I talked to the undergraduate advisor for the center the other day and she told me that J had been in her office, cracking her up. She told me that J told her that he was becoming a feminist! My class has apparently been transformative for him. :)
Actually, today was my last day teaching. For the past two days, my students have been presenting personal artifacts that represent some aspect of "la chicana" to them. Students have brought:
family picture, many of their mothers
religious objects, many emblems of La Virgen de Guadalupe
a Selena CD - "Dreaming of You"
a package of reversible oreos
a short documentary about identity politics
culturally-relevant books
a can of pinto beans
a pair of ballet folklorico shoes
etc.
The personal testimonies that have accompanied the artifacts have been very moving. Many of them shed tears talking about their families and personal journeys. I admit that it's been difficult to maintain my composure during their presentations. I realize what an amazing space this course provides for these young Mexican American women.
And for the men. J brought a book that had been assigned to the class as one of his artifacts, saying that it had really changed the way he thought about women, especially Mexican women from Texas (though the protagonist was actually from New Mexico). After sharing what the book meant to him, he suggested that the course should also have included more male perspective.
"It never hurts to include the men." Then he brought out his second artifact, a CD from which he played a song to the class - "El Rey." Some lyrics follow:
"Con dinero y sin dinero
Hago siempre lo que yo quiero
Y mi palabra es la ley
No tengo trono ni reina
Ni nadie quien me comprenda
Pero sigo siendo el rey."
I can't really translate it, but let's just say that he's not succumbing to his feminist side just yet. ;)
@>-->>---
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