What does it mean to be Chicana/o/x, Latina/o/x, Hispanic, Spanish, or Mexican American in the United States? How has the history of Chicanismo shaped this country? This course will investigate the many complex answers to these questions. I will rely on each of you to have an open mind and use critical thinking to engage with the histories, stories, and texts in Chicanx Literature. We will begin this course by reading the first book published by the Quinto Sol Prize, which was the first fully independent published work of the Chicano Movement funded by UC Berkeley, …y no se lo trago la tierra/And the Earth Did Not Devour Him. Then we will read a variety of novels by Chicanx writers, while tracking the motifs, tropes, and politics of the 1960’s Chicana/o Movement into the Latino Boom. We will finish this course by reading a variety of contemporary Chicanx poets and ask, what is the new Chicanx aesthetic? How are these poets in conversation with a tradition and how are they pushing against it? As part of Chicanx Literature we will consider a variety of texts including music, art, comics, murals, graffiti, dance, and film. Students will be asked to write reading responses on the literature, and immersive talking points to use during graded in-class discussions. We will finish the semester with a ten to twelve page paper on a student chosen topic ranging from myths of Aztlán to hybridity in form as metaphor for identity.