It took 25 years, but late musical icon Selena Quintanilla now has a Texas college course exploring her life and career. Beginning fall 2020, the University of Texas at San Antonio will begin offering Selena: A Mexican American Identity and Experience. The course will employ the pop star's image, use of language, and the media coverage surrounding her career and death to map out the historical trajectory of Tejana/o Mexican-Americans in Texas.
"When I got to UTSA five years ago, I was surprised that someone hadn't already done a class like this," says the course's instructor, Dr. Sonya M. Aleman, associate professor of Mexican American studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
"To me, it makes perfect sense that there would be (a class) where Selena's the springboard to talk about issues of representation, identity, and race and racialization."