Latina/o/x Identity

Monday, January 15

NO CLASS. MLK Day.

Wednesday, January 17

Readings

  1. Noe-Bustamante, Luis, Lauren Mora, and Mark Hugo Lopez. 2020. ``About One-in-Four U.S. Hispanics Have Heard of Latinx, but Just 3% Use It.’’ Pew Research Center.

  2. Beltrán, Cristina. 2010. “Introduction: Sleeping Giants and Demographic Floods.” In The Trouble with Unity: Latino Politics and the Creation of Identity, 3-19. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Discussion Questions

  1. Who are we talking about when we say Hispanic or Latino/a/x? Who is included in this category?
  2. Do Hispanics use the terms Latinx? If not, should they?
  3. What assumption does Beltrán say is implied when Latinos are referred to as the “sleeping giant”?
  4. How does Beltrán define Latinidad? In what ways has the process of Latinidad been helfpul and in which ways has it not?
  5. What is Beltrán’s central argument in her book? Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Friday, January 19

Readings

  1. Zepeda-Millán, Chris, and Sophia J. Wallace. 2013. “Racialization in Times of Contention: How Social Movements Influence Latino Racial Identity.” Politics, Groups, and Identities 1(4): 510–27.

Discussion Questions

  1. What is the research question in Zepeda-Millán and Wallace’s 2013 article?
  2. If we consider Hispanic or Latine to be an ethnic category, why would half of Latines say Latines “make up a distinct racial group in America”?
  3. What are the three major elements in Omi and Winant’s (1994) racial formation theory? Do you think these elements explain the formation of racial groups today? Does it apply to Latines as well?
  4. What do Zepeda-Millán and Wallace’s (2013) findings tells us about Latine identity? (first: what the main findings?)