What Are We Doing and Why Are We Doing It? A PrefaceAcknowledgmentsPart I: Introduction(s) 1) Post What?! (Not) An Abbreviated Introduction 2) Saussure, Signs, and Semiotics, or Lots of Words That Begin with S 3) Narrating about NarrativePart II: Theory 4) An Opening Jaunt: El Salvador in 1923 Harry Foster, "A Gringo in Mañana-land" 5) Be Here (or There) Now Stuart Hall, "Ethnicity: Identity and Difference" 6) Identity Construct #1: Race Lawrence Blum, I'm Not a Racist But . . . Peter Wade, Race and Ethnicity in Latin America 7) Identity Construct #2: Class David Parker, The Idea of the Middle Class 8) Identity Construct #3: Gender Candace West and Don Zimmerman, "Doing Gender" R. W. Connell, Masculinities 9) Identity Construct #4: Nation Arthur de Gobineau, The Inequality of Human Races Louis Pérez, On Becoming Cuban 10) Identity Construct #5: Latin America Gerald Martin, Journeys Through the Labyrinth Leslie Bary, "The Search for Cultural Identity" Walter Mignolo, Local Histories, Global DesignsPart III: Reading(s) 11) Civilized Folk Defeat the Barbarians: The Liberal Nation Domingo Sarmiento, Facundo 12) Civilized Folk Marry the Barbarians: The Nationalist Nation Introduction to Doña Barbara by Rómulo Gallegos Rómulo Gallegos, Doña Barbara Introduction to Doris Sommer's Foundational Fictions Doris Sommer, Foundational Fictions Introduction to José Martí's "Our America" José Martí, "Our America" 13) Film Foray: Los tres caballeros Julianne Burton, "Don (Juanito) Duck and the Imperial Patriarchal Discourse" 14) The Socialist Utopia: Che Guevara and the Cuban Revolution Analyzing The Motorcycle Diaries Film Analysis: The Motorcycle Diaries Introduction to Alma Guillermoprieto's "The Harsh Angel" Alma Guillermoprieto, "The Harsh Angel" Film Analysis: Soy Cuba/Ya Kuba (I Am Cuba) 15) Boom Goes the Literature: Magical Realism as the True Latin America? Elena Garro, "It's the Fault of the Tlaxcaltecas" 16) Film Foray: Como agua para chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate) Barbara Tenenbaum, "Why Tita Didn't Marry the Doctor, or Mexican History in Like Water for Chocolate" Harmony Wu, "Consuming Tacos and Enchiladas" 17) Film Foray: Mi familia (My Family) 18) Are We There Yet? Testimonial Literature Thomas Tirado, Celsa's World: Conversations with a Mexican Peasant Woman 19) Some Closing CommentsPermissions AcknowledgmentsIndex