HIST 383 - Mexican Americans in the West

Units: 3 ; Breadth Area: GE-UD-C
Survey of the Mexican immigrant and Mexican American experience in the US, with focus on the American West. Topics include: the Mexican American War; development of the Barrio; deportations, Zoot Suit riots, civil rights and the Chicano Movement; contemporary issues.

Strongly Recommended Preparation: Upper division status (greater than 60 earned semester units) and completion of lower division Area C requirements.
Prerequisites: Completion of GE Areas A1, A2, A3 and B4 with grade C- (CR) or better.
Possible Instructional Methods: Entirely Online.
Grading: A-F or CR/NC (student choice).
Breadth Area(s) Satisfied: GE-UD-C - Upper Division Arts or Humanities
Course Typically Offered: Fall & Spring

Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:
1. understand the concept of the “borderland” and the pivotal role of people of Mexican descent in the shaping of the culture and politics of the American West;
2. recognize the evolution of the Mexican identity in the US from before American occupation to the present, including the fluid categories of race, religion and gender;
3. analyze the politicization of the Chicano identity in the 1960s, with careful attention to its historical roots;
4. contextualize the contemporary conversation about immigration status in terms of historical evolution of policy and discrimination.

UD-C. Upper-division Arts or Humanities Learning Outcomes

demonstrate an understanding of and ability to apply the principles, methodologies, value systems, and thought processes employed in the arts and humanities;
analyze cultural production as an expression of, or reflection upon, what it means to be human; and
demonstrate how the perspectives of the arts and humanities are used by informed, engaged, and reflective citizens to benefit local and global communities.