AMST 101mgw: RACE AND CLASS IN LOS ANGELES

Fall Semester 2022

Lecture: Tu, Th 9:30-10:50, TTH 201

Professor George J. Sánchez Office: KAP 449a

Email: [email protected] Phone: (213)740-1663
Office Hours: Wednesdays: 2-4 pm, by appointment
Teaching Assistants: Arabella Delgado, Kathy Pulupa, Ann Tran

Course Description
This course examines the importance of race and class in relation to major
political, economic, gender, social, cultural and economic issues in historical and
contemporary Los Angeles. Throughout the course, theories will be introduced that are
used in the academy to study the development of urban regions, the social construction of
race, how power works, and the dynamics of inequality. We will use and question these
theories to help us analyze particular topics in Los Angeles, including residential
segregation, urban redevelopment, suburbanization, immigration and assimilation,
cultural interaction, income inequality, and economic policies. We will examine these
topics and how they are shaped and influenced by race, class, and gender.
One of the key goals of this course is to equip students – through course readings,
writing assignments, in-depth section discussions, and examinations – with a working
knowledge of contrasting theories and methods that they will learn to critically and
systematically examine a range of issues facing the United States.

COVID Protocols
Students are expected to comply with all aspects of USC’s COVID-19 policy. Failure to
do so may result in removal from the class and referral to Student Judicial Affairs and
Community Standards. Approved masks are recommended and should be worn properly
over your nose and mouth during lectures and sections. PLEASE DO NOT COME TO
LECTURE OR SECTION IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING COVID SYMPTOMS OR
HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID. Our goal is to have a safe return to in-person
instruction this semester!

Course Requirements
Section (Attendance & Participation) 15% of grade
LA Observation Assignment 10% of grade
Midterm Exam 20% of grade
Street Vendor Observation Assignment 5% of grade
Term Paper 20% of grade
Final Exam 30% of grade

Note on General Education (GE) and Reading/Writing assignments: This course is

approved for two GE categories: 1) GE-C: Social Analysis, and 2) GE-G: Citizenship in a
Diverse World.
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Courses approved for these categories require that students do a substantial amount of
weekly reading (circa 100 pages), and a significant component of writing (a minimum of
15 pages of essay form work) during the semester. 6 to 8 pages will be taken up with the
term paper. The shorter writing assignments (LA Observation Assignment and Street
Vendor Observation Assignment) will make up the rest.

Late Assignments: All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the day they are
due. If you fail to submit an assignment on time, you will receive a zero. If you know you
will miss class, you must submit any assignment due that day prior to the beginning of
class. If an unexpected, documented emergency causes you to miss class the day an
assignment is due, you must contact me and your teaching assistant as soon as possible to
discuss your situation and submit the work you have completed so far. I may assign your
grade based on the work completed before the absence.

Required Texts
All course texts are available for purchase at the USC Bookstore.

George J. Sánchez, Boyle Heights: How A Los Angeles Neighborhood Became the Future
of American Democracy (University of California Press, 2021)
Kelly Lytle Hernández, City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human
Caging in Los Angeles, 1771-1965 (University of North Carolina Press, 2017)
Natalia Molina, A Place at the Nayarit: How A Mexican Restaurant Nourished A
Community (University of California Press, 2022)
Brenda Stevenson, The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins: Justice, Gender, and the
Origins of the LA Riots (Oxford University Press, 2013)
Wendy Cheng, The Changs Next Door to the Díazes: Remapping Race in Suburban
California (University of Minnesota Press, 2013)
Emir Estrada, Kids at Work: Latinx Families Selling Food on the Streets of Los Angeles
(New York University Press, 2019)
In addition, several articles will be placed on Blackboard (BB) and are required.

Term Paper
Critically examine one of the issues presented in this course (or, discuss an alternative
topic with your teaching assistant) by examining two or more explanations for an issue
and discuss why you believe one explanation – or a combination of explanations – is best
supported by the evidence. A discussion of how race and class (and possibly gender)
relate to your topic is an essential part of your paper.

Outline for Paper:

1) Introduction: Briefly explain what the topic is and why it is important.
2) Competing Approaches: Explain the major competing theories/explanations and
controversies surrounding the topic from class readings, lectures, or discussions.
3) Discussion: Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the different
theories/explanations. Explain why you believe that one theory offers a better
explanation of the issue than the other theories/explanations. Or, explain how
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each theory offers a partial explanation and how parts of the theories can be
combined to provide a better explanation than one theory alone.
4) Conclusion: Implications or significance of your findings.
5) References: Sources should be cited within the body of your paper, taken from the
course readings, lectures, and discussions

Class Schedule and Readings

Week 1: Aug 23/25: Understanding Race & Class in Multiple Conquests

Boyle Heights, Chapters 1 & 2, pp. 1-38.
City of Inmates, Introduction & Chapter 1, pp. 1-44.

