Cannibalism, Inversion, and Hybridity: Creative Disobedience in the Americas

This seminar examines how artists and intellectuals have depicted, constructed, and defied the notion of “America”. While focusing on Latin America in the 20th and 21st centuries, we will also consider Chicano/a artistic production in the U.S. We will look at a series of concepts—cultural cannibalism, inversion, hybridity, in-betweeness, and tropicality—that shape our present understanding of the continent and subvert the legacy of colonialism and imperialism. This seminar considers these terms as current theoretical modes of inquiry and as recurring themes in cultural production, including literature and the visual arts.