Mapping Latino BostonDr. Laura Brown
Spring 2017Brown 101
SyllabusOffice hours: M, W 2-3
and by appointment
“Mapping Latino Boston” combines experiential learning, digital humanities, and task-based learning in ways that are both practical and current. “Mapping Latino Boston” seeks to understand the faces and patterns of Latino and Hispanic migration in the greater Boston area. Visualization of history and culture are carried out through images, both photography and maps, and through narratives constructed from interviews and data analysis. What is the history of Latinos who live in the greater Boston area? Where are their families from and how did they migrate? Where are Latino businesses and communities situated in Boston and Waltham? How do businesses and community organizations create a space for Latinos in Boston? What cultural information can be gleaned from mapping this information? This course will attempt to answer these questions, allowing students to engage firsthand with the community and to apply academic readings beyond the traditional classroom setting.
The class will be structured around these three components: academic readings of a historical and cultural nature to understand the Latino diaspora, field work and interviews in order to engage the community and learn through experience, and the use of technology, including social media and mapping technology. This ambitious combination will be structured through assignments that carefully consider adequate intellectual preparation (background readings), control over quantity of data productions (such as a minimum number of interviews), and required presentation of data and analysis (specific tasks monitored with deadlines). The students of this course will benefit from practical technical skills, improved writing, and deeper knowledge of Latino culture, as well as a guided practice of conducting original research. This class will provide an invaluable skill set for students considering graduate school, research positions, or nonprofit work.
Note: Some community-based learning will be required for this class, particularly in the second half of the class in April. Please be prepared to spend some of your time off campus, though some fieldwork may successfully be completed on campus. Please consult with the professor about logistics related to off-campus travel. Public transportation options are available (Brandeis Vans, commuter rail, MBTA trains and buses, Uber/Lyft). Adequate research time is built into the homework schedule of research weeks, and room for both success and failure is built into the course plan.
LEARNING GOALS
Over the course of the semester the student will learn the history of Latino, Caribbean, Brazilian and Hispanic migration to the greater Boston area, have a nuanced understanding of different diasporas, and will practice various visual presentation methods including mapping and photography. The student will also gain greater data and informational literacy, as well as experience in oral history and data collection.
COURSE MATERIALS
One book as well as selected articles and instructor-made packets will be used in this course. You are required to purchase the following: González, Juan. Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America. New York: Viking, 2000. All other materials will be posted on Latte.
PREREQUISITES
There are no prerequisites for this class. Fieldwork and journaling can be conducted in Spanish, French,Portuguese, or English. Final projects and visualizations should be in English, with translations of other languages provided.
Academic Integrity
You are expected to be familiar with, and to follow, the University’s policies on academic integrity. Please consult Brandeis University Rights and Responsibilities for all policies and procedures. All policies related to academic integrity apply to in-class and take home projects, assignments, exams, and quizzes. Students may only collaborate on assignments with permission from the instructor. Allegations of alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity. Sanctions for academic dishonesty can include failing grades and/or suspension from the university.
Disabilities
If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately. If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodations you should contact Undergraduate Academic Services. Letters of accommodations should be presented at the start of the semester to ensure provision of accommodations. Accommodations cannot be granted retroactively.
Privacy
This class may require that you disclose your coursework and identity to parties outside the class. To protect your identity you may choose to use a pseudonym/alias rather than your name in submitting your work. You must provide this alternative name to me. Alternatively, with prior submission, you may submit such work directly to me.
Communication
Email will be the preferred method of communication, and Latte will be used extensively for posting materials and communicating with the class.
Four-Credit Course (with three hours of class-time per week)
Success in this 4 credit hour course is based on the expectation that students will spend a minimum of 9 hours of study time per week in preparation for class (readings, papers, discussion sections, preparation for exams, etc.).
WeekTopic
1-2Introduction, Discussion of demographics and immigration policies, conceptual mapping exercise with Staff Stories
3Hispanics, Chicanos, Latinxs in the US, from then to now
4History of Caribbean migrations
5History of migration from Mexico and Central America
6History of migrations from South America
7The history of maps and “What is mappable data?”
