Dr. Jasmine Mitchell
Office Hours: 1204 Boylan M 2:15-3:15; W 2:15-4:15 or by appointment
Class Times: M/W 11-12:15  James 2302
E-mail: [email protected]

3 hours; 3 credits. Latina feminist tradition of testimonios, autobiographical narratives, short-stories, poems, and oral histories to reveal the complexity of Chicana/Latina identity. The connection between life experience and new knowledge creation. Theorize Latinidades at the intersection of racism, sexism and heterosexism. Re-think feminism, women and gender studies; Latin@, American and cultural studies. Students will create their own digital life stories. This course is the same as Women’s and Gender Studies 3152 and American Studies 3310. 

Course Description

This course explores the intersection of Latinx feminist histories and theories with the digital realm, focusing on how digital media and spaces influence and reflect the complexities of identities. We will investigate how Latinx feminist perspectives can deepen our understanding of digital spaces, offering unique insights into the roles and potential of these platforms for marginalized groups.

Through a combination of theoretical study and practical application, this course equips students with the skills to critically analyze and contribute to digital narratives, while fostering an understanding of how digital spaces shape and are shaped by Latinx feminist thought. By the end of the course, students will have developed a digital feminist project and a deeper appreciation for the intersections of digital media, identity, and advocacy within Latinx communities.

Course Requirements, Materials and Readings

Course readings are outlined in the semester calendar. All readings are available here on the course website.

 Some resources that are essential for this course, will be:

• Reliable web access: Given the nature of this course, it’s essential that you be able to get on the web on a regular basis. Please contact me if you have any questions about this requirement or if you’d like to talk about resources at this institution. 
• Classroom technology: This course requires the use of laptops, tablets, and/or smartphones to view and complete course work. 
• Blackboard: We will use Blackboard to share announcements and submit work. Alternative platforms might be available based upon class agreement.  
• Additional digital tools: Miro, Graph Commons, Omeka, Wax, Timeline JS, Storymap JS, Carto
• Social Media: Youtube, Soundcloud, Tumblr, Flickr, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok are all other forms of digital media that can be used for analysis as well as for creation. 

Academic Integrity 

The faculty and administration of Brooklyn College support an environment free from cheating and plagiarism. Each student is responsible for being aware of what constitutes cheating and plagiarism and for avoiding both. The complete text of the CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and the Brooklyn College procedure for policy implementation can be found at www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies. If a faculty member suspects a violation of academic integrity and, upon investigation, confirms that violation, or if the student admits the violation, the faculty member MUST report the violation. Students should be aware that faculty may use plagiarism detection software. 

Student Disability Services

In order to receive disability-related academic accommodations students must first be registered with the Center for Student Disability Services (CSDS). Students who have a documented disability or suspect they may have a disability (physical or mental condition which substantially limits one or more major life activity) are invited to call the Center at (718) 951-5538 or visit us in 138 Roosevelt Hall. If you have already registered with the CSDS and submitted necessary forms, you will receive your course accommodation letter to provide to your professor and these specific accommodations can be discussed when appropriate. 

Grading

• Participation: 25%
• Short video, audio clip, or reflection (4): 40%
• Project Review Plan: 5%
• Final Project: 25%
• Final Reflections: 5%

Notes on Class Participation

You are expected to attend class every day, arrive on time and participate in an informed and consistent matter. Since you cannot participate if you are not present, participation is comprised of punctual attendance and active engagement in class discussions. To be actively engaged you should be able to make thoughtful comments throughout each class session that reflect that you have done the assigned reading or viewing, that you are grappling with the implications of the reading or text and that you can respond effectively in classroom debates about different interpretations. You can also ask questions if you are not sure about how to interpret the reading. The quality rather than quantity of participation is important to keep in mind. Participation also requires listening and engaging with your peers. Cell phone use, texting, video games, etc. during class time will be noted, and will negatively influence your participation grade. Class participation will be graded on discussion in class in small groups, open forums, online discussions, and in-class writing assignments. A self-evaluation is also required as part of your participation at the end of the course.

This course is an interactive class and therefore requires participation from each student. Each student is expected to come to class prepared to discuss the assigned materials. In order to participate in class, you must be both present and prepared. Understanding that many students have different ways of learning and participating, I will provide you with various ways to participate (i.e. small group discussion, open forum, class presentations, in-class writing assignments, etc.). I strongly encourage all students to share their perspectives in class even if such perspectives might not be popular with the majority of the class. Our classroom is a safe environment where ideas will be exchanged and debated. However, many of the issues we cover in class might be controversial or emotional for some members of the class. It is therefore, essential to show respect for the classroom community. This showing of respect of your classmates is a requirement for the class. Class discussion should be conducted in a mature, civil, and professional manner. I will not tolerate any personal attacks, name-calling, or demeaning remarks. If members of the class want to make comments that they do not want repeated outside of the classroom, they can express these wishes for the class to agree not to repeat these remarks.

OER Statement

Unless otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

This course website contains copyrighted materials available only for your personal, noncommercial educational and scholarly use. This site is used in accordance with the fair use provision, Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act where allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Every effort has been made to provide attribution of copyrighted content. If you wish to use any copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain expressed permission from the copyright owner. If you are the owner of any copyrighted material that appears on this site and believe the use of any such material does not constitute “fair use”, please contact Professor Jasmine Mitchell to have the content removed, if proven necessary.

This open educational resource was created as part of the CUNY and SUNY 2017-2024 Open Educational Resources Initiatives. Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NY State Legislature awarded CUNY and SUNY $16 million to implement open educational resources to develop, enhance and institutionalize new and ongoing open educational resources across both universities.

Special thanks to the CUNY Office of Academic Affairs, the CUNY Office of Library Services, Brooklyn College Administration and Professor Frans Albarillo, Coordinator, Brooklyn College Open Educational Resources Initiative. Site design and formatting by Colin McDonald, OER Developer.