WST 281/481:The Legacy of Frida Kahlo: Gender, Sexuality,

Politics and the Arts in Mexico

 

Course Instructor:  Stephanie Barnes M.A (stbarnes27@hotmail.com) Contact Info: U.S. Internet phone line:  (612) 605-7230, Mexico phone numbers:  (777) 312-3578 ext.111

 

Course Description

This course will explore the legacy of Frida Kahlo by examining the lives of Mexican women from the beginning of the 20th century, when women participated in the Mexican Revolution, to the present day, when a wide variety of women’s groups and LGBT organizations have embraced Frida as a symbol of women’s struggles for revolutionary change.  By examining Frida’s own life and legacy, students will discuss how race, class and gender  in Mexican society are manifested through history, art, and politics. The course will be highly experiential and include numerous excursions and guest speakers in Mexico, introducing students to women’s diverse experiences in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic class, and sexual orientation

 

Class sessions would include the following kinds of guest speakers and excursions:

• The Frida Kahlo museum and other important museums in Mexico City

• Lectures and Performances by contemporary Mexican artists (writers, musicians and visual artists), including feminist and lesbian artists.

• A panel on gender and sexuality in Mexico today

• Discussions with Mexican feminist activists, politicians, and feminist/women’s studies scholars.

• Discussion of course-related topics with host families.

• Participation in the June LGBT pride march in Mexico City

• Discussion of Frida's legacy with a wide variety of people representing different socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds

• Viewing of movies about Frida, including “The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo” (2004) and “Great Women Artists: Frida Kahlo” (2001)

Learning Objectives/Outcomes

Learners will:

1. Discuss the diverse roles that women have played in history, politics and the arts before, during and after Frida Kahlo’s life.

2. Analyze the historical development of oppression based on race and ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality.

3. Apply feminist analysis to the study of Mexican history and deepen their appreciation for “herstory”– women’s distinct voices in history.

4. Apply feminist analysis to the study of literature and visual and performing arts.

5. Analyze the roles that art and literature play in informing, maintaining and/or transforming one’s understanding gender in society.

6. Describe how artists and authors use and/or “recreate” history and historical figures such as Zapata and Frida Kahlo to articulate the social and political ideas of their time and culture

7. Articulate the ways in which cultural identity shapes one’s understanding of history or “herstory.”

8. Discuss the relationship between history and culture, identifying some of the ways in which history shapes cultural values and the ways in which cultural values shape one’s understanding of history.

9. Identify key issues and themes in contemporary women’s groups and LGBT organization in Mexico.

10. Recognize the affect the Mexican Revolution of 1910 and the Reconstruction of the Nation had on social and historical constructions of gender, sexuality and ethnicity.

Required Readings

(You do not need to buy all the texts, only the ones with an *)

Chant, Sylvia. Gender in Latin America.  Rutgers University Press, 2003.

*Héctor Carrillo. The Night is Young: Sexuality in Mexico in the Time of Aids.

Dore, Elizabeth, ed. Gender Politics in Latin America. Monthly Review Press New York 1997.

*Herrera, Hayden. Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo. HarperCollins, 1983.

Herrera-Sobek, María. The Mexican Corrido: A Feminist Analysis. Indiana University Press, 1990.

*Mirandé, Alfredo.  Hombres and Machos. Westview Press, 1997.

Mujeres Artistas en el México de la Modernidad: Contemporaries de Frida Kahlo; Women Artists in Modern Mexico:

          Contemporaries of Frida Kahlo.  National Museum of Mexican Art and Museo Mural de Diego Rivera, 2008.

*Poniatowska, Elena. Here’s to You, Jesusa!  Translated by Deanna Heikkinen.  Penguin Books, 2001.  (This is a novel about a

          Soldadera during the Mexican revolution by one of Mexico’s most famous contemporary feminist authors.)

*Ramos, Betty.  The Geo-Context: A Guide To Intercultural Understanding Between Canada, Mexico, and the United States.  The

          Geo-Cultural group, 2008

Rodríguez, Victoria E.  Women in Contemporary Mexican Politics. University of Texas Press, 2003.

Rodríguez, Victoria E. (ed) Women’s Participation in Mexican Political Life.  Westview Press, 1998.

*Salas, Elizabeth.  Soldaderas in the Mexican Military: Myth and History. University of Texas Press, 1990.

Soto, Shirlene.  Emergence of the Modern Mexican Woman: her participation and Struggle for Equality 1910-1940.  Arden Press,

          1990.

*Tuñón, Julia. Women in Mexico: A Past Unveiled.  University of Texas Press, 1999.

 

*Primary texts you need to purchase before arriving to Mexico. (Contact the instructor ahead of time if you would like to purchase a used copy of these texts in Mexico).  Excerpts from the other texts will be included in a supplemental reading packet that you will be given upon arrival in Mexico.

 

**Students taking the 481 level course will be required to read additional texts and primary sources assigned by the instructor in order to enhance class discussion and provide greater insight into the themes each week.

