Courses

Courses by semester

Courses for

Complete Cornell University course descriptions are in the Courses of Study .

Course ID Title Offered
LSP1101 Research Strategies in Africana and Latino Studies
The digital revolution has made an enormous amount of information available to research scholars, but discovering resources and using them effectively can be challenging. This course introduces students with research interests in Latino and Africana Studies to search strategies and methods for finding materials in various formats (e.g., digital, film, and print) using information databases such as the library catalog, print and electronic indexes, and the World Wide Web. Instructors provide equal time for lecture and hands-on learning. Topics include government documents, statistics, subject-specific online databases, social sciences, the humanities, and electronic citation management.

Full details for LSP 1101 - Research Strategies in Africana and Latino Studies

Spring (weeks 8-14).
LSP1321 Music of Mexico and the Mexican Diaspora
This class is a survey of music practices among Mexican communities both in Mexico and in the U.S. Taking contemporary musical practices as a point of departure, the class explores the historical, cultural, and political significance of a wide variety of Mexican music traditions (including indigenous, folk, popular, and art music, dating back to the 16th Century) from a transnational perspective.

Full details for LSP 1321 - Music of Mexico and the Mexican Diaspora

Spring.
LSP2010 Latinos in the United States
Exploration and analysis of the Hispanic experience in the United States. Examines the sociohistorical background and economic, psychological, and political factors that converge to shape a Latino group identity in the United States. Perspectives are suggested and developed for understanding Hispanic migrations, the plight of Latinos in urban and rural areas, and the unique problems faced by the diverse Latino groups. Groups studied include Mexican Americans, Dominicans, Cubans, and Puerto Ricans.

Full details for LSP 2010 - Latinos in the United States

Spring.
LSP2152 (Im)migration and (Im)migrants: Then and Now
One in ten residents of the United States was born outside the country. These people include international students, temporary workers, refugees, asylees, permanent residents, naturalized U.S. citizens and undocumented migrants. The arrival of these newcomers affects the cultural, economic, political and social dynamics of the country. Since immigration shows no signs of slowing down—in the United States or in many other nations of the world—the causes, consequences and repercussions of immigration will be one of the most important topics of the 21- century. Therefore this class will examine the history and contemporary role of immigration in the U.S. political system. The class will focus on two aspects of immigration: First, a historical examination of immigration policy from the founding of the country all the way forward to the current debate over immigration reform. Second, we will evaluate and assess the political incorporation and political participation of immigrant groups in the U.S. and determine whether immigrants are being incorporated, and if not, why? We will reflect on many important questions including the costs and benefits of immigration, issues related to civil rights and civil liberties, and finally propose our own ideas and solutions to the current immigration reform debate.

Full details for LSP 2152 - (Im)migration and (Im)migrants: Then and Now

Spring.
LSP2201 Perspectives on Latin America
Interdisciplinary course offered every spring. Topics vary by semester, but readings always focus on current research in various disciplines and regions of Latin America. The range of issues addressed include the economic, social, cultural, and political trends and transitions in the area. In the weekly meetings, instructors and guest lecturers facilitate student discussions. Students taking the course are required to participate in all class discussions and write a research paper in their chosen focus area.

Full details for LSP 2201 - Perspectives on Latin America

LSP2212 Caribbean Worlds
This introductory course to the study of the Caribbean will begin with examinations of what constitutes the Caribbean and an understanding of Caribbean space.  We will then study its peoples, contact between Europeans and indigenous peoples, African enslavement and resistance, Indian indentureship and other forced migrations.  By mid semester we will identify a cross-section of leading thinkers and ideas. We will also pay attention to issues of identity, migration and the creation of the Caribbean diaspora. Constructions of tourist paradise and other stereotypes and the development of critical Caribbean institutions and national development will be discussed as we read and listen to some representative oral and written literature of the Caribbean and view some relevant film on the Caribbean. This inter-disciplinary survey provides students with a foundation for more specialized coursework on the Caribbean offered in our department.

