Home » Posts » Final

Recent Comments

    CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication

    Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication license.

    Final

    • What have you learned in What have you learned in this course; in our classes, during an assignment, from a peer, in a conversation in / outside class? The answer to this question can be the screenshot of a conversation, a voice recording of a reflection, a video speaking, a piece of art, or a diagram. Express your answer in the manner you want.this course; in our classes, during an assignment, from a peer, in a conversation in / outside class.

    I learned a lot throughout this course. But something I learned that I had no previous knowledge of was who Malinche was. Before this class I had never even heard of her name or her story. I found it really interesting how she was considered a traitor by her people for bearing Cortes´children and creating mixed race people. To me, it seems she was also a victim. I can understand why her people were upset with her as it caused their race to become extinct. I also find it so powerful that just one woman was to create a whole new race.

    • After reading “A Xicana Codex 012” by Cherrie Moraga,  record your voice ( just audio) speaking for 1 or 2 minutes about how this reading relates to you.
    • Create a playlist on Spotify that matches the short story “Kimberle”, by Achy Obejas. Explain the connection of the songs to parts of the reading and specific quotes.

    I thought the song ¨Oblivion¨ by Grimes was very fitting for this reading because the singer shares her experience of assault after being followed home at night which made me think of the murderer on the loose targeting women every fall. ¨Gotta gimme your love¨ and ¨Justify My Love¨ are just sensual songs that I think really capture the sexual nature of Kimberle and the main character´s relationship. In ¨Kissing a Fool¨ George Michael sings ¨fooled me with the tears in your eyes. Covered me with kisses and lies.¨ This line especially connected to the story because the main character takes in Kimberle because she is suicidal and wants to keep her safe, however she had been deceived this whole time because in the story’s final moments, it is revealed that Kimberle was the killer all along. ¨Here Comes the Rain Again¨ is a song that reminded me of the main character slowly falling in love with Kimberle as it has a happy and hopeful tone for new love. ¨Tears Dry on Their Own¨ tells of a lover left brokenhearted at the end of their relationship. It reminded me of the main character breaking up with her boyfriend and worrying about her next relationship and whether she could even connect with another human on that level again. 

    • Find a newspaper article online that relates to Sexile, by Jaime Cortez (Pages 11-27 in the pdf). Explain the connection.
    1. https://www.businessinsider.com/11-ways-people-dodge-the-draft-during-the-vietnam-war-2020-1#4-be-a-homosexual-4

    The main character in ¨Sexile¨ is a transgender woman from Cuba. But the reason this news article resonates with the story is because before the character transitioned, they were a gay man. And when they got drafted to fight in the war, they purposely showed up to intake dressed in effeminate clothing which caused them to be considered ineligible for service. The article above describes the different tactics men used to avoid being drafted in the Vietnam war. One of those ways was pretending to be a member of the lgtbq community because in the 1970s homosexuality was discriminated against and the military would not allow openly gay men to join.

    • Choose an literary image from a specific poem by Natasha Carrizosa and another from Natalie N. Caro. Write a paragraph or record voice/video analysing a comparison.

    Natasha Carrizosa and Natalie N. Caro both focus on ideas of culture and identity in their work. In ¨Pennies in my blood”, Carrizosa makes references to oshún, the goddess of water, purity, fertility, and love in the Yoruba religion. She also mentions the act of cleansing herself with an egg which is a practice used in santeria to cleanse one’s aura of bad energy. She further references the Yoruba religion by mentioning yemayá, a water spirit, elleguá a deity, and shangó, the god of thunder. Carrizosa connects herself to her ancestors through the practices and root of her culture. In ¨Cruz¨, Caro refers to her identity as a curse because of the discrimination that comes along with it. She talks about her brothers´ curse being their brown skin that makes them a target of oppression in an anglo society. She also explains ¨something to keep them still¨ when she talks about doctors in white coats which implies medication prescribed to them to keep them silenced.  

    • Include the short story La fiesta de los Linares, Janete Arelis Quezada . Why would you include this poem on your blog;  in relation to what?. Post it next to a movie clip that relates to it. Quote pertinent parts.

    La fiesta de los Linares would be included because it deals with the idea of what it means to be someone who is queer and a part of the latinx community. Throughout the story we get little hints as to what the characters feel through their actions. For example, Dulce always watches Amelia from across the room when she is dancing; almost admiring her. It’s apparent that these two have a history together based on the flashback of them dancing alone in the back of the store and that they still both want to be with each other. But ultimately Amelia marries a man she does not have interest in because she will be judged by her family if she were to reveal she was not heterosexual. At the end, the woman explains she is capturing the shadows no one has seen before. Meaning that the two women must hide their love from the public and can only express it when they are completely alone.

    I hate the way men look at me as if I were created

    solely for their amusement.

    Unwelcomed, uncomfortable stares. 

    Skeevy eyes that send shivers down the spine

    and make the skin crawl off my body.

    I wish I could just bury it in mountains

    of oversized shirts and sweatpants so that I never

    have to have these encounters again. 

    Too provocative.Too inappropriate.

    Repress the curves that bind your femininity.

    Otherwise, you´re basically asking for it.

    Men beg to see these bodies

    yet when they do we are deemed loose.

    That is the life of women.

    They always ask

    what were you wearing

    when it happened?

    But never question

    why he did what he did.

    And once again

    we are blamed 

    for the violence against us

    that they have created.