[URBANTH-L]References Request--MX-US Migration

[Hilary Dick]

Dear Colleagues:

I am writing to ask for suggestions on non-social science readings on
Mexico-US migration. These suggestions are for an interdisciplinary
course in the humanities I will teach this spring.

My syllabus already covers the key anthropological and sociological
literature on Mexico-US migration, but I need to include more
"humanistic" readings. Unfortunately, I am not as familiar as I would
like with the literature on Mexico-US migration in the humanities, so
any recommendations on readings from literature, cultural studies, and
so on—including novels and poetry—are most welcome. Also, if you have
any favorite movies to recommend, I am interested in that as well. For
your information, I have included a brief course description after my
signature.

Thank you for your time and help—and Happy Holidays.

Yours Sincerely,

Hilary Parsons Dick, PhD
Humanities Fellow, 2008-2009
Center for the Humanities
Temple University

http://www.temple.edu/humanities/
hdick at temple.edu
Phone - 215-204-6386
Fax - 215-204-8371

COURSE TITLE--Words of Passage: Interpreting Mexico-US Migration

Using the tools of narrative and discourse analysis, this course will
examine the motifs, themes, and ideological frameworks that recur in
discussions and representations of Mexico-US migration. In so doing,
the course will examine images and ideas about migration found not
only in scholarship, but also in non-fiction essays, novels, poetry,
visual art, the news, and movies. These materials are selected in
order to make the experiences of migrants palpable. As part of this,
the course will consider some of the major economic and political
factors that shape migration patterns, placing contemporary Mexico-US
migration in its historical context. It will also investigate the
socio-cultural beliefs and practices inform migration processes.
Finally, it will use art and literature that captures the affective,
psychological, and spiritual aspects of migration to convey the
traumas and exhilarations that accompany it.