Puerto Rico has been a territory of the United States since 1898, and yet it holds a very different view of race relations. Dominant discourses of Puerto Rican identity represent the island as racially mixed and therefore devoid of racism; but many scholars argue that this is not the case. We will use popular culture, memoir, and political histories as lenses through which to examine the construction of race, and blackness in particular, in Puerto Rico and among Puerto Ricans in the US. We will explore topics such as the role of Puerto Rican activists in social movements for racial equality, performances of blackness and Puerto Ricanness in hip-hop and reggaeton, and migration's influence on ideas of blackness and Latinidad in both Puerto Rico and the U.S.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 15

Prerequisites: AMST 101 or permission of the instructor

Instructor: Rivera-Rideau

Distribution Requirements: SBA - Social and Behavioral Analysis

Typical Periods Offered: Every other year

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered

Notes: