1. GENERAL INFORMATION

                     Instructor: Chair & Professor Ramon Del Castillo, Ph.D.

Location: Metro Campus and Oaxaca, Mexico        

                     July 20th to August 2nd 2014

Required Reading Materials:

Course packet to be provided by instructor including materials by:

• Bonfil Batalla, Guillermo. Mexico Profundio: Reclaiming a Civilization. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1996.
• Joyce, Arthur A. Mixtecs, Zapotecs, and Chatinos: Ancient Peoples of Southern Mexico. The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell & Sons Ltd. Publications, 2010.
• Stephen, Lynn. Zapotec Women: Gender, Class and Ethnicity in Globalized Oaxaca. Durham: Duke University Press, 2005.
• Other readings as assigned.

• Specific Measurable Student Behavioral Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this course students should be able to:

• Distinguish diverse indigenous peoples & communities throughout Oaxaca as it relates to identity formation;
• Identify and analyze historical and contemporary cultural texts and artifacts in Oaxacan society;
• Compare and contrast gender roles of Oaxacan women and Chicanas;
• Analyze historical, cultural and social issues and problems in Oaxacan society and compare and contrast them with social issues and problems faced by Chicanas/os in the US.
• Prepare written papers that analyze historical and contemporary Oaxacan society.

3. Evaluation of Student Performance

• Attend class regularly including pre-travel lectures and presentations.
• Read assigned textbooks and outside readings, before, during and after visit to Oaxaca.

• Participate in class discussion through small group work, adding to class dialogue by utilizing outside resources related to the Chicano experience (e.g. books, articles, speakers, etc.).

Incomplete Policy (I)

Students should have completed at least 75% of the course work to qualify for consideration for an Incomplete. The student should be passing the course in order to be granted an Incomplete.

Determination of eligibility for an Incomplete is at the discretion of the faculty. Meeting the qualifications does not guarantee that an Incomplete will be granted. Students who meet the qualifications may request an Incomplete from the faculty member who is teaching the course.  The decision to grant an incomplete is up to the faculty and department discretion. If an Incomplete is granted, the student and instructor must fill out and sign an Incomplete Agreement from in order to clarify what the student needs to do to complete the course.

The faculty and student must complete and sign an Incomplete Agreement for each incomplete grade and/or clarify the Incomplete Agreement via email within a reasonable time after the Incomplete is assigned a grade.  

Appeal and Exception Policies

Please familiarize yourselves with the grade appeal and exception policies.  Please check on page 28 of the MSU Denver Student Policy Handbook & Academic Planner 2006-2007).

ADA Syllabus Statement

The Metropolitan State College of Denver is committed to making reasonable accommodations to assist individuals with disabilities in reaching their academic potential.  If you have a disability which may impact your performance, attendance, or grades in this class and are requesting accommodations, then you must first register with the Access Center, located in the Auraria Library, Suite 116, 303-556-8387.

The Access Center is the designated department responsible for coordinating accommodations and services for students with disabilities. Accommodations will not be granted prior to my receipt of your faculty notification letter from the Access Center.  Please note that accommodations are never provided retroactively (i.e., prior to the receipt of your faculty notification letter.) Once I am in receipt of your official Access Center faculty notification letter, I would be happy to meet with you to discuss your accommodations. All discussions will remain confidential.  Further information is available by visiting the Access center website . www.msudenver.edu/access 

Detailed outline of course content (major topics and subtopics) or outline of field experience/ internship (experience, responsibilities and supervision)

Pre-departure Schedule:

International Schedule:

Note:  This academic schedule should show daily lectures and field trips only, and is not a detailed itinerary.

