The United States social fabric is interwoven by more than 60 million Latinos. The term “Latino”, however, is not a monolith. It masks heterogeneous political experiences and views. Latinos have divergent immigration histories and socialization experiences in the US, all of which have differently shaped their political perspectives and engagement patterns. This course examines the past and present of Latino politics in the US. The course reviews the history of conquest, colonization, and immigration that gave rise to the Latino population in the US, the differences and similarities in the contexts of reception of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, and Central American, the cultural and institutional determinants of Latino identities, and the historical and institutional contexts shaping the contemporary political attitudes, behaviors, and representation of Latino voters.
The course follows and builds on two textbooks: Latino Politics by Lisa García Bedolla and Christian Hosam, and Latino Politics in America by John García and Gabriel Sanchez. Students will attend lectures, engage in reading-based participation and active learning, take one exam, and complete a final research paper. Students will start developing their research paper early in the course. Discussion sections will be designed to introduce students to the writing of a research paper and quantitative data analysis, and to provide a forum for students to present advances on their papers and to receive feedback from their peers and instructors.
Subfield: American Politics