About Queremos MAS

Queremos MAS y queremos más: We want Mexican American Studies, and we want more. 

When I initially developed this open pedagogy project, my intention was to create a hub and repository for cycles of study and lessons created by students in my Introduction to Mexican American Studies course at Austin Community College. The idea was to create a relevant and sustainable assessment that would promote Mexican American Studies, offer tools and resources for teachers across various levels of education to incorporate Mexican American Studies into their curricula, and give students the opportunity to engage in meaningful work that builds relevant and marketable skills. Implicit in these intentions, of course, is the understanding--or perhaps insistence--that Mexican American Studies and ethnic studies more broadly, are rigorous academic pursuits.

As often happens, the students showed me that this site could be more, that they wanted more and that they had more to bring. Sí, queremos MAS, y queremos más.

 As you'll see by reviewing each lesson cycle, students demonstrate in their lesson plans and learning they have developed that they seek more from their educational experiences. The questions students ask in their discussion questions and journals, the kinds of projects they have developed, even the learning outcomes and goals they have defined all provide insight into the high expectations students hold for themselves and for their instructors. These lesson cycles put the lie to the deficit narratives that characterize students as unmotivated or disinterested. The lessons you'll see here represent a level of academic challenge, personal relevance, and community engagement that would benefit any curriculum. I hope you enjoy viewing the lessons and consider using them in your own curriculum. Above all, it is my new hope that this site can be used to overturn deficit narratives to recognize the vast cultural and academic wealth that students bring to our classroom spaces.

Each lesson cycle, beginning with those for my own Introduction to Mexican American Studies course (HUMA 1305) at Austin Community College, includes a set of student learning outcomes, a set of foundational texts, study and discussion questions for each text, a reflective journal prompt, and a community engagement or project-based learning activity. Each cycle or component may be adapted to fit into any Mexican American / Latin@ Studies curriculum. If you use these study cycles, share your testimonio with us on social media or email me at lydia.cdebaca-cruz@austincc.edu!

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En solidaridad,

Lydia CdeBaca-Cruz, Ph. D.

January 15th, 2022