This will be the 44th academic year of Merrill College and the 43rd year of its core course. Approximately 12,500 students have begun their college careers at Merrill by studying both peoples' struggles to preserve their cultural identities and social change beyond and within the borders of the United States.

Students in the Merrill Core Course will study nationalism, imperialism, migration and globalization, and their attendant cultural clashes, religious conflicts, and social inequalities. The selected readings are engaging and diverse. In Fall, 2011, students will read five books: Daoud Hari's The Translator, a vivid memoir by a native Sudanese that addresses the genocide in Darfur; Cristina Garcia's Dreaming in Cuban, the moving story of three generations of women whose ties to Cuba simultaneously draw them closer together while forcing them apart; Cuba: My Revolution, a graphic novel by Dean Haspiel and Inverna Lockpez; and Fatima Mernissi's Dreams of Trespass, an exquisite novel about the coming of age of a young girl living in a harem in Morocco at the time of Moroccan independence from French colonial power; Finally, in a striking work out of the L.A. barrios, we follow Luis Rodriguez's intricate details of successive gang- related traumas of a young Chicano who finds through art, writing, and community work, powerful ways to put a stop to a life of "always running."

This seminar course is designed as an introduction to university-level work, and, as such, it stresses the skills of reading, writing, and clear thinking. In addition to the five books listed above, students will also read several essays on cultural identity and other related topics, which will be available electronically. We will assign frequent papers, and will work throughout the quarter to improve writing skills. As part of the Core course, students will view a number of feature films and documentaries.