Prof.

Nelson Maldonado-Torres Rutgers University

Department of Latino and Caribbean Studies CA-A5
T/Th 10:20 to 11:40 pm
Latino and Caribbean Studies 202:
Color-Lines and Borderlands
Today it is easier than perhaps at any other point in human history for peoples to know about
each other and connect with each other. Yet we live in a time of violent divides and
confrontations. What is at the root of these divides? And what resources are there to overcome
the destructive effect that some of them have? This class will examine the power of “color-
lines” in producing divisions among peoples and individuals as well as explore the possibilities
of crossing borders of separation and creating new forms of human connection and
community in the 21st century.
Required Texts
Gloria Anzaldúa. Borderlands/La frontera. 4th Edition. Aunt Lute Books, 2012. ISBN:
9781879960855
Frantz Fanon. Black Skin, White Masks. Trans. Richard Philcox. Grove/Atlantic, 2007.
ISBN: 9780802143006
*There will be additional required readings on Sakai and on-line through the library catalogues.
Learning Goals
This course is certified for the SAS Core Curriculum Learning Goals CCD (Diversities and
Social Inequalities), and AHo (Philosophical and Theoretical Issues), that is, particularly, to
“Analyze issues of social justice across local and global contexts,” and to “Examine critically
philosophical and other theoretical issues concerning the nature of reality, human experience,
knowledge, value, and/or cultural production. ” Learn more about the SAS Core Curriculum at
the linked page: https://sasoue.rutgers.edu/core/core-learning-goals
This course also contributes to meet the Department of Latino and Caribbean Studies Learning
Goals: https://latcar.rutgers.edu/academics/undergraduate/learning-goals

Class requirements, grade criteria, and evaluation:

*15%: Attendance, on time arrival to lecture, evidence of preparation for lecture and discussions,
participation, and adherence to class protocols (important: see specific protocols and details on
Canvas).
*25%: Creative Lab 1: Letter Writing
*25%: Two short midterms
*35%: Creative Lab 2: Challenging Color-lines and Crossing Borderlands Virtual Tour
*Optional forums for up to five bonus points. Three to five postings required.
*Note: It is important that you understand the cell phone and tech devices policy for this class.
By enrolling in this class you are accepting the protocols and terms that appear on Canvas
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Latino and Caribbean Studies 202:

Color-Lines and Borderlands
I. Understanding the Color-line and Borderlands
Week 1: Introduction: The Color-Line and the Definition of the Human (Jan. 18-20)
Tuesday. Discussion of syllabus; introduction to the course; video and new reading
related to the video.
Thursday. Reading: Osamu Nishitani. “Anthropos and Humanitas: Two Western
Concepts of Human Being” (Relevant selections are identified in the digital
copy).
Week 2: Identifying and Defying the Color-Line (Jan. 25-27)
Tu: W.E.B. Du Bois. Selections from Souls of Black Folk; “A Negro Student at
Harvard at the End of the Nineteenth Century.” (Canvas)
Th: W.E.B. Du Bois. “Souls of White Folk” (Canvas); James Baldwin, “A Letter to
My Nephew” (Canvas).
Week 3: Understanding the Borderlands (Feb. 1-3)
Gloria Anzaldúa. Borderlands/La Frontera. Chapters 1-3.
Week 4: Rebirth: The New Mestiza (Feb. 8-10)
Gloria Anzaldúa. Borderlands/La Frontera. Chapters 4-7.
Week 5: Group Work and Creative Lab 1: Letter Writing (Feb. 15-17)
Tu: Creative lab 1. Come to class with a draft of a letter to anyone in the present,
past or future, real or imagined, including family members, friends, leaders, artists,
historical characters, etc. The letter should explain and provide examples of the
color-lines and borderlands that are found in the readings that we have explored so
far. You are also welcome to include other reflections on current state of affairs,
situations that you consider of great importance today or for your generation. The
first draft of the letter should be between 900 and 1,200 words (the final version
should be between 1200 and 1500 words). Details of the complete assignment on
Canvas.
II. Global Anti-Blackness
Week 6: Language and Love in an Antiblack World (Feb. 22-24)
Frantz Fanon. Selections from Black Skin, White Masks
Week 7: Towards the World of the You (March 1-3)
Frantz Fanon. Selections from Black Skin, White Masks
Week 8: Combahee River Collective (March 8-10)
Combahee River Collective Statement
**Short midterm 1
Week 9: SPRING BREAK (March 15-17)
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III. Crossing Borders and Abolishing Color-Lines

Week 10: La Colectiva Feminista en Construcción (March 22-24)
Colectiva Feminista en Construcción. “La Manifiesta.” (On Canvas)
Isabela Herrera. “For This Feminist Collective in Puerto Rico, the Mass Protests
Were a Long Time Coming,” New York Times.
Recommended:
Eduardo Lalo. “Unnatural Disaster: Puerto Rico and Hurricane María.” (On
Canvas)
Editorial Board, New York Times, “Yes, Mr. Trump, Hurricane María was a ‘Real
Catastrophe’.” Sept. 2, 2018 (On Canvas)
Week 11: Decolonize This Place I (March 29-31)
Decolonize This Place. “Anti-Columbus Tours of the American Museum of
American History 2016-2019” (Canvas)
“Decolonial Operations Manual.” (Canvas)
Week 12: Decolonize This Place and the IIAAF (April 5-7)
Decolonize This Place (cont.); “Strike MoMa: Framework and Terms for Struggle”
(Canvas)
**Short midterm 2
**Creative Lab 2: Virtual Tours (preparation): brainstorming and sharing; arranging
groups; dividing work; creating a timeline.
IV. Creative Lab 2: Beyond the Color-Lines
Week 13: Creative Lab 2-Virtual Tours (Preparation cont.; April 12-14)
**Creative Lab 2 Virtual Tours (preparation): brainstorming and sharing; arranging
groups; dividing work; creating a timeline; visit library; group discussions.
Week 14-15: Creative Lab 2-Virtual Tours (Presentations; April 19-28)
**Creative Lab 2 Virtual Tours presentation
Course wrap up