How does Valdez portray the events around the Sleepy Lagoon incident and/or the so-called “Zoot Suit Riots” compared to accounts from historians?
How does Valdez portray how Chicano/es suffer from and/or resist oppression by powerful institutions or systems, such as the criminal justice system, the U.S. military, systemic racism, the mass media, etc.?
What did solidarity look like between different racialized groups (Chicano/e, Filipino/e, Black, Jewish, etc.) during the “Zoot Suit Riots” and what is a key lesson we can take today about this form of solidarity?
What is the mythological and/or symbolic role of “El Pachuco” in the play? For instance, how does he relate to stereotypes about Mexican-Americans, Chicanos, Aztecs, and/or Pachucos?
How do gender roles shape the play? For instance, how are men and women represented or treated differently in society (e.g., when it comes to clothing, personal freedoms, voice, family roles, etc.)?
How is Zoot Suit animated by the concerns or objectives of the Chicano movement (aka El Movimiento)?
What is the message or moral of the play and how does it apply to current concerns?
How does the play illustrate or challenge one of the ten monster theses?
Other? (check with Prof. Garcia)
Shadowshaper
What might have influenced Daniel José Older to center Shadowshaper around murals and Black and Brown muralists? How can significant ideas, figures, traditions, or forms of power tied to mural-making can be linked to the novel?
Older says when writing Shadowshaper that he was influenced by writers like Octavia Butler, known for defining the genre of Afrofuturism, and Walter Mosley, known for redefining the genre of noir. How do we see one or both of these genres or writers' unique influence in Shadowshaper?
How does Shadowshaper incorporate Nuyorican and/or Puerto Rican culture or history? In what ways could it have further engaged with these cultural layers?
How does Shadowshaper critique the rugged individualism or self-reliance common in U.S. society? How does it emphasize specific forms of solidarity, community-building, or collective action?
What does shadowshaping represent in Shadowshaper, and how might shadowshaping parallel actual or possible practices in our world, such as forms of music, art, spirituality, or other creative expressions?
What is the social or symbolic significance of music in Shadowshaper? How does it compare to the role of music with African and indigenous roots—such as bomba, plena, hip-hop, reggaeton, jazz, or salsa—in spurring social change? For instance, how might Bad Bunny's recent album (DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS) resonate with themes in the novel?
How does Shadowshaper explore the connections and conflicts between Blackness and Latinness? Additionally, how does this depiction align with or challenge scholarly discussions on Blackness and anti-Blackness within Latine communities?
What is the significance of education in Shadowshaper? For example, what might have histories or figures might have motivated Older to create Professor Wick and what is the significance of Wick's project? Or what portrait of high-school education or curriculum do Older create and how does it connect to current issues in U.S. education?
How does Shadowshaper work in the wake of the enduring legacies of slavery, genocide, and systemic oppression in the U.S.? Specifically, how does the novel critique aspects of the "White Supremacist capitalist patriarchy," as defined by bell hooks—such as colorism, misogynoir, or anti-Black beauty standards—and suggest paths for unlearning or healing from these ideas and behaviors?
How does Shadowshaper exhibit strategies for memorializing or defending the dead, and how do these approaches compare to those in the African diaspora or other cultural traditions?
How does Shadowshaper illustrate a psychological concept or phenomenon, such as the return of the repressed, a rite of passage or initiation, the collective unconscious, individuation, PTSD, intergenerational trauma, intergenerational healing, etc.?
How does Shadowshaper examine what it means to live in the physical and/or social environment that is Brooklyn? Specifically, what does it mean to inhabit a place shaped by murals, diversity (ethnic, linguistic, ideological, musical, cultural etc.), and/or gentrification?
How does Shadowshaper illustrate or challenge one of the ten monster theses?
Other? (check with Prof. Garcia)
Creating Strong Research Questions
The video below offers some tips for creating good, open-ended research questions to help guide your research:
