[ Wesleyan Home Page ] [ WesMaps Home Page ] [ WesMaps Archive ] [ Course Search ] [ Course Search by CID ]
Academic Year 2005/2006


The Idea of Latin America
SPAN 268 SP

Crosslistings:
LAST 268

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

Cristóbal Colón, DIARIO DE VIAJES
Bartolomé De Las Casas, Brevisima Relación
D. F. Sarmiento, CONFLICTO Y ARMONÍAS DE LAS RAZAS EN AMÉRICA
José Martí, SELECCIÓN DE TEXTOS
Manuel Ugarte, EL PORVENIR DE AMÉRICA
Pedro Enríquez Urena, LA UTOPÍA DE AMÉRICA LATINA
José Vasconcelos, LA RAZA CÓSMICA
Roberto Fernández Retamar, CALIBÁN
Gabriel García Márquez, LA SOLEDAD DE AMÉRICA LATINA
Néstor García Canclini, CULTURAS HÍBRIDAS
José Joaquín Brunner, AMÉRICA LATINA

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

3 short papers (3-4 pages); 1 final paper (6-8 pages). Readings, discussions and papers in Spanish.

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


Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions. Please include a url, course title, faculty name or other page reference in your email

Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459