Pavel Andrade, Ph.D.

Course Description

This course offers an overview of Latin America’s cultural history from the colonial period to the contemporary era. Interdisciplinary in methods and scope, this course incorporates Latin American studies and literary and cultural theory to approach some of the key socioeconomic processes that have shaped the past and present of Latin American societies. We will make use of primary and secondary sources to navigate the region’s history, with an emphasis on periods of social transformation. Similarly, we will pay close attention to the specificity of different literary and artistic forms, including prose fiction, film, painting, architecture, and music. Throughout the course, you will develop analytical skills and broaden your working knowledge of Latin American cultures and societies. This course is taught in English. All readings available in English. Carries humanities credits. Fulfills multicultural requirement.

Required Materials

• Werner Herzog, Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Film). Available to rent on streaming platforms.
• José Eustasio Rivera, The Vortex (Print). Available from Duke UP & TTU Libraries (online)
• Pablo Larraín, No (Film). Available to rent on streaming platforms.

Course Guidelines and Grading

Attendance and Participation (20%). Consistent, engaged participation is crucial for your success in this class. You are expected to come to class having read all the assigned material and to actively participate in class discussion. Students are allowed two unexcused absences throughout the semester. For each subsequent absence, one percentage point will be deducted from your final grade. Two late arrivals and/or early departures will count as one unexcused absence. Late work will not be accepted under any circumstances. In the case of an extreme situation or emergency, the student must notify the course instructor via email, including supporting evidence, to determine a course of action.

Reflection Papers (20%). Throughout the semester students will write four reflection papers (250-500 words each). Prompts for each paper will be circulated a week in advance.

Close Reading (15%). Close reading analysis of a short passage from José Eustasio Rivera’s The Vortex (500-750 words). Instructions, guidelines, and recommendations will be presented in class.

Written Exams (30%). Two in-class written exams (non-cumulative), consisting of essay questions.

Photolog (15%). Students will work on an annotated photolog, including one entry per class session (30 entries minimum). The goal of this project is to create a visual timeline of Latin America’s cultural history. Photolog entries should be based on reading materials. Each entry must include a written comment or explanation. Students have the freedom to choose the platform to develop this project (blog, social media, website, print, catalogue, etc.)

Course Calendar

Week 1: Introduction
Fri. August 25: What Are You Going to Do With That?

Week 2: What Is Latin America?
Reflection Paper #1 Due
Mon. Aug. 28: Meade, “Introduction to the Land and Its People”
Weds. Aug. 30: Galeano, “120 Million Children in the Eye of the Hurricane”
Fri. Sept. 1: Clayton et al., “Colonial Prologue”

Week 3: Forbidding Landscapes
Mon. Sept. 4: Labor Day (No Class)
Weds. Sept. 6: Herzog, Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Fri. Sept. 8: Simón, “El Dorado”

Week 4: Colonial Inventories
Mon. Sept. 11: Chasteen, “A Power Called Hegemony” & “A Process Called Transculturation”
Weds. Sept. 13: Arciniegas, “The Arts in the Spanish Colonies” (Excerpt)
Fri. Sept. 15: Alonso de Ercilla, “Exalting the Noble Savage” & Sor Juana, “On Men’s Hypocrisy”

Week 5: Struggles for Independence
Reflection Paper #2 Due
Mon. Sept. 18: Clayton et al., “Background to Independence”
Weds. Sept. 20: Dessalines, “The Declaration of Independence,” Pétion and Bolivar, “An Exchange of Letters,” & Dumesle, “Voyage to the North of Haiti”
Fri. Sept. 22: Fernández de Lizardi, “The Itching Parrot, the Priest, and the Subdelegate”

Week 6: Civilization or Barbarism
Mon. Sept. 25: Chasteen, “Patronage Politics and Caudillo Leadership” & “Brazil’s Different Path”
Weds. Sept. 27: Sarmiento, “Civilization or Barbarism”
Fri. Sept. 29: Echeverría, “The Slaughterhouse”

Week 7: Our America
Mon. Oct. 2: Clayton et al., “Inventing Latin America”
Weds. Oct. 4: Martí, “Our America”
Fri. Oct. 6: Written Exam I

Week 8: Authoritarian Rule
Reflection Paper #3 Due
Mon. Oct. 9: Chasteen, “The Great Export Boom”
Weds. Oct. 11: Chasteen, “Authoritarian Rule: Oligarchies and Dictatorships”
Fri. Oct. 13: B. Traven, “Scenes from a Lumber Camp”

Week 9: The Vortex
Mon. Oct. 16: Bennet and Royle, “Reading a Novel”
Weds. Oct. 18: Rivera, The Vortex (p. 1-28)
Fri. Oct. 20: Rivera, The Vortex  (p. 28-56)

Week 10: The Vortex (continued)
Mon. Oct. 23: Rivera, The Vortex (p. 56-80)
Weds. Oct. 25: Rivera, The Vortex (p. 81-113)
Fri. Oct. 27: Rivera, The Vortex (p. 113-145) (No Class)

Week 11: The Vortex (concluded)
Mon. Oct. 30: Rivera, The Vortex (p. 147-169)
Weds. Nov. 1: Rivera, The Vortex (p. 169-195)
Fri. Nov. 3: Rivera, The Vortex (p. 195-219)

Week 12: Land, Liberty, and Mass Politics
Close Reading Due
Mon. Nov. 6: Chasteen, “Nationalism” & Flores Magón, “Land and Liberty”
Weds. Nov. 8: Lechín, “The People versus the Rosca,” James, “Perón and the People” & Haya de la Torre, “The APRA”
Fri. Nov. 10: Alfonsina Storni, “Modern Women” & Zero, “The Life of a Factory Worker”

Week 13: Revolution in Havana
Mon. Nov. 13: Meade, “Cuba: Guerrillas Take Power”
Weds. Nov. 15: Guevara, “Socialism and Man,” Lewis et al. “The Literacy Campaign,” & “Rodríguez, “Troubadours of the Revolution”
Fri. Nov. 17: Håkansson and Paredes, “Nos queda Cuba” (Documentary)

Week 14: The Chilean Road
Mon. Nov. 20: Meade, “The Chilean Road to Socialism,” Allende, “The Chilean Road to Socialism” & “The New Song Movement: An Interview with Inti-Illimani”
Weds. Nov. 22: Thanksgiving Holiday (No Class)
Fri. Nov. 24: Thanksgiving Holiday (No Class)

Week 15: State Terror and Military Rule
Reflection Paper #4 Due
Mon. Nov. 27: Chasteen, “Reaction” & Sciascia, “The Balaclava Man”
Weds. Nov. 29: Chasteen, “The Last Cold War Battles: Central America”
Fri. Dec. 1: Pablo Larraín, No

Week 16: Latin America in Transition
Photolog Due
Mon. Dec. 4: Written Exam II