AES 442 Undocumented Immigrant Communities
Mon/Wed 1:30-3:20pm
242 MEB (Mechanical Engineering Building)
Professor: Carolyn Pinedo-Turnovsky, Assistant Professor
Appointment: American Ethnic Studies
Email: cpt4@uw.edu
Office Hrs: Friday, 1:30-3:30pm or by individual appointment in A-517 Padelford* (see note at bottom of page for directions)
The politics of migration, citizenship and race are the focal point for this course. In these times, the migrant crisis and others compel us to understand their productive forces and that they are crises of identity and power. This class examines sociologically the concepts of undocumented, citizen, and the structuring of il/legality as they are situated in axes of power, specifically in racialized and gendered contexts. Working with primary and secondary sources, we will learn about experiences across diverse communities, i.e., UndocuLatino, UndocuBlack, UndocuAsian and Pacific Islander, and UndocuQueer. Institutional outcomes in migration, law, labor, carceral spaces, education, and health are areas in social life that may be examined in course materials.
This is an upper-division course – students should be prepared to:
- Complete readings and assess them analytically in class discussions. Lectures will not fully cover readings, but attempt to synthesize key ideas. Depending on class size, our meetings could run like a seminar.
- Advance skills in creative and critical writing, develop sharp skills in reasoning and organizing coherent arguments in various types of assignments.
- Locate, explain connections and think critically across inequalities and hierarchies.
- Advance competency in research data collection, theories and methods, mainly from social science.
- Conduct independent work and research.
A basic familiarity with discourses in race, ethnicity, and gender as well as studies in transnational migrations, labor, inequality and globalization is indeed helpful, though not required. You should be prepared to read supplementary material on your own that will support your grasp of the material. Course readings are interdisciplinary from sociology, anthropology, ethnic and critical race studies, history and socio-legal studies.
*Note: Padelford has 3 wings: A, B and C. The easiest way to find my office is to enter the A-wing of Padelford via the entrance nearest Hall Health. Take the elevator to the 5th floor and turn left when you exit. You'll see my office on the right side, just four office doors past the elevator.
Majoring in American Ethnic Studies: Many students take AES courses out of interest in the topics or to fulfill general education requirements, yet do not realize how close they are to a major or even a double major. A degree in American Ethnic Studies is excellent preparation for a career in law, education, medicine, public health, social work, counseling, public policy, arts and humanities and many other careers. For more information about the major, please contact: Lorna Hamill, Academic Counselor, lthamill@uw.edu (206) 221-0664 or visit https://aes.washington.edu