CALS 160A: Culture, Self-Making, and Power

Lecture: Mondays, 2-3:50pm, Rachel Carson Hall 68

Sections: Mondays, 4-5:50pm, Stevenson 2083 (PHIL 101A-007, Wednesdays, 2-3:50pm,
Stevenson 2083 (PHIL 101A-008), Wednesdays, 4-5:50pm, Stevenson 2083 (PHIL 101A-009)
Instructors
Dr. Anne Goldman (goldmana@sonoma.edu), Nichols 338, 664-2651. Office Hours: Wednesdays
12-1:30, 4-5 and by appointment
Dr. Patricia Kim-Rajal (kimrajal@sonoma.edu), Nichols 208, 664-3294. Office Hours: Mondays
11am-12pm, Tuesdays 1-2pm and by appointment.
Peer Advisors
Aurora Moreno (morenoau@seawolf.sonoma.edu) and Bianca Zamora
(zamorab@seawolf.sonoma.edu)

Course Description
During the Fall 2012 semester our learning community will consider the diverse ways
cultural expression informs self and world. We will look closely at some of the ways in which we
as individuals and members of communitiesdefine and are defined by our cultural practices.
How do we fashion ourselves in literature, mass media, theater, art, dance, and music? Conversely,
how do the images we see and read and watch in book and movie, on television and in the social
media, through art and theater and dance, confirm and contest how we see ourselves? At the same
time, the course is designed to encourage each of you to think about your own identity through
careful reading and to develop your voice as speaker and as writer.
To accomplish both goals, we will study the cultural and artistic achievements produced
by Latina/o communities in the U.S, focusing primarily though not exclusively on work by
Chicanas/os, Dominicanas/os, and Puertoriqueas/os. We will consider how art, broadly speaking,
enables its creators to reflect and challenge understandings of self, family, and racial/ethnic
identity. We will explore how specific writers, artists, musicians and filmmakers use their work to
insist themselves into participation in the collective life of this country. We will also focus upon
the ways in which writers and artists critique ethnic discrimination and how they counter it with
their own affirmative representations. Finally, we will consider how their distinguished
contributions inform and enrich U.S. artistic life more generally.

Course Goals and Student Learning Objectives

Students who successfully complete the two-semester sequence of this learning community
will have met the learning outcomes for areas A3 and C3 of the Sonoma State University General
Education (GE) pattern. In this learning community students will:
Area A3: Critical Thinking
1. Engage critically with ideas and analyze and evaluate modes of reasoning, such as, scientific,
rhetorical, inductive and deductive.
2. Identify and evaluate unstated assumptions in a variety of media.

3. Produce coherent, original and persuasive arguments that provide evidence in support of a
thesis.
4. Develop verbal and non-verbal skills for making persuasive oral arguments and presentations.
5. Develop active listening skills.
Area C3: Comparative Perspectives and/or Foreign Languages
1. Demonstrate understanding of diverse cultures through their cultural expressions such as
languages, literatures, performance, and arts.
2. Demonstrate cultural and/or linguistic competency through the study of diverse cultures and
ethnicities.
3. Engage in critical cross-cultural analysis in order to better understand one's own culture in
relation to other cultures.
4. Demonstrate verbal and non-verbal skills in persuasive oral arguments, written assignments and
presentations.

Required Texts

Course reader (REQUIRED). This is available at Your Other Office,

Books
o The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Daz (REQUIRED)
o Beyond Feelings: A Guide to Critical Thinking 9/e by Vincent Ryan Ruggiero
(RECOMMENDED, not required)

Classroom Protocol
Please familiarize yourself with the University's Disruptive Student Behavior Policy, which
outlines expectations for student behavior: http://www.sonoma.edu/UAffairs/policies/Disruptive
%20Student%20Behavior.html. As a courtesy to your fellow students and the instructors, please
arrive to lectures and discussions on time; late arrivals invariably disrupt the learning process.
The use of cell phones, tablets and laptop computers is not permitted in this class.
(Exceptions will be made for students who can document their need for such devices through
Disability Services for Students). Students who disregard these policies may be asked to leave.