Week 2: Aug 30/Sept 1: Putting L.A. in Context in the U.S. & the Hemisphere/USC in
Historical Context
City of Inmates, Chapters 2, 3 & 4, pp. 45-130.
Paul R. Spitzzeri, “Judge Lynch in Session: Popular Justice in Los Angeles,
1850-1875” (BB)
Review 2 web pages:
https://about.usc.edu/history/founders/
https://presidentemeritus.usc.edu/legacy-of-judge-widney-immortalized/

Week 3: Sept 6/8: Coming From Elsewhere: How Migrants Transform L.A.
Boyle Heights, Chapters 3 & 4, pp. 39-96.
City of Inmates, Chapter 5, pp. 131-157.
L.A. OBSERVATION PAPER DUE IN SECTION

Week 4: Sept 13/15: Multiracial Los Angeles in World War II

Boyle Heights, Chapters 5, pp. 97-130.
A Place at the Nayarit, Introduction, Chapter 1, pp. 1-64.

Week 5: Sept 20/22: Creating New Homes & Networks in the Cold War
Boyle Heights, Chapters 6 & 7, pp. 130-184.
A Place at the Nayarit, Chapter 2-3, pp. 65-131.

Week 6: Sept 27/29: Blackness in the Nation’s “White Spot”

City of Inmates, Chapter 6 & Conclusion, pp. 158-220.

Week 7: Oct 4/6: Speaking Truth to Power in the 1960s/The Rise of the Radical Right
A Place at the Nayarit, Chapter 4-5. Epilogue, pp. 132-185.
Boyle Heights, Chapter 8, pp. 185-212.
Lisa McGirr, “Suburban Warriors, Chapter 5: The Birth of Populist
Conservatism” (BB)
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Week 8: Oct 11: Preparing for Modern Los Angeles

MIDTERM EXAM ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11
Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins, Preface & Chapter 1, pp. xv-xxxi, 1-57.
FALL BREAK: OCT 13 & 14: NO SECTIONS THIS WEEK

Week 9: Oct 18/20: Racialization & Class Dynamics in Post-1965 L.A.

Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins, Chapter 2, pp. 58-105.
Changs Next Door to the Diazes, Preface, Introduction, Ch. 1, pp. vii-xi, 1-61.

Week 10: Oct 25/27: Growing Up in Segregated Los Angeles

Changs Next Door to the Diazes, Chapters 2 & 3, pp. 63-127.
Kids at Work, Introduction & Chapter 1, pp. 1-42.

Week 11: Nov 1/3: Poverty & the Police

Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins, Chapters 3 & 4, pp. 107-167.
Kids at Work, Chapters 2 & 3, pp. 43-82.

Week 12: Nov 8/10: Undocumented Migrations & Spatial Settlement/Women’s Soccer
in the New Los Angeles
Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins, Chapter 5, pp. 169-227.
Boyle Heights, Chapter 9, pp. 213-240.
Lorena Muñoz, “Brown, Queer and Gendered: Queering the Latina/o
‘Streetscapes in Los Angeles” (BB)
FINAL PAPERS DUE IN SECTION

Week 13: Nov 15/17: The 1992 Riots, Violence & Challenges for a Multiracial City
Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins, Chapter 6, 7 & Epilogue, pp. 229-315.
George J. Sánchez, “Face the Nation: Race, Immigration, and the Rise of
Nativism in Late Twentieth Century America” (BB)

Week 14: Nov 22: How to Make a Living & How to Make a Life in L.A.
THANKSGIVING WEEK: NO SECTIONS THIS WEEK
Changs Next Door to the Diazes, Chapter 4, pp. 129-170.
Kids at Work, Chapters 4 & 5, pp. 83-115.
STREET VENDOR OBSERVATION DUE IN LECTURE ON NOV 22

Week 15: Nov 29/Dec 1: The Future of Race and Class in Los Angeles
Boyle Heights, Chapter 10, pp. 241-274.
Changs Next Door to the Diazes, Chapter 5 & Conclusion, pp. 171-212.
Kids at Work, Chapters 6, 7 & Conclusion, pp. 116-159.

FINAL EXAM: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 11 AM TO 1 PM