Monday, July 21st

Class at Benito Juarez: Before the Conquest, History of Oaxaca and its indigenous roots

(Dr. Saenz & Dr. Del Castillo)

• Read: Bonfil Batalla: Part I, Chapter 1: A Land of Millenarian Civilization; Chapter 2: The Indian Recognized; Chapter 3: De-Indianizing That Which is Indian.
• Read: Joyce: Chapter I: People, Culture and History; Chapter 2: Peoples and Landscapes on the Eve of the Spanish Conquest.
• Read: Stephen: Ethnicity and Class in the Changing Lives of Zapotec Women

Tuesday, July 22nd

Class at Benito Juarez: Sociocultural Impact of colonialism in Oaxaca (Dr. Saenz & Dr. Del Castillo)

• Read: Bonfil Batalla: Part II, Chapter 4: The Problem of National Culture & Chapter 5: The Colonial Order; & Chapter 8, The Paths of Indian Survival.
• Read: Joyce: Chapter 3: Part 3: First Peoples; the Archaic Period and the Origins of Agriculture.  
• Read: Stephen: Chapter 2: Kinship, Gender and Economic Globalization.

Wednesday, July 23d

Class at Benito Juarez: Resistance to Colonialism (Dr. Saenz & Dr. Del Castillo)

• Read: Bonfil Batalla: Part II, Chapter 6: Forging a Nation  
• Read: Joyce: Chapter 3: Part 3: First Peoples; The Archaic Period and the Origins of Agriculture.  
• Read: Stephen: Chapter 4: Setting the Scene

Thursday, July 24th

Class at Benito Juarez: Gender, Class and Ethnicity in Globalized Oaxaca (Dr. Saenz & Dr. Del Castillo)

• Read: Bonfil Batalla: Part II, Chapter 7: Our (Revolutionized) Modern Time  
• Read: Joyce: Chapter 4: Negotiating Community and Complexity  
• Read: Stephen: Chapter 5:  Contested Histories: Women, Men and the Relations of Production in Teotitlan, 1920-1950

Friday, July 25th

Class at Benito Juarez: The Urban Indigenous Populations (Dr. Saenz & Dr. Del Castillo)

• Read: Bonfil Batalla: Part III, Chapter 9: The Nation We Have Today
• Read: Joyce: Chapter 5: From Villages to City: The Founding and Early Development of Monte Alban  
• Read: Stephen: Chapter 6:  Weaving as a Heritage: Folk Art, Aesthetics and the Commercialization of Zapotec Textiles.

Monday, 28th

Class at Benito Juarez: Folk Art, Aesthetics and commercialization of Zapotec Textiles(Dr. Saenz & Dr. Del Castillo)

• Read: Bonfil Batalla: Part III, Chapter 10: Civilization and Alternatives
• Read: Joyce: Chapter 6: Political Centralization in the Mixtec and Coast  
• Read: Stephen: Chapter 8:  Changes in the Civil-Religious Hierarchy and Their Impact on Women

Tuesday, July 29th

Class at Benito Juarez: Civil and Human Rights Issues in Oaxaca (Dr. Saenz & Dr. Del Castillo)

• Read: Joyce: Chapter 7: Authority and Polity in the Classic Period  
• Read: Stephen: Chapter 9: Fiesta: The Gendered Dynamics of Ritual Participation

Wednesday, July 30th

Class at Benito Juarez: Traditional Healing Systems (Dr. Saenz & Dr. Del Castillo)

• Read: Joyce: Chapter 8: Collapse and Reemergence  
• Read: Stephen: Chapter 10: Changing Political Culture

Thursday, July 31st

Class at Benito Juarez: Role of Religion in Modern Oaxaca in comparison with religion in US

• Read: Joyce: Chapter 9: Conclusions
• Read: Stephen: On Speaking and Being Heard

Friday, August 1st 

Class at Benito Juarez:  Overview, final rap up and conclusion (Dr. Saenz & Dr. Del Castillo)

5. GRADING SYSTEM

The following is the general point grading system that Professor Del Castillo will be using for Introduction to Chicano Studies 100.

An incomplete must be discussed with Professor Del Castillo before it is granted to a student.

The following is the specific grading assessment that Professor Del Castillo will utilize to determine student’s grade:

Evaluation of Student Performance:

1. Class interaction and participation, prior to and after visit                20%

2. Participation in historical site visits                                       20%

3. Journal                                                                     20%

4. Written research paper                                                    25%

5. Class presentations by students                                            15%                                                                                                     Total 100%