Index # 08791
Will Count Towards Political Science MAJOR
Will Count Towards Political Science MINOR
Current times call for the question: what does it mean to be human? As a society, we have been witnessed to: the death of young Black boys and girls; the death and mistreatment of Guatemalan and Salvadoran children in the custody of ICE; the disproportionate punishment placed on Black boys and girls in K-12 schools; the negative psychological effects of immigration enforcement on immigrant school-aged children; refugee crises across the globe; the ongoing FBI investigations on Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential elections; the #MeToo movement; the #BlackLivesMatter movement; the appointment of a now Supreme Court Justice accused of numerous cases sexual harassment and assault; the continuous cuts on education funding; the rise of education costs; a partial government shutdown. The list appears never ending. Amidst all of this, the question of “what it means to be human in current times,” is not only timely but absolutely necessary. How do we as a people, as a society come to comprehend what is happening all around us and maintain a level of hope? How do we focus on the equally significant acts of human kindness across the globe, in our own country, state, county, college campus? Through an examination of Black Feminist Theory, Chicana Theory, Critical Race Theory, Latina/o Critical Race Theory, this course aims to ultimately ask questions that bring us closer to what it means to be human in the 21st century. This course’s aim is to provide students, as well as the instructor, with a critical examination of radical women of color’s activism and feminism.
About Professor Matos
Yalidy Matos is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Latino and Caribbean Studies at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. She earned her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. Yalidy’s scholarly work examines the intersections between race, immigration, and geography. By drawing on theoretical frameworks from a multitude of fields, including political science, sociology, political psychology, and history, Yalidy uses a mixed methods approach to understand the racialized nature of immigration policies and contemporary restrictive immigration policy attitudes in the United States. Originally from Dominican Republic, Yalidy is passionate about complicating the ways in which Americans think about immigration and immigrants.