SW 253 - Literature of the American Southwest:Contemporary Poets

Institution:

Colorado College

Subject:

Description:

This course will examine the work of poets living in or writing about the Southwest, including but not limited to poetry that grows out of the three major cultural traditions of the Southwest-Native American, Anglo, and Latino. Students will have the opportunity to write poems as well as to analyze poetry. No prerequisites. Block 1: Literature of the Southwest: This Land is Our Land - Culture Clash in the Southwest. This interdisciplinary course explores how Southwestern land use is represented in American Literature. Analysis of literary texts should provoke discussion about how landscape, law, and modes of thought interact. Short field trips should encourage students to make connections between texts and their own lived experiences. Authors to include John Nichols, Rudolfo Anaya, and Frank Waters. (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) (Also listed as American Cultural Studies 253 and English 280.) 1 unit - Padilla. Block 4: Literature of the Southwest: Mexican-American Literature. This course provides a broad overview of movements in Mexican-American literature in the twentieth century, from Revolutionary corridos, to Chicano movement documents, through the development of Chicana feminism. This interdisciplinary course emphasizes a relation between historical events and literary production. Authors to include Americo Paredes, Tomas Rivera, and Sandra Cisneros. (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) (Also listed as American Cultural Studies 253 and English 280.) 1 unit - Padilla. Block 5: Literature of the Southwest: Writing the Land of Enchantment. This course will present an overview of the literary culture of New Mexico. We will explore the ways in which geographic isolation fostered a distinctive literary culture, which we will explore through readings of folktales and memoir. We will then talk about how economic shifts and the influence of Modernism transformed New Mexican literature. We will discuss the ways in which the tourism industry has altered New Mexican culture, and how New Mexican authors have both confronted and exploited the concept of their own distinctiveness in the arena of popular culture. Authors include Denise Chavez, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Rudolfo Anaya. (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) (Also listed as American Cultural Studies 253 and English 280.) 1 unit - Padilla. Block 7: Literature of the Southwest: Borderlands, Theory, Song and Literature. This course is an in depth examination of the theoretical and literary productions of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. Readings of foundational theorists such as Jose Vasconcelos, Americo Paredes, Octavio Paz, and Gloria Anzaldua will provoke discussions of rapidly evolving concepts of race, gender, and language. EN 250 and/or EN221 required, or consent of instructor. (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) (Also listed as Comparative Literature 351 and American Cultural Studies 253 and English 380.) 1 unit - Padilla.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.coloradocollege.edu

Phone Number:

(719) 389-6000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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