6 courses with the subject LATAM, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
LATAM 180Introduction to Latin American Cultures
This course examines the histories and cultures of Latin America and the Caribbean from the sixteenth century to the present, using an interdisciplinary approach. Students explore confrontations and transformations among Indigenous, African, and European cultures. The course provides insight into contemporary political, economic, social, cultural, and artistic realities. By analyzing cultural products, we address colonization, nation formation, geography, the environment, immigration, migration, race, ethnicity, and gender in these societies.
This course studies significant problems relating to Latin America in greater depth from the perspectives of appropriate disciplines. Some topics may be cross-listed with other departments.
LATAM 287DETopics in Latin American Studies: 'Decolonizing Development'
When and how did the notion of "development" emerge and spread? Why does nearly every country now aspire to it? What stigmas, hierarchies, and colonial logics does the term -- along with "underdeveloped," "developing," and "behind" -- mobilize? In the context of Latin America, the conceptual framework of development encounters significant complications not only with respect to material reality but also as a way of understanding place, time, and selfhood. In this course, students question conventional wisdom about development through the study of creative works by Latin American essayists, fiction authors, filmmakers, and painters.
LATAM 287FMTopics in Latin American Studies: 'Frames of Mind: Tracking Power/Knowledge'
A frame of mind typically refers to a disposition or perspective, but the term also suggests a shaping of perception and thought. Something has already "framed" our minds, delimiting the scope of the conceivable. But what? This course radically interrogates the frameworks that structure and constrain our minds. Students trace the history of commonplace understandings-in academia and the "real" world-of mental health, diversity, gender and sexuality, and economic development in order to upend and defamiliarize operative assumptions. Works by Wendy Brown, Michel Foucault, Coco Fusco, Byung-Chul Han, bell hooks, Paul Preciado, Boots Riley and others.
LATAM 287MVTopics in Latin American Studies: 'Social Movements in Latin America'
Progressive social movements have played a crucial role in Latin American politics over the past 40 years, driving social change, advancing human rights, and shaping public policy. They serve as training grounds for new progressive leaders and are central to resistance against the rise of far-right parties. Their innovative strategies offer valuable lessons globally. The course examines five key movements-human rights, students' rights, feminism, indigenous peoples, and anti-extractivism-using examples from across the region. An interdisciplinary approach combines political science texts with regional artistic works like stories, films, and documentaries.
This course studies significant problems relating to Latin America in greater depth from the perspectives of appropriate disciplines. Some topics may be cross-listed with other departments.