Full details for LSP 2212 - Caribbean Worlds

Spring.
LSP2470 Digital Latinxs
Digital technology has been a part of modern life in the U.S. since the Cold War. A growing population of users works, plays, become politically active and fight-off boredom through digital technology. But who are these users? Where do they congregate and how do they emerge? How do they make meaning of their lives? This course focuses on the everyday experiences of Latinxs as users. It examines their participation in digital environments and their engagements with technology while paying attention to their social, political, and cultural contexts. Rather than imagine "users" as a universal category, students will learn about the experiences of Latinxs in digital spaces and their contributions to what scholars call digital culture.

Full details for LSP 2470 - Digital Latinxs

Spring.
LSP3010 Hispanic Theatre Production
Students develop a specific dramatic text for full-scale production. The course involves selection of an appropriate text, close analysis of the literary aspects of the play, and group evaluation of its representational value and effectiveness. All students in the course are involved in some aspects of production of the play, and write a final paper as a course requirement. Credit is variable depending upon the student's role in play production: a minimum of 50 hours of work is required for 1 credit; a maximum of 3 credits are awarded for 100 hours or more of work.

Full details for LSP 3010 - Hispanic Theatre Production

Spring.
LSP3338 Border Theory/Border Practice
As human migration around the world reaches a crisis unseen since WWII and as fences and walls once again dominate political rhetoric, how do we reckon with borders – not just as a metaphor but as a way of life? By examining how ideas and practices of borders interact and collide with their physical and embodied realities, this course approaches one of the most urgent questions of our time in a comparative, transnational framework. Starting with the U.S.-Mexico border and human flows across the Indian subcontinent, we will venture into numerous other zones to develop conceptual frameworks and critical vocabularies for borders in the twenty-first century.

Full details for LSP 3338 - Border Theory/Border Practice

Spring.
LSP3402 Refugees and the Politics of Vulnerability: Intersections of Feminist Theory and Practice
Topic Spring 2019: Child Refugees and Politics: Children comprised 52 percent of the worldwide refugee population of 68.5 million in 2017. Traveling with families as well as unaccompanied, they appear in media accounts as the most vulnerable and at risk of all refugees. In this course, we will consider to what degree this assignation of vulnerability, often corresponding with victimhood, shapes the journeys and lives of refugee children. We will use the growing body of feminist scholarship on vulnerability in law, philosophy, migration studies, and other fields to investigate how "vulnerability" creates categories of worthy and unworthy victims. In the U.S., for example, images of babies and toddlers being separated from Central American parents prompted outrage. Yet images of teenage boys in makeshift tents in the New Mexico desert went largely uncovered. At what age does a child no longer deserve sympathy and protection? In what ways does vulnerability overshadow children's agency? How might vulnerability be rearticulated so as to address children's specific needs, at different ages? Our main focus will be Central American and Mexican children crossing into the U.S. at the southern border, but we will make comparisons to other groups throughout the world.

Full details for LSP 3402 - Refugees and the Politics of Vulnerability: Intersections of Feminist Theory and Practice

Spring.
LSP3405 Multicultural Issues in Education
This course explores research on race, ethnicity and language in American education. It examines historical and current patterns of school achievement for minoritized youths. It also examines the cultural and social premises undergirding educational practices in diverse communities and schools. Policies, programs and pedagogy, including multicultural and bilingual education, are explored.

Full details for LSP 3405 - Multicultural Issues in Education

Spring.
LSP3980 Latinx Popular Culture Matters
This course analyzes several areas of Latinx popular culture that deeply impacted U.S. politics and history, artistic productions, and aesthetic sensibilities, as well as popular and civic cultures. Mapping a historical trajectory of Chicanidad and Latinidad in art, music, film, and popular media in the twentieth century, the course also engages contemporary practices in art that are rooted in 1960s and 1970s civil rights and community art movements. Topics include Latinx people in film and TV, muralism and street art, music, spoken word as well as close examinations of representations of Latinx people in American mainstream culture.