8Ethics of interviews and documentation, IRB awareness
9CartoDB Map Training/Fieldwork and data collection
10ArcGIS Map Training/Fieldwork and data collection
11Fieldwork and data collection
12Fieldwork and data collection
13Narrative Map Training and Reflections on Qualitative Data /Help with visualization of data collection
14Data aggregation and discussion of experiences, proposal writing, presentation of research (receive comments for final submission)
GRADING
Film Review or Review of Maps: 10% (Three page paper on a selected film or a series of maps). Due 2/6
Paper on History of Latinos in Boston: 20% (Four page critical response paper drawing from multiple readings). Due: 3/6
Oral History: 10% Photographic and brief oral history (*must be obtained with consent)
Option 1: Due 1/27 by noon; Option 2: Due 5/1
Online journal (Google Docs or blog) of fieldwork experiences: 20% (Document the preparation for, failures, successes, and emotions of interviewing people and surveying places; At least 8, 200 word entries): Due: 4/27
Participation: 15% (Includes oral and written preparation for class, constructive criticism for peers, discussion and dialogue).
Final Mapping Portfolio Project: 25% (Includes at least one map and a written analysis of presented data, as well as a presentations, planned for 5/1 and 5/3).Due: tbd during finals week
CLASS PLAN AND HOMEWORK
Wednesday 1/18
Class: IntroductiontoClass; Conceptual MappingAssignment
HW:Begin oral interview assignment; suggestedreading 5-50 :González, Juan. Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America. New York: Viking, 2000.
Thursday 1/19
Class: LectureontheCurrentState of Latinos in US
HW: González, Juan. “Immigrants Old and New: Closing Borders of the Mind. ”Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America. New York: Viking, 2000. 199-224.
...... Week2......
Monday 1/23
Class: Beginnings of Latinx US
HW: González, Juan. “Banana Republics and Bonds: Taming the Empire’s Backyard (1898-1950). ”Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America. New York: Viking, 2000. 58-81.
Wednesday 1/25
Class: continuation of LatinxHistory
HW: “NuestraAmérica: Latino History as United States History.” Journal of American History (Dec 2006): 655-672.
Thursday 1/27:
Class: continuation of Latino History ; oral historyexercisedue
HW:Acuña, Rodolfo. “Losing Fear: Decade of Struggle and Hope.” Occupied America: A History of Chicanos. New York: Pearson, 2007. Ch. 16.
...... Week3......
Monday 1/30: Lectureonhispanics v. chicanos v. Latinos and theiroverlaps
HW: Granberry, Phillip. “Latinos in Massachusetts Selected Areas: Waltham (2015)” Gastón Institute Publications. Paper 213.
Wednesday 2/1
Class: Turning local
HW: Granberry, Phillip, “Foreign-Born Latinos in Massachusetts” (2011). Gastón Institute Publications. Paper 35.
AND Zook M, T Shelton, A Poorthuis, R Donohue, M Wilson, M Graham, M Stephens. What would a floating sheep map? Lexington, KY: OvesNatantes Press, 2015.
Thursday 2/2: Special DEIS Collegeclass **Held in Shapiro Cultural Center**
Class: Maps: StoriestheyTell and StoriesWithheld
HW: Francisco Rivera-Batiz and Carlos E. Santiago, “The Puerto Rican Population in the United States”Island Paradox: Puerto Rico in the 1990s. New York: Russell Sage. 126-51
González, Juan. “Puerto Ricans. Citizens Yet Foreigners.”Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America. New York: Viking, 2000. 81-95.
...... Week4......
Monday 2/6
Class: Puerto Rico migrations; **Film orMapreviewpaperdue**
HW:
González, Juan. “Cubans: Special Refugees.” Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America. New York: Viking, 2000. 108-116.
María Cristina García, “Exiles,Immigrants, and Transnationals: The Cuban Communities of the United States,” in David Gutiérrez, The Columbia History of Latinos In the United States Since 1960. 147-180.
Wednesday 2/8
Class: Cuban migrations
HW: González, Juan. “Dominicans. From the Duarte to the George Washington Bridge.” Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America. New York: Viking, 2000. 81-95.
