Take My Breath Away: A Cultural History of Air in Modern Latin America's Imagination and Literature

Latin America has been conjured up from opposing aerial images. On the one hand, Amazonia has been represented as the “lungs of the earth”; on the other, its megalopolis as polluted places where breathing is hazardous. From Neruda’s poetic journey to Machu Picchu, passing through eco-feminist gothic fictions, all the way through accordion, flute and Caribbean music, flight narratives and space films, this course explores what “aire” allows us to recount —or choke—, to scent —or to smell— about being in place or traveling. The languages of instruction will be Spanish and English.