Course Requirements
Attendance and Participation
It is imperative that you complete the readings when they are assigned so that you can
participate in class discussions and activities. Please note that more than ONE absence in lecture
and TWO absences in section will adversely affect your grade. Students are expected to arrive in
class on time and to remain until the end of the period. .
Written Assignments

Autobiographical sketch/memoir (Due September 10): Students will write a 3 page

autobiographical essay in which they introduce themselves to the community. This
assignment asks you to consider what has made you into the person you are today.
Critical Response Essay (Due October 1): Students will exercise their critical thinking
skills by writing a 3 page analysis of a text from the course. Details for this assignment
will be posted to Moodle two weeks prior to the due date.
Revision of First Critical Response Essay (October 29): Students will revise their critical
response essay to incorporate feedback from peers and faculty.
Analytical Essay (Due November 19): Students will write a 4-5 page argumentative essay
on The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao in which they will be asked to explore and
analyze relationships the books language and a designated idea, question, or problem the
novel raises. A more detailed description of this assignment will be provided later in the
semester.

Oral Assignments and Presentations

Campus MovieFest Film (Due October10): Working in groups of five, students will have
one week (October 3-October 10) to create a short film. The film topic MUST address an
issue that affects first year college students. You can find more information about Campus
MovieFest here: http://www.campusmoviefest.com/festivals/345-sonoma-state-universityssu. Specific information about the times and location for the training will be provided
later in the semester.
Oral Presentation (Due November 26-December 5): Working in groups of four students
will locate, post, and critically analyze current news articles on the topic of immigration.
Students will be required to post copies of article being analyzed to their classmates ahead
of time using Moodle. They will then present their analysis of the material to their peers.
More information on this assignment will be made available as the semester progresses.

Grading Policy
Your grade in the course will be determined by your performance in the course requirements
outlined above. These requirements will be weighed as follows:
Attendance and Participation
10%
Autobiographical sketch/Memoir
10%
Critical response/analysis #1
10%
Revision of critical response essay 10%
Moviefest film
20%
Literary analysis/analytical essay
20%
Oral Presentation
20%

Dropping and Adding

Students are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drops,
academic renewal, etc. Information on add/drops are available at
http://www.sonoma.edu/ar/registration/addclasses.shtml. Students should be aware of the current
deadlines and penalties for adding and dropping classes.

Additional University Policies

Academic Integrity
The University's Cheating and Plagiarism policy is online:
http://www.sonoma.edu/UAffairs/policies/cheating_plagiarism.htm. Please familiarize yourself
with it. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Any instance of plagiarism--defined as the use
of another's words OR IDEAS without adequate citation or acknowledgement--will result in an
"F" in the course as well as sanctions by the University.
Campus Policy on Disability Access for Students
If you are a student with a disability and you think you may require accommodations,
please register with the campus office of Disability Services for Students (DSS), located in Salazar
Hall - Room 1049, Phone: (707) 664-2677, TTY/TDD: (707) 664-2958. DSS will provide you
with written confirmation of your verified disability and authorize recommended
accommodations. This authorization must be presented to the instructor before any
accommodations can be made.

CALS160A Weekly Schedule, Fall 2012

Week

Dates

Topics, Readings and Assignments

August 22

Overview of the course; Icebreaker

Section: Lorna Dee Cervantes, Refugee Ship and Para los
Californios Muertos (handout)
Aspects of the self worksheet/activity from
http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/activityarch.html (handout)
Peer mentor presentation on the difference between high school
and college.

Week

Dates

Topics, Readings and Assignments

August 27
and 29

Defining Our Terms

Lecture: Michael Omi and Howard Winant, Racial Formations
from The Social Construction of Difference and Inequality, 4/e. New
York: Mc Graw Hill, 2009
Erving Goffman, Self Presentation and The Self and Social Roles
Julia de Burgos Pentachrome (p 598)
Section: Nancy Flores by Dagoberto Gilb (in course reader)
Jewelle L. Gomez, The Event of Becoming from Race, Class and
Gender in the United States, 7/e. New York: Worth, 2007.
Mary C. Waters, Is White Ethnicity Optional from The Social
Construction of Difference and Inequality, 4/e. New York: Mc Graw
Hill, 2009
Ruggeiro, chapter 1 (pp 4-13) [available on Moodle]

Sept. 5

Culture and Self-Making Through Memoir

Lecture: Labor Day (Sept. 3). No lecture this week.
Section: Excerpt from Urrea, Nobodys Son (pp 5-59)
Ana Castillo, Vatolandia and Subtitles from Loverboys
Ruggeiro, chapter 8 (pp 94-98) and Applications #5 and #7 [available
on Moodle]

Week

Dates

Topics, Readings and Assignments

September
10 and 12

Culture and Self-Making Through Music

Lecture: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY DUE
Pea, Manuel. Music as Culture and as Spectacle in Msica Tejana.
College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press, 1999.
Pancho McFarland, Chicano Rap Primer from Chicano Rap.
Austin, TX: Texas UP, 2008.
Section: Corrido de Gregorio Cortez, Corrido de Joaqun
Murrieta, and Latin Lingo in The Norton Anthology of Latino
Literature
Ni De Aqui Ni de Alla by Jae-P and La Jaula De Oro by Los
Tigres Del Norte [available on Moodle]
Ruggeiro, chapter 15 (pp 164-169) [available on Moodle]
Peer mentor presentation on stress and time management, note
taking, goal setting, taking responsibility and independence.

