Class Detail

Focuses on a particular topic in critical race and ethnic studies. Topics vary with each offering but might include approaching racial and ethnic formations through a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives, including indigenous studies, Black studies, Latinx studies, Asian American studies, queer critique, gender studies, transgender studies, performance studies, human rights studies, mixed race studies, legal studies, critical area studies, war and empire studies, environmental studies, science studies, and critical university studies. May be repeated for credit.

This topical CRES course will focus on Reggaeton for Fall 2025. Full Course description for this quarter: From making songs in makeshift studios in public housing to the mainstage at Coachella, reggaeton has gone from a criminalized subculture to one of the most dominant musical genres in the world. Artists like Bad Bunny, Rauw Alejando, and Daddy Yankee are among the most listened to artists on the planet boasting billions of streams despite singing almost exclusively in Spanish. How did we get here? This course traces the history of reggaeton music and culture between Puerto Rico and the United States in order to explore questions of race, gender, sexuality, capitalism and empire. What does it mean for a Black musical genre rooted in spaces of diaspora that have been touched by colonial violence to “crossover” and become pop music? What can we learn about politics and pleasure from queer and femme artists and fans that are challenging the misogyny and cisheteronormativity that have long marked the genre? Can party music be a vital site of resistance? Ultimately, this course will help students understand the complex history and politics embedded in the music we often take for granted as it plays in our earbuds, spills out of widows, and booms from passing cars.
Secondary sections for CRES 188X will be cancelled.

Days & Times	Room	Instructor	Meeting Dates
TuTh 03:20PM-04:55PM	Soc Sci 2 075	LeBron,M.	09/25/25 - 12/05/25