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Academic Year 2005/2006

The Idea of Latin America
SPAN 268 SP

What is in a name? This course will try to respond to this question by focusing on the debates over the idea of "Latin America" as a cultural, political and social entity. By analyzing the way in which nineteenth and twentieth century writers have constructed alternative representations of the subcontinent, we will discuss a series of questions related to the formation and development of Latin America as an imagined community: What political, social and cultural interests have informed the emergence and variation of the idea of Latin America over time? What are the cultural features most commonly associated with the subcontinent, and what are their implications in historical and ideological terms? To what extent the idea of Latin America has been relevant in the past and is still viable today? In answering these questions, this course attempts to examine issues of identity formation, colonialism and trans-nationalism in Latin America.

MAJOR READINGS

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: HA RLAN    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-30-2006

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