Full details for LSP 3980 - Latinx Popular Culture Matters

Spring.
LSP4000 Contemporary Issues in Latin - Latino America
Interested in Latino Studies and Latin American Studies? This course will explore topics in Anthropology, Art, Economics, History, Literature, Government, Sociology, etc., of US Latino and Latin American contexts. Course features guest speakers from Cornell and other institutions.

Full details for LSP 4000 - Contemporary Issues in Latin - Latino America

Fall.
LSP4210 Undergraduate Independent Study Fall, Spring.
LSP4851 Refugees
Since World War II, over 4 million people have migrated to the United States as refugees. In this seminar we will examine some of these refugee migrations and the ways these migrations challenged our understanding of the United States as a "haven for the oppressed." We will examine the crafting of refugee/asylum policy, the role of nongovernmental actors in influencing policy, and the ways policy reflected foreign-policy interests and security concerns. The last weeks of the course will pay particular attention to climate refugees and asylum-seekers, and our changing definitions of who 'merits' protection in the United States.

Full details for LSP 4851 - Refugees

Spring.
LSP6000 Contemporary Issues in Latin-Latino America
Interested in Latino Studies and Latin American Studies? This course will explore topics in Anthropology, Art, Economics, History, Literature, Government, Sociology, etc., of US Latino and Latin American contexts. Course features guest speakers from Cornell and other institutions.

Full details for LSP 6000 - Contemporary Issues in Latin-Latino America

Fall.
LSP6110 Advanced Research in Migration Studies
Students will participate in a winter session practicum, and in this follow-up course will have the opportunity to work closely with faculty on turning their fieldwork results into professional policy papers or academic publications.  As a course with a strong commitment to community engagement, students will also learn how to share their results with the target communities in an effective manner.

Full details for LSP 6110 - Advanced Research in Migration Studies

Spring.
LSP6210 Graduate Student Independent Study Fall, Spring.
LSP6338 Border Theory/Border Practice
As human migration around the world reaches a crisis unseen since WWII and as fences and walls once again dominate political rhetoric, how do we reckon with borders – not just as a metaphor but as a way of life? By examining how ideas and practices of borders interact and collide with their physical and embodied realities, this course approaches one of the most urgent questions of our time in a comparative, transnational framework. Starting with the U.S.-Mexico border and human flows across the Indian subcontinent, we will venture into numerous other zones to develop conceptual frameworks and critical vocabularies for borders in the twenty-first century.

Full details for LSP 6338 - Border Theory/Border Practice

Spring.
LSP6770 Hispanic Caribbean Rhythms and Aesthetics
This course explores how Caribbean music-such as son, merengue, and reggaetón-dialogues with literature in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and New York.  Theoretical readings on Caribbeanness (Benítez-Rojo, Glissant) and ethnomusicology (Flores, Moore, Rivera-Rideau) animate our interdisciplinary examination of Aftro-Antillean poetics (Nicolás, Guillén), Cuban neo-Barogue aesthetics (Severo Sarduy), coloniality and cultural consumption (Luis Rafael Sánchez), queer Caribbean diasporas (Mayra Santos-Febres), and soundtracks from Dominican urbanity (Rita Indiana).

Full details for LSP 6770 - Hispanic Caribbean Rhythms and Aesthetics

Spring.
LSP6851 Refugees
Since World War II, over 4 million people have migrated to the United States as refugees. In this seminar we will examine some of these refugee migrations and the ways these migrations challenged our understanding of the United States as a "haven for the oppressed." We will examine the crafting of refugee/asylum policy, the role of nongovernmental actors in influencing policy, and the ways policy reflected foreign-policy interests and security concerns. The last weeks of the course will pay particular attention to climate refugees and asylum-seekers, and our changing definitions of who 'merits' protection in the United States.

Full details for LSP 6851 - Refugees

Spring.
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