Exclusion, Gender and Respect: Understanding Youth Violence in Latin American Cities

Urban crime and fear is perhaps the most important concern for Latin Americans in countries across the region such as Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela. In this course we will develop a thorough analysis of youth violence departing from the structural forces that drive youths to violent lifestyles. We will then pass through cultural dispositions associated with gender identities and the lived experience of violence, youth subjectivities and emotions expressed (such as the sense of hopelessness engendered by these experiences). Finally we will discuss the possibility of alternatives to violence for youths.