 

Teaching Methodology

CGE instructors use a student-centered methodology. Students are given a course interest survey and/or an ungraded quiz or “pre-test” to assess their prior knowledge, as well as their level of interest in specific course topics.  The instructors will try to incorporate the students’ knowledge and interests into the course design to the extent possible.  However, since students’ background knowledge, interests, and learning styles vary greatly within every group, it is impossible to satisfy every student.  Moreover, part of education experience is stretching one’s comfort zone.  Nonetheless, students should feel free to talk with the instructor about ways to conduct independent research and/or tailor some of the assignments to their own interests and/or learning styles.  If you have any questions or concerns, please talk with the instructor as soon as possible.

 

Teaching strategies include lectures by the instructor; small and large group discussions of required readings and experiences; films; spontaneous journaling exercises; use of artwork and music which express course-related themes; field trips; guest lectures; dialogue with a wide range of people expressing diverse viewpoints; participant observation, and interviews. Particular attention is given to story-telling, particularly by members of groups whose voices have been silenced.  There will also be formal oral presentations by students; field trips to historical sites in Mexico and guest lectures by Mexican historians, artists, political analysts, and other actors in society who come from diverse socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds. Field trips will likely include encounters with urban workers, peasant-farmers (campesinos), indigenous people, government representatives, political activists; politicians, and artists.  In addition, when scheduling guest speakers and other encounters, priority is given to women and to other individuals and groups who have been marginalized and under-represented in academia. 

Due to the fact that approximately half of class time is spent listening to guest speakers, students are encouraged to develop their strategic questioning and listening skills.  It is very important that students ask informed questions and share their own interests, opinions, and experiences with speakers so that they are not just educational consumers but partners in a common quest to learn more about social change. 

Course Requirements

1.  Class Participation (10%):  Effective class participation includes not only regular attendance but also active participation in and preparation to guest lectures, experiential activities, internal class sessions, and discussion sessions.  Students will be expected to demonstrate their comprehension of assigned readings by engaging in informed dialogue with speakers and fellow learners, asking probing questions, sharing their own thoughts and experiences; and making references to assigned readings to class discussion topics, as appropriate.  Students taking the 481 level course will also be required to lead and facilitate a class session based on the theme and readings of the designated week. Please note that class participation is required for a passing grade.  Because participation is essential to the learning process, a student who misses class activities for any reason must speak to the instructor, preferably prior to class.  Absences due to religious holidays and illness are considered excused absences.  However, students still must inform the instructor of such absences in advance and talk to the instructor about how to make up the missed session/s.  Students are also responsible for obtaining notes, handouts and information regarding announcements from other students if they arrive late to class or miss a class session.  Absences for personal travel or visits from family or friends are not excused absences, and points will be deducted from students’ participation grade. 

 

2.  Short Reflection/Analysis Papers and Interview Project (15% x 4 =  60%):  Students will write three short papers in which they will be expected to make connections between required readings and guest speakers, cultural events, excursions, and other experiences in Mexico. Students taking the 481 level course will be required to read additional texts and primary sources assigned by the instructor in order to enhance class discussion and provide greater insight into the themes each week.  The additional readings and analysis of these texts must be reflected in this assignment Assignments submitted after the due date and time will receive lower grades unless prior arrangements have been made for an extension.  Papers should be approximately 1000-1250 words in length (4-5 typed pages) and must include proper citations, such as footnotes or endnotes. Students should number each page and use 11 or 12 font and 1” margins. Since access to computers is limited, students may choose to write with a dark pencil or pen on 8 1/2 by 11” paper.  More specific topic guidelines will be provided in class. In addition, students will complete a interview paper/project where they will interview Mexican host family and friends and write a creative piece reflecting the different voices of those they interviewed as well as incorporating the materials from class that week.

 

3.  Research Project/Paper and Oral Presentation (30% = 5% proposal, 20% points for Project/Paper and 5 % for Oral Presentation):   Throughout the summer, students will be asked to conduct research on an issue of interest regarding “the Arts, Politics and History.”  During week #5, students will complete a creative project and oral presentation that will teach others what they have learned about the topic.   Students taking the 481 level course will be required to complete the creative project as well as a 12-15 page paper which they will more extensively articulate the importance of the topic within the context of women’s studies (exploring contemporary feminist theory and methodology).

 

Augsburg Honesty Policy

All students are expected to follow the Augsburg Honesty Policy which is printed in the program manual. It is assumed that all students have read the honesty policy, understand it, and are following it.  Except when the assignment expressly encourages group work, it is assumed that all course work will be one’s own. Students are not to copy the work of others.  The first occurrence of plagiarism will result in the failure of the assignment. A student who commits plagiarism a second time will fail the course.

 

Students’ Rights and Responsibilities

Students with formally diagnosed learning or physical differences have legal rights to course modifications. Those who qualify should identify themselves to the instructor as soon as possible in order to obtain extra assistance.

 

Late Assignments

If you need an extension, you must talk to your instructor(s) in advance to negotiate a new deadline.  If you have not been given an extension in advance and you turn in a late assignment, you will be docked half a grade (from a 4.0 to a 3.5 or 3.5 to a 3.0, 3.0 to a 2.5, 2.5 to a 2.0, etc.)  If you are more than one week late, you will be docked a full grade.  No assignments will be accepted more than two weeks after the original deadline; a “0” will be given after that .Assignments due near the end of the semester will not be accepted after the last day of the semester.”