HIST 2327 - Ramos, Lisa: Healing, Resilience, and/or Resistance

Healing, Resilience, and/or Resistance

Research Project: General Instructions

PURPOSE:

• This project is the most important part of our course. 
• You will immerse yourself in a counter narrative framework (See Module 1 if you forgot the definition of a counter narrative).
• You will practice analyzing, synthesizing, problem-solving, and thinking creatively.
• Please note that you cannot submit the same research project for two different courses. You must submit an original project for this course.

CRITERIA:

Your project must meet the following criteria:

• Focus on Mexican American Studies (MAS) topics: people, groups, events, or ideas.
• Focus on healing, resilience, or resistance
• Focus on a historical topic between the years: 3000 B.C.E (B.C.) - 2009.
• Conduct a deep dive into a certain historical topic: offer a nuanced (detailed) and sophisticated (complex) argument and solid, reliable evidence

SUBMISSION OPTIONS:

OPTION #1: Written research project:

• Based upon the above criteria, pick a Mexican American person, group, event, or idea that you really want to learn more about.
• I  will work with you to create a good thesis (main argument) and librarians can help you find reliable sources.
• Your job will be to read through your sources to fine-tune your thesis, find good evidence, and organize your project in a way that makes it engaging, understandable, and polished.
• You can write a traditional 5-page essay plus a "Works Cited" page or a long poem (~5-7 pages).
• Speak to me if you want to submit the latter, so we can figure out the length and structure.

OPTION #2: Creative research project:

• Based upon the above criteria, pick a Mexican American person, group, event, or idea that you really want to learn more about.
• If you choose to produce a short film, choreograph a dance, or create a work of art (painting, sculpture, etc.), then you still have to have a major theme (main argument) and a way of demonstrating this theme through your work of art.
•  You must still do research for your creative work. Click on the above hyperlink if you need librarians to help you find resources.
• I only recommend you choose a creative project if you already have moderate to significant experience in one of these fields (film, dance, painting, sculpture, installation art).
• We can talk about the structure you will use to convey your major theme.
• If you choose this route, then I will primarily be grading your artwork and a much shorter writing assignment (~2-4 paragraphs) explaining your artwork, its major theme, and your method/process for bringing the major theme to life.

TASKS/DEADLINES:

The project will be completed in several stages:

You will submit a research project proposal & annotated bibliography

You will submit a research project detailed outline

You will submit a DRAFT of your research project

You will submit your FINAL research project

All final projects must use at least 4 credible sources. 

Credible sources include books, articles, and websites by professors, journalists, legal scholars, and other individuals who are trained in doing sophisticated research.

Click on the "Get SAC Library & Tutoring Help" if you need help finding sources.

PROJECT BACKGROUND:

Until the late twentieth century (late 1970s), most popular cultural representations (e.g. books, films, magazines, etc.) of Indigenous and Mexican American cultures were negative, portraying them as backward and unsophisticated. In this class, we will learn how these cultures actually were more advanced and sophisticated than often portrayed.

We will also learn that contrary to dominant narratives of the Spanish conquest of the Americas that portray Indigenous people as submissive and docile, many Indigenous groups continued to resist Spanish influences for many decades after the Spaniards established colonies in the Americas.

Therefore, I would like you to create a project that recognizes the way Indigenous or Mexican American groups have approached healing (well-being, health, medicine, etc.), resilience (overcoming obstacles put in place by Spaniards, whether it was new religions, laws, etc.), and/or resistance (revolts, riots, protests, etc.).

If it gives you a greater sense of purpose, imagine you are going to present this project before the Texas Higher Education Board to justify expanding Mexican American Studies (MAS) courses.

MARKETABLE SKILLS:

Analysis: Students will identify, classify or challenge components of an argument/problem.

Synthesis: Students will combine and organize evidence to demonstrate a greater depth of understanding of an argument/problem.

Creativity: Students will develop original work through reflection and inquiry.

Problem-Solving: Students will analyze appropriate evidence within an argument/problem, design and implement logical solutions, or measure the effectiveness of the solutions.

Possible Topics

1. Aztec (Mexica) society and their "zero-waste" approach to the environment and its impact on power relations?

2. Aztec (Mexica) society and the tonalpouhqui, a mental health specialist, and holistic approaches to well-being, https://hogg.utexas.edu/history-and-current-relevance-of-chicanao-psychology-addressing-mental-health-in-mexican-american-latinao-communities#:~:text=Still%20earlier%2C%20in%20pre%2Dconquest,health%20issues%2C%20according%20to%20Dr. (Links to an external site.)

3. the Blue Hole (San Antonio, TX), its healing powers and sacred meaning

4. Aztec (Mexica) religion and medicine - human sacrifices from an Aztec point of view

5. Pueblo Revolt, 1680 and how it challenges the dominant narrative of Spanish conquest as quick & easy 

6. Chichimeca Wars, 1500s and how they challenge the dominant narrative of Spanish conquest

  7. Chicano Movement (El Movimiento) Key Documents & Resistance, How/why did leaders, men and women, turn to Indigenous cultures (or their interpretations of these cultures) to improve their own lives?

  8. Chicanas, El Movimiento, and Resistance, How did Chicanas not only resist the oppression of mainstream U.S. society but also within their own Chicana/o culture?

  9. Ethnic Studies as Resistance, How did the field, particularly Chicana/o/x Studies, resist traditional U.S. education ideas/structures in the 1960s and/or 1970s? 

10. Battle of the Alamo from a counternarrative perspective

11. US - Mexico War from a counternarrative perspective

12. Adelitas and the Mexican Revolution

This is not an exhaustive list. Talk to me or email me if you have another idea that fits the criteria.