September
17 and 19

Culture and Self-Making Through Writing: Puertoriquea/o

Literature
Lecture: Chapters 4 and 14 from Harvest of Empire
Excerpts from Bernardo Vega, Memoirs (pp 430-42; Judith Ortiz
Cofer, To a Daughter I Cannot Console
Section: Excerpts from Judith Ortiz Cofer, The Story of My Body (pp
1897-1904)
Excerpts from Esmeralda Santiagos When I Was Puerto Rican (pp.
1706-16) and Gary Sotos Living up the Street

September
24 and 26

Culture and Self-Making Through Film

Lecture: Quinceaera.
Section: Sexuality discussion panel with peer mentors
SIGN UP FOR CAMPUS MOVIEFEST GROUPS

Week

Dates

Topics, Readings and Assignments

October 1
and 3

Campus MovieFest
Lecture: CRITICAL RESPONSE ESSAY DUE
Guest lecture by Julie Greathouse and her staff
Section: No sections this week. Please plan to attend Campus
MovieFest training on October 3. More information to follow.

October 8
and 10

Diversity Workshop with Lee Mun Wah

Campus MovieFest submissions are due on October 10. Please be
sure to submit a physical copy of your project (DVD or data key) to
Professor Goldmans mailbox or office (Nichols 338) by 4pm on
Wednesday, October 10.
We will not meet on October 8 or October 10. Instead, students are
REQUIRED to attend the Diversity Workshop led by Lee Mun Wah
on Friday, October 12th in order to obtain full credit for attendance
and participation this week. Please make a note of this and plan
accordingly.

October 15
and 17

The Dominican Experience

Lecture: Chapter 7 from Harvest of Empire
Epigraph and pp 1-50 from The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Part 1 of CALS 160A MovieFest
Section: Excerpts from In The Time of the Butterflies (pp 3-29)

10

October 22
and 24

Gender and Ethnicity: Femininity

Lecture: Pages 51-89 from The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Excerpts from In the Time of the Butterflies (pp 84-127)
Judith Ortiz Cofer The Myth of the Latin Woman from Race, Class
and Gender in the United States, 7/e. New York: Worth, 2007.
Part 2 of CALS 160A MovieFest
Section: Erica Gonzlez Martnez, Dutiful Hijas in Colonize This!
Pages 90-136 from The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Week

Dates

Topics, Readings and Assignments

11

October 29
and 31

Masculinity
Lecture: ESSAY REVISION DUE
Pages136-201 from The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Section: Michael Kimmel, Hooking Up: Sex in Guyland (pp. 190216) and Predatory Sex and Party Rape (pp. 217-241) in Guyland

12

November
5 and 7

The Colonial and Postcolonial Self

Lecture: Pages 205-270 from The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Julia de Burgos, Ay, Ay, Ay of the Kinky-Haired Negress
Tego Calderon, Black Pride in Reggaeton
Section: Pages 271-335 from The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Peer mentor presentation on diversity

13

November
14

Latinos and Immigration: The Self and the Nation

Lecture: Excerpts from Urrea, Devils Highway (pp 14-35; 133-149;
162-68)
Why Did We Come? in Illegal People by David Bacon
Chapter 11 from Harvest of Empire
SIGN UP FOR AN ORAL PRESENTATION DATE
Section: Ruggeiro, chapter 2 (pp 16-31) [available on Moodle]
Peer mentor presentation on Spring 2013 registration

14

November
19

The self as worker in the 21st Century

Lecture: LITERARY ANALYSIS/ANALYTICAL ESSAY DUE
No assigned reading this week

15

November
26 and 28

The self over/against nation

Lecture: Review excerpts from Urreas Devils Highway (pp 14-35;
133-149; 162-68) in course reader
Peer mentor presentation on values clarification
Section: ORAL PRESENTATIONS DUE

Week

Dates

Topics, Readings and Assignments

16

December 3 Reflections and Conclusions

and 5
Lecture: Summing up and reflecting on the semester
Peer mentor presentation civic engagement
Section: ORAL PRESENTATIONS DUE

Finals
Week

December
10

Finals Week
Ropes course activity organized by peer mentors