Pierette Hondagneu-Sotelo, "The History of Mexican Undocumented Settlement in the United States," in Mary Romero et. al., Challenging Fronteras, 1997, pp. 115-134.

 [schedule]

February 25. The Educational Status of Latinos

Frank Bean and Marta Tienda, "The Educational Standing of Hispanics" in Bean and Tienda, 1987, chapter 8.

Jonathan Kozol, Savage Inequalities, Basic Books, New York, 1992.

 [schedule]

March 2   School Segregation and Desegregation: The Case of Latinos

Gary Orfield, "The Growth of Segregation: African Americans, Latinos and Unequal Education," in Gary Orfield, ed., Dismantling Desegregation, The New Press, New York, 1996.

 [schedule]

March 4   Bilingualism vs. English Only: The Issues

Kenji Hakuta, Mirror of Language: The Debate on Bilingualism, Basic Books, New York, 1986.

David E. Lopez, "Language: Diversity and Assimilation," in Waldinger and Bozorgmehr, chapter 5.

Max J. Castro, "The Politics of Language in Miami," in Mary Romero, et. al. Challenging Fronteras, Routledge, New York, 1997, 279-96.

 [schedule]

March 9  The Socioeconomic Status of the Latino Population

Ramona Hernandez and Francisco Rivera-Batiz, Dominican New Yorkers: A Socioeconomic Profile, 1997, Dominican Research Monograph, The CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, New York, November 1997.

Francisco Rivera-Batiz and Carlos Santiago, Puerto Ricans in the United States: A Changing Reality, National Puerto Rican Coalition, Washington, D.C., 1994.

Francisco Rivera-Batiz and Luis Rivera-Batiz, "The Socioeconomic Status of the Mexican Population in the United States," in F. Rivera-Batiz and L. Rivera-Batiz, The Political Economy of Mexico, Princeton University Press, forthcoming, 1998. 

 [schedule]

March 11. Midterm Examination

 

March 23 Latinos in the Labor Force

Frank Bean and Marta Tienda, "Hispanics in the U.S. Labor Force," and "Earnings and Economic Well-Being," in Bean and Tienda, 1987, chapters 9 and 10.

 [schedule]

March 25 Is There a Latino Underclass?

Joan Moore and Raquel Pindergrass, In the Barrios: Latinos and the Underclass debate, Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1993.

Vilma Ortiz, "The Mexican Origin Population: Permanent Working Class or Emerging Middle Class?," in Roger Waldinger and Mehdi Bozorgmehr, eds., Ethnic Los Angeles, Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 247-277.

 [schedule]

March 30 Residential Segregation

Frank Bean, Douglas Massey and Marta Tienda, "Geographical Distribution, Internal Migration and Residential Segregation" in Bean and Tienda, 1987, chapter 5.

William Clark, "Residential Patterns: Avoidance, Assimilation and Succession," in Roger Waldinger and Mehdi Bozorgmehr, eds., Ethnic Los Angeles, Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1996, 109-138.

 [schedule]

April 1   Housing Discrimination

Nestor Rodriguez and Jacqueline Maria Hogan, "Apartment Restructuring and Latino Immigrant Tenant Struggles," in Mary Romero, et. al. Challenging Fronteras, Routledge, New York, 1997, 298-311.

John Yinger, Closed Doors, Opportunities Lost: The Continuing Costs of Housing Discrimination, Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1995, pp. 1-158.

 [schedule]

April 6 Employment Discrimination in the Labor Market

Harry Cross, Employer Hiring Practices: Differential Treatment of Hispanic and Anglo Job Seekers (Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute Press, 1990). (*)

 [schedule]

April 8 The Debate on Affirmative Action

Barbara Bergmann, In Defense of Affirmative Action, Basic Books, New York, 1996.

 [schedule]

April 13   Racial Identity among the Latino Populations

Clara E. Rodriguez, "Racial Themes in the Literature: Puerto Ricans and Other Latinos," in Gabriel Haslip-Viera and Sherrie L. Baver, eds., Latinos in New York: Communities in Transition, University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, 1996, 104-125.

Ramon Grosfoguel and Chloe Georas, "The Racialization of Latino Caribbean Migrants in the New York Metropolitan Area," CENTRO Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Vol. 1/2, 1996.

 [schedule]

April 15   Race and Ethnic Relations in American Society

Alejandro Portes and Alex Stepick, City on the Edge: The Transformation of Miami, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1993.

Alex Stepick and Guillermo Grenier, "Brothers in Wood," in Mary Romero, Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo and Vilma Ortiz, eds., Challenging Fronteras: Structuring Latina and Latino Lives in the U.S., Routledge, New York, 1997, 265-277.

Scott Cummeings and Thomas Lambert, "Anti-Hispanic and Anti-Asian Sentiments among African Americans," Social Science Quarterly, June 1997, 338-353.

 [schedule]

April 20   Latinos and the Civil Rights Movement

Leobardo Estrada, F. Chris Garcia, Reynaldo Macias and Lionel Maldonado, "Chicanos in the United States: A History of Exploitation and Resistance," in F. Chris Garcia, ed., Latinos and the Political System, University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, 1988.

Geoffrey Fox, Hispanic Nation: Culture, Politics and the Construction of Identity, chapters 5 and 6.

 [schedule]

April 27  Gender Issues in Latino Studies

Patricia Zavella, "Reflections on Diversity Among Chicanas," in Mary Romero et. al., eds., Challenging Fronteras, Routledge, New York, 1997, 187-194.

Mary Romero, "Life as the Maid's Daughter: An Exploration of the Everyday Boundaries of Race, Class and Gender," in Mary Romero et. al., eds., Challenging Fronteras, Routledge, 195-209.

M. Patricia Fernandez-Kelly, "Power Surrendered, Power Restored: The Politics of Work and Family Among Hispanic Garment Workers in California and Florida," in Mary Romero et. al., eds., Challenging Fronteras, Routledge, New York, 1997, 215-228.

 [schedule]

April 29   Household, Family and Latino Women

Rosemary Santana Cooney and Alice Colon, "Work and Family: The Recent Struggle of Puerto Rican Females," in Clara Rodriguez and Virginia Sanchez Korrol, eds., Historical Perspectives on Puerto Rican Survival in the United States, Markus Wiener Publishers, Princeton, 1996, 70-85.

Scott Coltrane and Elsa Valdez, "Reluctance Compliance: Work-Family Role Allocation in Dual-Earner Chicano Families," in in Mary Romero et. al., eds., Challenging Fronteras, 1997, 229-246.

Terry A. Repak, "New Roles in a New Lanscape," in Mary Romero et. al., eds., Challenging Fronteras, Routledge, New York, 1997, 247-257.

Beatriz M. Pesquera, "In the Beginning He Wouldn't Lift Even a Spoon": The Division of Household Labor," in Adela de la Torre and Beatriz Pesquera, eds., Building with our Hands: New Directions in Chicana Studies, University of California Press, 1993, 181-195.

 [schedule]

May 4   Latinos in American Politics: Representation and Redistricting

Louis DeSipio, Counting on the Latino Vote: Latinos as a New Electorate, University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville, 1996.

 [schedule]


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