Thursday 2/9
Class: Dominicanmigration
HW: Corwin, Arthur. “Mexican American History: An Assessment.” Pacific Historical Review 42.3 (1973): 269-308.
...... Week5......
Monday 2/13
Class: Mexicanmigrationspart 1
HW: González, Juan. “Mexicans: Prisoners of a Different Type” and “Central Americans: Intervention Comes Home to Roost: Harvest of Empire. 96-107, 129-148.
Wednesday 2/15
Class: Mexicanmigrationspart 2; current Central American issues
HW:Stoltz Chinchilla, Norma and Nora Hamilton. “Central American Immigrants: Diverse Populations, Changing Communities.” in David Gutiérrez, The Columbia History of Latinos In the United States Since 1960. New York: Columbia, UP 2004. Ch. 4.
Thursday 2/16
Class: Central American Migrations
HW: Reading: Marilyn Espitia, “The Other ‘Other Hispanics’: South American-Origin Latinos in the United States,” David Gutiérrez, The Columbia History of Latinos In the United States Since 1960. New York: Columbia, UP 2004. Ch. 6.
February 2/20-24: NO CLASS
...... Week6......
Monday 2/27
Class: South American Migrations, part 1
HW:“South American Immigrants in the United States.” Migration Policy Institute.
South American Migrants
Wednesday 3/1
Class: South American Migrations, part 2
HW:Investigativework: SearchforarticlesonBrazilians in New England
Thursday 3/2
Class: Brazilians and Caribbeans in Massachussetts
HW:Wood, Denis. “Unleashing the Power of the Map.” Rethinking the Power of Maps. New York: Guilford P, 2010. 39-66.
...... Week7......
Monday 3/6: **Response PaperDue**
Class:ThePower of Maps
HW:tbd, plus playaroundwithGoogleMaps
Wednesday 3/8
Class:TheBasics of Maps
HW:tbd
Thursday 3/9
Class:OtherTypes of Maps (tbd, such as StoryMaps, QGIS)
HW:Ritchie, Donald A. “Setting Up an Oral History Project” and “Conducting Interviews” in Doing Oral History. 62-101.
...... Week8......
Monday 3/13
Class:Qualitative Data
HW:Katherine Hite, “The Politics of Memory, the Languages of Human Rights” and ShaneGreene, “Negotiating Multicultural Citizenship and Ethnic Politics in 21st Century Latin America, in Eric Hershberg and Fred Rosen, eds., Latin America After Neoliberalism: Turning the Tide in the 21st Century (2007). New Press: 2007. 193-212 and 213-231
Wednesday 3/15
Class: IRB
HW:tbd- complete IRB training
Thursday 3/16
Class: Data Literacy and Quantitative Data
HW: complete IRB training
...... Week9......
Monday 3/20
Class:CartoDbpart 1
HW:tbd
Wednesday 3/22
Class:CartoDbpart 2
HW:tbd
Thursday 3/23
Class:CartoDbpart 3
HW:tbd
...... Week10......
Monday 3/27
Class:Arc GIS part 1
HW:tbd
Wednesday 3/29
Class:Arc GIS part 2
HW:tbd
Thursday 3/30
Class:Arc GIS part 3
HW:tbd
...... Week11......
Monday 4/3
Class:Workshopsetting up surveys
HW:tbd and explore online data
Wednesday 4/5
Class:Workshopon data collectionstrategies
HW:tbd and explore online data
Thursday 4/6
Class:Workshopon Project Logistics
HW:tbd and trial data collection
April 10-18 NO CLASS: April Break
...... Week12......
Wednesday 4/19
Class: No classduetotravel
HW:Begin data collection
Thursday 4/20
Class: No classduetotravel
HW:Begin data collection
...... Week13......
Monday 4/24
Class:Discussion of data collectionexperience so far
HW:workonproject
Wednesday 4/26
Class:Workshoponprojectimprovement
HW:workonproject
Thursday 4/27
Class:Crowdsourcingpossibilities; Fieldworkjournaldue
HW:workonproject
...... Week14......
Monday 5/1
Class:flex, student-suggestedtopic
HW:workonproject
Wednesday 5/3- Last Day of Class; Presentations of portfolio drafts