Course Description: Focuses on the reading and analysis of selected Chicano writers whose novels have left a distinctive mark on Chicano Literature. Emphasizes the understanding of Chicano cosmology (society, culture, behavior, values) through the literary texts.
The Chicano Novel with Dr. Donaldo Urioste followed a similar structure from my previous class of Mexican Literature, which is also offered by Dr. Urioste. This class has a simple structure that requires reading a novel and then taking a comprehensive quiz on it. In addition, it is required to write two essays analyzing two novels of our choice as well as completing an annotated bibliography on an author we have not discussed in class. This class gave me extensive knowledge o n the Chicano community and the struggles they have faced by dealing with two identities. I enjoyed this class because I identify as a Chicana and many times I could relate to the characters and their struggles in the novels. We read and discussed in class eight novels, which included Pocho (1959) by Jose Antonio Villarreal , And the Earth did not Devour Him (1935) by Thomas Rivera, Bless Me, Ultima (1972) by Rudolfo Anaya, Women Hollering Creek & Other Stories (1991) by Sandra Cisneros , The Memories Of Ana Calderon (1994) by Graciela Limon, Across a Hundred Mountains (2006) by Reyna Grande, Desert Blood: The Juarez Murders (2005) by Alicia Gaspar de Alba, andInto the Beautiful North (2009) by Luis Alberto Urrea.
Alicia Gaspar de Alba: Desert Blood Literature Analysis